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The Pennsylvania State University The Graduate School College of Communications REPRESENTATION MATTERS: A LONGITUDINAL LOOK AT GENDER DEPICTIONS IN THE ASSOCIATED PRESS STYLEBOOK A Dissertation in Mass Communications by Steve Bien-Aimé © 2016 Steve Bien-Aimé Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy August 2016 ii The dissertation of Steve Bien-Aimé was reviewed and approved* by the following: Marie Hardin Professor of Mass Communications Dissertation Adviser Chair of Committee Ford Risley Professor of Mass Communications Associate Dean for Undergraduate and Graduate Education Colleen Connolly-Ahern Associate Professor of Mass Communications Kevin Hagopian Senior Lecturer of Mass Communications *Signatures are on file in the Graduate School iii Abstract The Associated Press Stylebook serves as the foundation for many style manuals throughout U.S. newsrooms. Stylebook entries often provide historical facts and data about phenomena, in addition to demonstrating proper usage or explaining grammar rules. The Stylebook also attempts to present itself a journalistically objective book as it seeks to reflect common language usage and societal values. A critical discourse analysis of the entry titles, examples, and explanations in five Stylebooks (1977, 1987, 1997, 2007, and 2014) revealed that the Stylebook mirrors journalistic practices in a few ways. The Stylebook focuses its entries and references primarily on hard news, an area feted within mainstream journalism. Additionally, the Stylebook favors men in terms of language rules. However, this preference and the heavy use of male exemplars could be seen as journalistically objective because they show that common language often defaults toward men and that men dominate in hard news sectors such as politics, business, and the military. The Stylebook also replicates the cultural norm of a gender binary, i.e., there are only men and women. For now, Stylebook rules do not favor gender neutrality in cases where a person’s gender is known. However, the Stylebook rulings and depictions are not static. The Stylebook has been revised many times in the past 37 years. These changes illustrate U.S. society’s shifting viewpoints on gender and sexual orientation. A strength of critical discourse analysis is in its prescriptive nature — in the ways it illuminates the potential for a text to better align with progressive cultural values. The final section notes places for stylistic improvements for both Stylebook editors and journalism as a whole. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Tables ................................................................................................................................. vi Acknowledgements ....................................................................................................................... vii Chapter 1 Importance of The Associated Press Stylebook in journalism and U.S. society ............ 1 Why Does the Stylebook Matter? ................................................................................................ 3 The Associated Press ............................................................................................................... 3 The Associated Press Stylebook’s Transmitting of Journalistic Norms .................................. 6 How are Norms Transmitted? ..................................................................................................... 8 Textbooks and Habitus .......................................................................................................... 11 Language Reflects Societal Values and Hierarchies ............................................................. 16 “Preferred Usages” ................................................................................................................ 18 Project Overview ....................................................................................................................... 20 My identity and this research .................................................................................................... 21 Critical Discourse Analysis ....................................................................................................... 24 Process for Data Analysis ......................................................................................................... 27 Chapter 1 Conclusion ................................................................................................................ 30 Chapter 2: Gender and Journalism ................................................................................................ 32 Defining Gender ........................................................................................................................ 32 Gender Portrayals within Journalism .................................................................................... 35 Hard News ............................................................................................................................. 39 Journalism Principles ................................................................................................................ 46 Objectivity ............................................................................................................................. 48 Chapter 2 Conclusion ................................................................................................................ 51 Chapter 3: Developments in the U.S. from the 1970s to 2014 ..................................................... 53 1970s ......................................................................................................................................... 54 Women’s Movement ............................................................................................................. 54 Gay Rights Movement ........................................................................................................... 56 1980s ......................................................................................................................................... 57 AIDS ...................................................................................................................................... 58 v Gains for Women................................................................................................................... 59 1990s ......................................................................................................................................... 61 Sexual Harassment ................................................................................................................ 62 Cultural Fights over Sexual Orientation ................................................................................ 64 2000s ......................................................................................................................................... 66 Gains for Minorities and Women .......................................................................................... 67 Marriage ................................................................................................................................. 68 WikiLeaks and Chelsea Manning .......................................................................................... 69 Chapter 4: Results ......................................................................................................................... 72 Gender and Stylebook Titles ...................................................................................................... 74 Male Universality .................................................................................................................. 74 Newsmakers........................................................................................................................... 76 Gender Binary........................................................................................................................ 77 Gender and Stylebook Examples, Explanations ........................................................................ 82 Newsmakers........................................................................................................................... 82 Male Universality .................................................................................................................. 83 Chapter 5: Conclusions and Discussion ...................................................................................... 101 Summary of Findings .............................................................................................................. 101 Entry Titles .......................................................................................................................... 101 Examples and Explanations ................................................................................................. 103 Discussion ............................................................................................................................... 105 Representativeness Matters ................................................................................................. 105 Current Cultural Battle ........................................................................................................ 111 Future Research ....................................................................................................................... 113 Stylebook Recommendations .................................................................................................