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Each original is also photographed in one exposure and is included in reduced form at the back of the book. Photographs included in the original manuscript have been reproduced xerographically in this copy. Higher quality 6" x 9" black and white photographic prints are available for any photographs or illustrations appearing in this copy for an additional charge. Contact UMI directly to order. University Microfilms International A Bell & Howell Information Company 300 North Zeeb Road Ann Arbor Ml 48106-1346 USA 313 761-4700 800 521-0600 Order Number 9325615 A structuralistic narrative analysis of television evening news coverage of the homeless, 1985-1991 Whang, In Sung, Ph.D. The Ohio State University, 1993 UMI 300 N. Zeeb Rd. Ann Arbor, MI 48106 A STRUCTURALIST NARRATIVE ANALYSIS OF TELEVISION EVENING NEWS COVERAGE OF THE HOMELESS, 1985-1991 DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By In Sung Whang, B.A., M.A. The Ohio State University 1993 Dissertation Committee: Joseph J. Pilotta Robert R. Monaghan Poonam Pillai epartmenrt of Communication To My Parents ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I am grateful to my advisor, Dr. Joseph J. Pilotta for his general guidance and insightful comments throughout the research as well as my graduate school years. I would also like to thank Dr. Robert R. Monaghan and Dr. Poonam Pillai for their support, encouragement and services on my advisory committee. I am especially grateful to my son JayHa who is now two years old and my wife Hyosun, who took care of my son, supported and endured hard times with me up until now. Most of all, my very special thanks go to my parents and parents-in-law whose consistent and various support made the completion of my studies possible. VITA January 19, 1955 ..................................... Born - Seoul, Korea 1980...................................................................... B.A., Mass Communication, Department of Mass Communications, Sc-gang University, Seoul, Korea 1982-1983........................................................... Course work, Theatre Arts, Department of Speech Communication, Theatre & Journalism, Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan 1986 ............................................................. M.A., Mass Communication, Department of Speech Communication, Theatre & Journalism, Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan 1988-1991............................................................ Graduate Teaching Associate, Department of Communication, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio FIELDS OF STUDY Major Field: Communication Studies in: Mass Communication Critical/Cultural Studies Communication Theories TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ............................................................................................ iii VITA ...................................................................................................................................... iv LIST OF TABLES .......................................................................................................... vii CHAPTER PAGE I. SELF-REFLECTION BY THE AUTHOR...................................................... 1 II. A NARRATIVE INTERPRETATION OF THE NEWS .................. 17 Journalism As A Narrative Story Telling .................................... 20 The Present Study: Its Purpose and Scope ............................... 22 The Present Study: A Case of the News Coverage of the Homeless .................................................................. 25 III. NARRATIVE, STORY AND DISCOURSE:AN APPROACH TO THE STUDY OF TELEVISION NEWS NARRATIVE ................ 34 The Nature of Narrative .................................................................... 34 Story .......................................................................................................... 38 Surface Narrative Structure ................................................. 38 Deep Narrative Structure ........................................................ 45 Metaphor and Metonymy ........................................................ 54 Television Realism ..................................................................... 56 Discourse .................................................................................................. 61 Narrator As Central Participant ........................................ 62 Point of View and Narration ................................................... 65 Typology of Narrators ............................................................... 68 Semiotics of the Visual ...................................................................... 75 v IV. METHODOLOGY ............................................................................................. 87 Methodological Considerations ........................................................ 87 Story Dimension ........................................................................ 89 A Paradigmatic Analysis ................................................ 89 A Syntagmatic Analysis ................................................. 91 Discourse Dimension ................................................................. 93 Method: A Procedure of Analysis ................................................... 95 Sampling ......................................................................................... 96 Sampled News Segments ......................................................... 99 V. DISAPPEARING ISSUE: TWO STRUCTURAL DIMENSIONS OF TELEVISION NEWS NARRATIVE .................. 105 Outline: Discourse Dimension ......................................................... 106 Outline: Story Dimension .................................................................. 113 Paradigmatic Structural Pattern ........................................ 114 Syntagmatic Structural Pattern ......................................... 121 An Extended Analysis of Narrative Patterns ............................ 129 General Description of the Homeless ................................... 130 Mental Illness and the Homeless .......................................... 152 Hostility towards the Homeless ............................................ 178 VI. FINDINGS, DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION ...............................205 APPENDICES ................................................................................................................. 224 A. Tables ................................................................................................................... 224 B. Sample Viewing Sheets ................................................................................. 233 C. Key to the Visual and Aural Abbreviations .......................................... 236 LIST OF REFERENCES ...................................................................................................241 vi LIST OF TABLES TABLE PAGE 1. Distance from Subjects to Camera (by Networks) ...................... 225 2. Distance from Subjects to Camera (by Subject Types) ............. 226 3. Camera Angle to Subjects (by Networks) ........................................ 227 4. Camera Angle to Subjects (by Subject Types) .............................. 228 5. Subjects's Orientation to Camera (by Networks) ....................... 229 6. Subjects's Orientation to Camera (by Subject Types) .............. 230 7. Subjects's Primary Actions ................................................................... 231 vii CHAPTER I SELF-REFLECTION BY THE AUTHOR In a broad sense, the present study is a subjective and interpretive study of television news communication. By its definition then, this study is "intrinsically incomplete" (Geertz, 1973, p. 29) and open and maybe vulnerable to challenges of methodological validity and reliability. In any case, I cannot simply get away with this "subjective" nature of the study merely by saying that "I don't care whether or not you agree with my approach. This is what I have found, anyway." Pilotta and Mickunas (1990) contend that "No science can be truly scientific unless it becomes aware of the operations used in the formations of logical objectives. Without exploring the acts of consciousness through which objectives are formed, logic cannot justify its goals and the method it employs for its realization" (p. 2). In this context, in the following, I would like to self-reflect on my research conduct and provide a biographical and procedural information in regard to the present study in the hope that those who happen to read