University of Nebraska - Lincoln DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln Political Science Department -- Theses, Political Science, Department of Dissertations, and Student Scholarship Fall 11-23-2015 Competing for Attention: A Comparative Study of Social Movements and News Media in Abortion Debates Katherine Eugene LeBreton Hunt University of Nebraska-Lincoln Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/poliscitheses Part of the Comparative Politics Commons Hunt, Katherine Eugene LeBreton, "Competing for Attention: A Comparative Study of Social Movements and News Media in Abortion Debates" (2015). Political Science Department -- Theses, Dissertations, and Student Scholarship. 36. http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/poliscitheses/36 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Political Science, Department of at DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. It has been accepted for inclusion in Political Science Department -- Theses, Dissertations, and Student Scholarship by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. COMPETING FOR ATTENTION: A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF SOCIAL MOVEMENTS AND NEWS MEDIA IN ABORTION DEBATES by Katherine E. L. Hunt A DISSERTATION Presented to the Faculty of The Graduate College at the University of Nebraska In Partial Fulfillment of Requirements For the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Major: Political Science (International Human Rights and Diversity and Women’s and Gender Studies) Under the Supervision of Professor Ari Kohen Lincoln, Nebraska November, 2015 COMPETING FOR ATTENTION: A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF SOCIAL MOVEMENTS AND NEWS MEDIA IN ABORTION DEBATES Katherine E. L. Hunt, Ph.D. University of Nebraska, 2016 Advisor: Ari Kohen Why do some social movements in abortion debates get more attention from the news media than others? Do movements that support the status quo receive more attention than those opposing the status quo? Through quantitative content analysis of eight major newspapers in South Korea, Ireland, and Canada and fieldwork in South Korea and Ireland, I theorize that anti- status quo groups – whether they are for or against abortion rights – may reopen debate conditions in their countries by strategically using international human rights norms and frames and gaining standing in the news media in environments that tend to be hostile to their views. “A word after a word after a word is power.” - Margaret Atwood, from the poem “Spelling” For Mike, who makes me believe in my power. Acknowledgements There are seemingly endless numbers of people who deserve my heartfelt thanks in helping me get to this point. In particular, I could not have made it without the invaluable help and support of the members of my committee: Ari Kohen, Alice Kang, Courtney Hillebrecht, Patrice McMahon, and Julia McQuillan. Each member of this committee was integral to the formation of this research question and the completion of this dissertation. My luck in having an advisor like Ari Kohen cannot be downplayed. Ari, your willingness to act as my advisor despite the fact that my dissertation is not completely in your wheelhouse is something for which I am incredibly thankful. Your knowledge and sage advice in the area of human rights has been humbling and your passion for teaching has served as inspiration for me in my own pedagogical pursuits. You took the time to help me develop the first class I taught and assured me that I would do great. I am indebted to you in many ways, including for your encouraging assurances that, despite my occasional misgivings and worries, I am capable. Alice Kang’s vast knowledge of comparative politics and other related literatures is something I deeply admire. Alice, thank you for being incredibly patient with me when I have had ideas that I cannot completely explain (which is often). I have spent hours sitting in your office over the years talking out ideas, which often involved entertaining moments of complete silence as we both just thought, and always left me feeling fresh and full of great ideas – and with a list of possible literature. I also owe you a huge thank you for alerting me to the SSRC DPDF opportunity (and many other opportunities) and for giving me great feedback on the application for that despite the short notice. I am eternally grateful for all of your wisdom, support, and kindness over the years. Courtney Hillebrecht, had I not taken your international human rights class I might never have realized how fascinated I am with the study of human rights and how much human rights research aligned with my other interests. I have you and your enthusiasm for the study of human rights (as well as the fantastic book list you chose for that class) to thank for the fact that HR became one of the central aspects of my dissertation and one of the parts about which I am most excited. Also, thank you for involving me in the Model UN class. At the time I really did not know what I was doing, I am afraid, but I learned with your help and now am applying that knowledge to teaching my own classes. Thank you for being a great teacher and mentor. Patrice McMahon, I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your enthusiasm for and interest in the subject matter of my dissertation. When I took International Relations with you and first started forming the ideas that created the basis for my dissertation, your enthusiasm was invaluable in encouraging me and convincing me that I was really onto something. Julia McQuillan, while I am happy in Political Science, the SWS meeting I attended in Nashville at your suggestion was incredibly fun and interesting and led me to conclude that women in sociology are simply amazing. I have found your insights and suggestions in the realm of sociology literature (on which I have relied heavily for my dissertation) very helpful in writing my dissertation and I am incredibly grateful that you agreed to be on my committee. During my tenure at Nebraska I found the company of certain individuals especially engaging, fun, and inspiring. Madeline Hoffer, I will never eat Noodles and Company without thinking of the many hours we spent there eating delicious food and ranting. Jake Wobig, you are just the cat’s pajamas, but not really because I know you are allergic. Thank you for sharing/bouncing around ideas academically and spending countless hours hanging out, watching GoT, and just generally being awesome. Laura Roost and Jeongyeon Kim, you are fantastic people and I miss conversations with you. David Csontos and Helen Sexton, thank you for all of the work you do for the department that often goes unmentioned (because you do it so well). Eva Bachman, thank you for being patient with me and answering all of my questions from afar! Beyond UNL, there have been many who have influenced my dissertation research and I cannot do justice to their impact on my career and life generally. Other teachers and professors, including those from the University of Minnesota, Morris, have been integral in shaping me into the scholar I am today. While I cannot list them all, I will mention a few here. My father, William Hunt, taught the classes at UMM that drove me to Political Science even though he told me I should go into a different field (!). My mother, Patricia, who was my teacher until I was 16 (though she is still teaching me, really), shared with me her interest in everything and taught me how to write. Rich Heyman at UMM helped me hone my skills into academic writing. Another important influence on my career was Sam Schuman. Sam was an excellent professor and university administrator. He was both intelligent and exceedingly kind, and his encouragement got me through the rejections during the process of applying to graduate school when I was 19. He told me he knew that wherever I went I would excel, and that was exactly what I needed to hear. To Sam: “Be free, and fare thee well.” I was lucky enough to get to conduct fieldwork during my dissertation research. To the people who gave me their time in the form of personal interviews, often over delicious food or beverages, I owe great thanks. Thank you to In Shil, my Korean interpreter and research assistant during fieldwork in South Korea in 2012. She went above and beyond to help me and to make me feel at home in Seoul. The activists in South Korea were incredibly patient with me considering my inability to converse in their language and I thank them for their time and for sharing with me their passion and spirit. I was so lucky to be able to conduct fieldwork in Seoul and to meet these inspiring women. The Social Science Research Council Dissertation Proposal Development Fellowship program and the UNL Human Rights and Humanitarian program made this research financially possible, and I am forever indebted to these wonderful programs. Research in Ireland was a formative experience for me academically and personally. The people of Ireland and Northern Ireland are welcoming and such incredible hosts. To all the activists and scholars who met with me, I am indebted to you. Thank you for sharing your time, knowledge, and stories with me… and for your kindness to a nervous graduate student from the U.S. The funding that supported research in Ireland came from the UNL Political Science Senning Summer Research Grant and the Human Rights and Humanitarian Affairs program. I am deeply appreciative for the opportunity. My friends and family who are not associated with UNL have given me invaluable motivation and support. Takayla Lightfield, Chloe Rugut, Betsy Dyce, Andrea Weniger, Rose Puleo, Mitchell Koffman, thank you for being my constant source of support, love, and fun, and for being understanding about my total lack of communication most of the time.