Birds of a Feather…Gatekeeping Human Rights Online News Coverage via Traditional and Humanitarian News Media by Lindsey E. Blumell, B.A., M.A. A Dissertation In MEDIA & COMMUNICATION Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of Texas Tech University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Approved David D. Perlmutter, Ph.D. Chair of Committee Lea C. Hellmueller, Ph.D. Kenton T. Wilkinson, Ph.D. Elizabeth Trejos-Castillo, Ph.D. Mark Sheridan, Ph.D. Dean of the Graduate School May, 2016 Copyright 2016, Lindsey E. Blumell Texas Tech University, Lindsey E. Blumell, May 2016 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Much like it takes a village to raise a child; it took the help, mentorship, and support of many, both personally and professionally, to begin and finish my dissertation. I’ll start on a personal level with my family. To my mother and father, who are both teachers: thanks for cursing me with the teaching gene and encouraging me to have an inquisitive mind. Your countless hours of devotion to your job kids and your kids kids was an invaluable example of how teachers can change a person’s life for the better. To my siblings, who all tolerate my constant desire for new places and adventures and have always opened their doors to me during my times of respite. It’s nice to be from a family that both supports and keeps you grounded J. Moving to Texas felt in some ways more foreign than any other place I had lived before and it took a lot of trying to make sense of it on my own until I realized I couldn’t navigate the labyrinth by myself. Along came my Ph.D. angels that would take the time to explain what was going on or rather what I needed going on. To Mehrnaz and Mary Liz, you both were the senior people in the program that led me and others by the hand towards the light at the end of the tunnel, which luckily wasn’t an oncoming train. My other two angels, Nate and Jen….I hope you both know that this experience would have been extremely lonely and half as rewarding without you. Nate, I am glad we were both in need of a confidant, supporter, motivator, and amigo at the same time and could be that for each other. I am also glad not to be the only one late at night on the seventh floor (although you were on the sixth). Jen, you were the eye of the storm for me and I am so proud of us for being strong enough to weather it. You have been a wonderful soul sister who can indulge me on my feminist discourses. Girl power! ii Texas Tech University, Lindsey E. Blumell, May 2016 Professionally speaking, I feel very grateful to my chair Dr. David D. Perlmutter. You have watched out for me and given me the tough feedback I needed when I needed it. You have been fair to me and defended me and always wanted the best for me, so thank you very much! Dr. Hellmueller, I would not know how to do a content analysis without you, thanks for that and for being on my committee. Dr. Wilkinson, thanks so much for broadening my horizons and daring to be outside the box. Dr. Trejos, I am so glad I was in your class! You are a professor who really goes out of your way for your students and it has helped me throughout my dissertation Dr. Zhang, you are a great professor and have really supported me along the way here at Tech. My experience would not be the same here without you and I appreciate your devotion to all of us! Bridget, you were always so patient with me and willing to help me when I desperately felt lost! Dr. Sternadori, I wish you had come to tech earlier, but I will always think of you as the person who gave me Hofstede! Благодаря! It has been such a pleasure to be a visiting scholar these last semesters and it couldn’t have been possible without Dr. Falkheimer and the team at Lund University in Helsingborg….thank you to you all! Jorgen, Charlotte, Henrik, Asta, and Rickard….thanks! Also, to the Copenhagen Business School and Anne Vestegaard, thanks for your help and support! Finally, to my Michi. Thanks for your unwavering devotion both professionally and personally. You have improved my life more than I can say and I hope that I have reciprocated in some small way. Your guidance, tough love at times, and tenderness at others are what I needed to get through this process. Danke! iii Texas Tech University, Lindsey E. Blumell, May 2016 Table of Contents ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ............................................................................................... ii ABSTRACT ...................................................................................................................... vi LIST OF TABLES ........................................................................................................ viii LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................ ix I. INTRODUCTION ..........................................................................................................1 II. GATEKEEPING THEORY ........................................................................................9 GATEKEEPING THEORY IN THE 20TH AND 21ST CENTURIES .................................... 9 FRAMEWORK OF GATEKEEPING: FIVE LEVELS OF ANALYSIS AND THE HIERARCHY OF INFLUENCES .......................................................................................... 16 INDIVIDUAL LEVEL .......................................................................................................... 17 ROUTINE LEVEL ................................................................................................................. 19 ORGANIZATIONAL LEVEL .............................................................................................. 20 SOCIAL INSTITUTIONAL LEVEL .................................................................................... 21 SOCIAL SYSTEM LEVEL ................................................................................................... 28 GATEKEEPING IN THE 21ST CENTURY .......................................................................... 35 HUMANITARIAN NEWS MEDIA AS GATEKEEPERS .................................................. 37 III. THE EVOLVING ROLE OF HUMAN RIGHTS NGOS AND TRANSNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS .....................................................................41 HUMAN RIGHTS .................................................................................................................... 41 HUMAN RIGHTS NGOS AND TRANSNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS ...................... 45 AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL ........................................................................................... 46 HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH .................................................................................................. 47 UNITED NATIONS .............................................................................................................. 47 NEW MEDIA AND HUMAN RIGHTS NGOS .................................................................... 48 IV. NEWS COVERAGE OF HUMAN RIGHTS .........................................................52 HUMAN RIGHTS, PEACE, AND ADVOCACY JOURNALISM ..................................... 55 V. RESEARCH QUESTIONS AND HYPOTHESES ..................................................57 VI. MIXED METHODOLOGY ....................................................................................64 CONTENT ANALYSIS ........................................................................................................... 67 SAMPLING STRATEGY ..................................................................................................... 70 CODE DEVELOPMENT ...................................................................................................... 72 CODING PROCEDURES AND INTERCODER RELIABILITY ....................................... 78 IN-DEPTH INTERVIEWS ..................................................................................................... 80 PARTICIPANT SAMPLING ................................................................................................ 82 iv Texas Tech University, Lindsey E. Blumell, May 2016 INTERVIEW MODE ............................................................................................................. 85 INTERVIEW ANALYSIS ..................................................................................................... 85 VII. ANALYSIS ..............................................................................................................88 HUMAN RIGHTS FRAMEWORK, ICCPR, AND ICESCR IN NEWS COVERAGE ... 88 CONTENT PRODUCTION PROCESS ................................................................................ 93 STORY ANGLE .................................................................................................................... 98 THE AUDIENCE ..................................................................................................................... 99 AUDIENCE CONSIDERATION ........................................................................................ 105 SOURCES ............................................................................................................................... 108 SOURCE USE ..................................................................................................................... 111 CULTURAL DIMENSION ................................................................................................... 112 ACCOUNTING FOR CULTURE ....................................................................................... 114 GEOGRAPHY .......................................................................................................................