Thesis (MPhil (Journalism))--University of Stellenbosch, 2009. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This study examines how positively or negatively as well as how subjectively or objectively the South African tabloid newspapers represent black celebrities. This examination was primarily conducted by using the content analysis research technique. The researcher selected a total of 85 newspapers spread across four different South African daily and weekend tabloid newspapers that were published during the period February to September 2008. The results from the data collected reveal that tabloid newspapers tend to overemphasize negativity when reporting about black celebrities. The findings also reveal a clear differential in the representation of black female celebrities vis-à-vis male celebrities. Unlike male celebrities whose roles were mainly defined in terms of political activities and personal disputes, female celebrities’ roles were largely confined to relationships and sex. The language used by the four newspapers in their representation of celebrities appears to be humiliating and, in some instances, downright disparaging. There is little doubt that media representations of celebrities, whether positive or negative, serve as mirrors to how some members of society behave. To this end, there needs to be a shift from the current preoccupation with sensationalizing negative news when South African tabloid newspapers report on black celebrities. Tabloid newspapers should judiciously use their greater focus on celebrities’ private lives to report on more positive personal stories that focus on the achievements of celebrities, including how some celebrities are living positively with HIV/AIDS. Since this study only focused on South African tabloid newspapers’ representations of black celebrities, and only employed the content analysis method, further research is recommended on the impact of celebrities’ representations on the South African society. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie studie ondersoek hoe positief of negatief, asmede subjektief of objektief, daar oor swart beroemdes in Suid-Afrikaanse ponie- of skinderkoerante verslag gedoen word. Die ondersoek is primêr met behulp van die inhoudsanaliseondersoekmetode uitgevoer. Die navorser het 85 koerante uit vier verskillende Suid-Afrikaanse dagblaaie en naweekponiekoerante gekies uit die tydperk Februarie tot September 2008. Die resultate toon ‘n tendens in die poniekoerante dat oorwegend negatiewe verslagdoening oor swart beroemdes vooropgestel word. Die bevindinge toon ook ’n duidelike verskil tussen die verslagdoening oor beroemde swart vroue teenoor dié oor swart mans. In teenstelling met die mans wie se rolle hoofsaaklik ingevolge hulle politieke aktiwiteite en persoonlike dispute gedefinieer word, word beroemde swart vroue se rolle hoofsaaklik beperk tot verhoudings en seks. Die taalgebruik in die verslaggewing oor beroemdes in die vier poniekoerante blyk uiters vernederend, en in sommige gevalle, selfs degraderend en wrang te wees. Daar bestaan min twyfel dat verslaggewing oor beroemdes in die media, hetsy positief of negatief, weerspieël hoe sommige lede van die samelewing lewe. Om hierdie rede is ’n verskuiwing in die huidige beheptheid met die sensasionalisering van negatiewe nuus in die verslaggewing oor swart beroemdes nodig. Poniekoerante wat op die persoonlike lewens van beroemdes fokus behoort na meer positiewe verslagdoening oor hul prestasies te strewe, insluitend, hoe sommige beroemdes positief met MIV/Vigs lewe. Aangesien hierdie navorsing net op verslagdoening oor swart beroemdes in Suid-Afrikaanse poniekoerante kragtens die inhoudsanalisemetorde gefokus het, word verdere navorsing aanbeveel oor die impak van verslagdoening oor beroemdes op die Suid-Afrikaanse samelewing.

Thesis (MPhil)--Stellenbosch University, 2013. / Bibliography / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The representation of women in the media has been problematic in many respects. Women have often been portrayed in a limited number of roles and media reports have often unnecessarily focused on their physical appearance. In 2009, South African athlete Caster Semenya astonished the athletics world with her times in the 800 m. However, her performance was soon overshadowed by speculation about her sex. Before long, an Australian publication claimed that Semenya had male sexual organs and no womb or ovaries. The publication of this report left other media with a number of ethical dilemmas. This study examined the representation of Semenya in Beeld and Rapport, two Afrikaans newspapers, during the height of speculation. The aim of the study was to determine whether the specified media, in their portrayal of Semenya, adhered to journalism’s ethical principle of truth-telling. Two theoretical frameworks, namely, Representation and African womanism, were used as analytical tools. Qualitative content analysis was used to analyse the portrayal of Semenya. The study found that the representation of Caster Semenya did not adhere to journalism’s ethical principle of truth-telling in all respects. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die uitbeelding van vroue in die media skiet steeds in verskeie opsigte tekort. Studies oor die onderwerp dui daarop dat vroue dikwels in ’n beperkte aantal rolle uitgebeeld word. Daar word ook gereeld onnodig na vroue se fisieke voorkoms verwys. In 2009 het die Suid-Afrikaanse atleet Caster Semenya die atletiekwêreld verras met haar uitstekende tye in die 800 m. Dié prestasie is egter gou oorskadu deur media-spekulasie oor die atleet se geslag. ’n Australiese publikasie het kort daarna ’n berig gepubliseer wat beweer het dat Semenya manlike geslagorgane het en geen baarmoeder of ovaria nie. Die publikasie van dié berig het die media voor verskeie etiese uitdagings te staan gebring. Hierdie studie het die uitbeelding van Semenya in Beeld en Rapport, twee Afrikaanse koerante, gedurende die hoogtepunt van dié spekulasie ondersoek. Die doel van die studie was om te bepaal of die spesifieke publikasies gehoor gegee het aan media-etiese voorskrifte met betrekking tot die weergee van die waarheid. Twee teoretiese raamwerke, naamlik Uitbeelding en womanism in Afrika, is in dié verband as vertrekpunt gebruik. Kwalitatiewe inhoudsanalise is gebruik om die uitbeelding van Semenya te ontleed. Die studie het bevind dat die uitbeelding van Semenya nie in alle opsigte in ooreenstemming was met dié beginsel nie.

The following research is a content analysis of 114 articles written by the American and British news media outlets in the first month following the BP Gulf oil spill in April 2010. The goal of the research was to identify any dominant frames evident in the reports and to compare the two countries to see if there was a difference in the dominant frames used. Positive, negative, and neutral tones were also evaluated to determine if there was a difference between the countries. The results show that both countries reports predominantly used an ecology and action frame, while British media outlets also used an economic frame. Both countries reported with primarily a negative and neutral tone. The implications of these findings for crisis communication managers are discussed.

This thesis has replicated a content analysis study conducted by G. Ray Funkhouser in the 1960s. This study concurs with the Funkhouser assertion that some prominent issues in the news do not necessarily merit the attention from the media at the times they receive it. The findings in this study appear to also indicate a "sampling bias" in the media, whereby the amount of news coverage deviates in a systematic way from the actual flow of events. Additionally, this study indicates a strong relationship between the amount of media attention an issue receives and whether or not that issue was noted as the most important problem by respondents to the Gallup Poll. / Department of Journalism

This study was conducted to analyze the differences in the news coverage of public education by a state and local newspaper, to ascertain if trends exist in the coverage of topics, and if the coverage is negative, positive, or neutral. All issues of The Dallas Morning News and The Piano Star Courier from the years 1988 and 1993 were evaluated. All articles about public education (with the exception of athletics, obituaries, and advertisements) were evaluated using a content analysis form. The content analysis form provided information for classifying all articles. Information was tallied for the number of articles and column inches by newspaper and category. Findings indicated a number of differences between the two newspapers in 1988 and 1993. The Dallas Morning News increased the number of articles and column inches of space it committed to the coverage of public education from 1988 to 1993. During the same period The Piano Star Courier reduced both the number of articles and column inches of space which it used for the topic of education. The Piano Star Courier began publishing editions on only five of the seven days per week in February, 1993. The Dallas Morning News reduced its local coverage and increased its coverage of state and national education topics during the same period. The change in coverage was shown through the increased number of articles and space allocated to state and national topics. Changes also occurred in the number of negative articles published by the newspapers. The Dallas Morning News increased the number of negative articles as it focused on state and national news. The Piano Star Courier reduced the number of negative articles as it focused on local topics. The findings also indicate that certain categories of articles are more likely to present education in a positive manner. Local education news stories are more likely to be positive than state or national stories. Personal stories about students and/or teachers tend to represent schools in a positive light. The topics of discipline, vandalism, finance, and administration usually have a more negative effect. Findings reveal that differing trends exist in major state and local newspaper coverage of public education. Knowledge of these trends can help educators promote a positive image of public education.

The current study is a content analysis and comparison of news articles from the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal. The objective of this study is to explore media coverage of terrorism over the last five decades to determine the impact of religion and to compare coverage between two respected news sources that are known for their liberal (New York Times) and conservative (Wall Street Journal) view points. Using a stratified random sample, 1,832 news articles were selected between 1960 and 2006 from the two news sources of interest. The articles were read, analyzed, and categorized. Then, a qualitative analysis examined a random selection of articles pertaining to religious terrorist events. Results suggest an increase in coverage of religiously perpetrated terrorism in recent decades. Interestingly, coverage from the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal showed similar patterns despite being representative of opposite ideologies. Implications are discussed. / by Heather Zurburg. / Thesis (M.S.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2011. / Includes bibliography. / Electronic reproduction. Boca Raton, Fla., 2011. Mode of access: World Wide Web.

Tang Le. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 102-116). / Abstracts in English and Chinese. / Abstract (in English) --- p.i / Abstract (in Chinese) --- p.ii / Chapter Chapter 1 - --- Introduction --- p.1 / Chapter 1.1. --- The AIDS epidemic in China --- p.1 / Chapter 1.2. --- The media system in China --- p.5 / Chapter Chapter 2 - --- Literature Review --- p.14 / Chapter 2.1. --- AIDS coverage in previous studies --- p.14 / Chapter 2.2. --- Framing --- p.19 / Chapter 2.3. --- Significance of this study --- p.26 / Chapter Chapter 3 - --- Research Design --- p.28 / Chapter 3.1. --- Research hypothesis --- p.28 / Chapter 3.2. --- Research method --- p.30 / Chapter Chapter 4 - --- Results --- p.36 / Chapter 4.1. --- Discourse analysis --- p.36 / Chapter 4.2. --- Content analysis --- p.49 / Chapter Chapter 5 - --- Conclusion and Discussion --- p.67 / Chapter 5.1. --- Conclusion1 --- p.67 / Chapter 5.2. --- Conclusion2 --- p.71 / Chapter 5.3. --- Discussion of reasons --- p.77 / Chapter 5.4. --- Implications --- p.85 / Note --- p.93 / Appendix --- p.96 / Bibliography --- p.102

This preliminary study examined the dominant frames used by the New York Times in the coverage of HIV/AIDS in Africa. The study also analyzed the tone of coverage used on HIV/AIDS stories on Africa and the volume of news coverage on the issue from January 2000 to December 2007. The results of the study indicated a dominant human disaster frame in the coverage of HIV/AIDS stories on Africa. Overall tone of coverage was neutral. However, findings indicated more negative tones of coverage than positive. The volume of coverage changed overtime. Ultimately, these media frames carry significant implications for public attitude and policy outcomes / Department of Journalism

This thesis examined the media framing of the Juarez femicide. The media framing of femicide is significant because women have always been the victims of widespread violence. Violence against women exists in all societies and is not restricted to economic class, race, ethnic, and ideology. Despite the prevalence of gender-violence, this issue is taboo in most cultures and difficult to discuss. The study is also significant because it provides insight into the cultural codes in communities where violence against women is prevalent, offers what may be the first comparative academic analysis of U.S. and Mexican media frames, and adds to our understanding of a cross-cultural femicide. This study examined the types of media framing utilized by both the U.S and Mexican media, the implications of the frames, and the differences in framing strategies between the U.S. and Mexican media. The method used to conduct this media framing analysis of the Juarez femicides employed Burke’s (1989) dramatism theory and Noelle-Neumann’s (1971) spiral of silence theory. This method entailed applying the cycle of redemption and silencing theory to newspaper articles from the El Paso Times published in El Paso, Texas, and El Diario published in Ciudad-Juarez, Mexico to determine if the artifact illustrated components of the redemptive process and silencing. This study found eight total themes from both El Paso Times and El Diario that illustrated the components of the redemption, victimage, and silencing. / Department of Communication Studies

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