A MEDIA FRAMING ANALYSIS: THE COVERAGE OF RAPE IN INDIAN AND WESTERN NEWS SOURCES

Shauna N. Gillooly

Abstract


The media is an integral segment of public knowledge sources and can wield powerful influence, particularly in the dissemination of political and legislative information. The purpose of this study is to acknowledge the essential nature of the media, and to provide awareness that all media information contains subjective judgments, some of these judgments arising from media framing techniques, or the context and rationale provided by news sources that account for and help explain the purpose for the event that is being reported or commented upon. This investigation analyzes a selection of news sources from within India as well as correlating western sources (United Kingdom, United States) from December 2012 (starting with the original reporting of the New Delhi rape case) to February 2014, for the purpose of identifying the media framing techniques that were developed during and after the New Delhi case. This paper also asks how those techniques have contributed to progressive legislative reform in India; continued pressure that media has been placing on the Indian government in regard to violence against women; and political protections and reforms that have been deemed necessary.


Keywords


Framing; India; Media; Political reform; Rape; Violence

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Journal of South Asian Studies
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