Framing Deadly Domestic Violence: Why the Media's Spin Matters in Newspaper Coverage of Femicide

• NCJ Number: 245922
• Journal: Violence Against Women Volume: 19 Issue: 2 Dated: February 2013 Pages: 222-245
• Author(s): Lane K. Gillespie; Tara N. Richards; Eugena M. Givens; M. D. Smith
• Date Published: February 2013
• Length: 24 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

The news media play a substantial role in shaping society's perceptions of social issues, including domestic violence.

Abstract

The news media play a substantial role in shaping society's perceptions of social issues, including domestic violence. However, minimal research has been conducted to examine whether news media frame stories of femicide within the context of domestic violence. Using frame analysis, the present research compares newspaper articles representing 113 cases of femicide that define the murder as domestic violence to a random sample of 113 cases without coverage defining the femicide as domestic violence. Findings indicate that both groups are represented by multiple frames, including a previously unidentified frame that places the femicide in the context of domestic violence as a social problem. Abstract published by arrangement with Sage.