This study explores how newspapers portray domestic violence fatalities, how accurately they reflect the victim' experiences and the broader social problem of domestic violence, and the implications of the patterns of portrayal. Using quantitative content analysis and frame analysis, the authors examined 1998 coverage of domestic violence homicides by all newspapers in Washington State. Overall, the analyses indicate that coverage gave a distorted view of domestic violence and victims' experiences, often supporting common misconceptions about domestic violence. The coverage generally presented domestic violence in terms of isolated incidents, rather than portraying it as a larger social problem. A handful of articles did not fit this mold. These portrayed domestic violence as a social problem with the potential to affect every reader, indicating that domestic violence fatalities can be more accurately portrayed within the boundaries of current journalistic norms and practices and pointing to ways journalists can improve coverage.
A content analysis of Utah newspapers suggests that routine coverage of domestic violence fatalities and attempted homicides is built primarily on official sources.
Water is a salient issue in the Intermountain West of the United States (U.S.), with concerns ranging from water scarcity and drought to intermittent flooding and water quality risks. This paper investigates coverage of water issues across seven newspapers in the core of the U.S. Intermountain West region. Newspapers have the potential to set agendas and influence perceived salience of issues among consumers. The Intermountain West region shares common concerns about water supply and demand, climate change, and water quality. We investigate whether or not local daily newspaper coverage of water issues provides a more local or regional sensitivity. Findings from this exploratory study reveal differences in water coverage across local daily newspapers. The overall volume of water‐related articles differed across newspapers as did proportion of articles on specific water topics and connecting issues. Coverage of local issues was more dominant than might be expected given mass media trends, but water geography in articles extended across the U.S. and the world in every newspaper studied. Variations in newspaper coverage of water issues suggests more local nuance persists despite the experience of common water issues across the region.
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