Chronic pain: Sources framing of post-traumatic stress in The New York Times

Abstract

Post-traumatic stress (PTS) is a common reaction after witnessing a violent event, and individuals who have experienced trauma may relive the event, avoid people or situations that remind them of the trauma, or experience negative thoughts and hyperarousal. When symptoms persist, an individual may receive a medical diagnosis of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). While nearly eight million Americans, including combat veterans, have PTSD in a given year, few studies have explored how the condition is represented in the mass media. This content analysis examines sources’ characterization of PTSD in New York Times articles. Results show that news stories framed PTSD as a long-term problem, with little chance for recovery, a frame that could negatively affect public policy decisions.

Duty of Karius: Media Framing of Concussion Following the 2018 UEFA Champions League Final

“…Malcolm (2017, p.135) suggests that under-reporting of concussion is due to: “(a) perceptions that their condition is not serious enough; (b) reluctance to leave the game and/or let down teammates; or (c) disbelief that a concussion has occurred.” This is similar to the narrative in this research whereby some media outlets implied that the Karius’ concussion was feigned as an excuse for poor performance. Such framing is in contrast to that found in reporting of other public health issues such as PTS and mental health awareness where the media has been shown to present these sufferers as victims and in need of support (Barnett & Lee, 2019; Parrott et al, 2019).…”

“…This is similar to the narrative in this research whereby some media outlets implied that the Karius' concussion was feigned as an excuse for poor performance. Such framing is in contrast to that found in reporting of other public health issues such as PTS and mental health awareness where the media has been shown to present these sufferers as victims and in need of support (Barnett & Lee, 2019;Parrott et al, 2019).…”

“…The use of current and former players, along with medical staff involved with soccer clubs attempted to add credence to these stories and created a powerful argument that concussion was either not to blame for the player's errors or that he had not been concussed. As identified by Barnett and Lee (2019) such "official" sources add weight to media discourses. Nevertheless, these sources can be used in a negative manner (Van den Bulck, 2017), questioning the health concerns of celebrity figures-such as Karius.…”

“…Framing has been shown to be particularly persuasive with public health issues, with the media shown to influence perceptions of responsibility for solving policy problems (Jarlenski & Barry, 2013). The media framing of these issues often utilises medical doctors as sources for stories, as was found by Barnett and Lee (2019) in their examination of post-traumatic stress disorder, who considered these to be “official” sources. The “medicalization” of such social issues has been critiqued (Malcolm, 2018) as it can control the flow of debate around a topic and may lessen audience sensitivity towards it.…”