Description
Book SynopsisNews discourse helps us understand society and how we respond to traumatic events. News Framing of School Shootings: Journalism and American Social Problems provides insights into how we come to understand broad societal issues like gun control, the influence of violent media on children, the role of parents, and the struggles of teenagers dealing with bullying. This book evaluates the news framing of eleven school shootings in the United States between 1996 and 2012, including the traumatic Columbine and Sandy Hook events. Michael McCluskey explores reasons behind news coverage patterns, including differences in medium, news audience political ideology, the influence of political actors and other sources, and the contextual elements of each shooting.
Trade ReviewThis book is an essential contribution to the study of news framing and frame building. Dr. McCluskey impeccably weaves in many complex concepts such as religion, guns, culture wars, journalistic norms, and news discourse in the United States to tell a compelling story with empirical data. A must-read for academics, journalists, and the public. -- Porismita Borah, Washington State University
Michael McCluskey is a former journalist with a solid handle on news media framing of school shootings. His multi-level analysis of each event illustrates how influential media were in propagating these tragedies and how black and white the coverage was, forcing readers to choose one side or another without reviewing the gray lines in the middle. -- Cory L. Armstrong, University of Alabama
Couched in key normative questions of the day—how the news media might be able to inform society, uphold best practices in covering trauma, and shape public policy—McCluskey’s broad-spectrum study offers a nuanced look at media frames of rampage school shootings. It not only assesses media coverage of the 5 Ws of school shootings, but also tackles deeper questions about the roots of these frames. The book illustrates how the larger narrative about school shootings is linked to news organizations and professional norms—and how journalism ultimately can shape society. -- Patricia Moy, University of Washington
Table of ContentsContents Acknowledgments Chapter 1: News, Society and Violence Chapter 2: News Framing, Frame Building and Problem Definitions Chapter 3: Influences on School Shooting News Frames Chapter 4: Guns and Value Framing Chapter 5: Popular Media, Moral Panics and Culture Wars Chapter 6: Religion, Coping and Blaming Chapter 7: Other Individual-Level Problem Definitions Chapter 8: Other Societal-Level Problem Definitions Chapter 9: Heroism Archetypes Chapter 10: Evaluation of News Discourse, Effects and Lessons References About the Author
