Reflections and Reinforcements of Public Apathy: Newspaper Coverage and Framing of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two-Spirit People In Canada
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Authors
Corbett, Elisha
Date
2024-10-03
Type
thesis
Language
eng
Keyword
missing and murdered Indigenous women girls and Two-Spirit people , Canadian news media , Gender-based violence , Indigneous Peoples
Alternative Title
Abstract
This dissertation discusses the alarming number of missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls, and Two-Spirit people in Canada. The primary focus of this dissertation is to identify and explain patterns in both the quantity of and framing in newspaper stories on this issue. It argues that the amount of newspaper coverage this issue receives and how it is discussed in the public domain has important consequences in attributing the responsibility for the causes of and solutions to this violence.
Utilizing 50,154 news articles in 310 online and print national, local, daily, and broadsheet English-language newspapers from 1960-2023, spanning across all regions in Canada, I conduct an extensive qualitative and quantitative media analysis. The objective of this analysis was twofold: 1) assess newspaper coverage over time and across regions to determine if patterns in the coverage change with the political and social environment; 2) analyze the differences in coverage among victims of violence to understand which individuals are considered to be newsworthy and why.
This project finds that Indigenous women, girls, and Two-Spirit people are largely absent in news stories, both in terms of how much coverage they receive and in the substance of these stories. In addition, the amount of coverage they receive and how they are framed broadly remains static over time and across regions. Although there are substantial differences in the quantity of coverage they receive depending on their age and if they are missing or murdered, most of the coverage frames this issue in the context of murder trials, police investigations, and the perpetrators of violence.
Using these data, I argue that newspaper coverage of this issue reflects and reinforces public apathy towards missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls, and Two-Spirit people, in turn legitimizing inadequate public and political responses to this issue. It is also emblematic of the deep entrenchment of racism and sexism in Canadian news media. The implications of this dissertation are clear: the absence of sustained news media coverage and current framing of this issue is not conducive for the necessary social and political change needed to redress this violence.
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Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
ProQuest PhD and Master's Theses International Dissemination Agreement
Intellectual Property Guidelines at Queen's University
Copying and Preserving Your Thesis
This publication is made available by the authority of the copyright owner solely for the purpose of private study and research and may not be copied or reproduced except as permitted by the copyright laws without written authority from the copyright owner.
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International