Framing Death: The Use of Frames in Newspaper Coverage of and Press Releases about Death with Dignity

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dc.contributor.authorHolody, Kyle J.en
dc.contributor.committeechairWilliams, Andrew Paulen
dc.contributor.committeememberTedesco, John C.en
dc.contributor.committeememberStokes, Ashli Quesinberryen
dc.contributor.departmentCommunication Studiesen
dc.date.accessioned2014-03-14T20:38:22Zen
dc.date.adate2006-07-11en
dc.date.available2014-03-14T20:38:22Zen
dc.date.issued2006-05-09en
dc.date.rdate2006-07-11en
dc.date.sdate2006-05-23en
dc.description.abstractSince passing its Death with Dignity Act into law in 1997, Oregon remains the only state in America to make physician-assisted suicide an explicit legal right. Currently, the legality of physician-assisted suicide falls under the jurisdiction of each individual state. Had the United States Supreme Court ruled differently in a recent case, however, the issue would have transferred to federal jurisdiction. The Death with Dignity National Center (DDNC) takes responsibility for developing the original Death with Dignity Act and has since moved on to proposing similar legislation in other states. It also champions states' rights, fearing that placing physician-assisted suicide under federal jurisdiction would severely hinder its goals. The DDNC has led the legal movement for making physician-assisted suicide an end of life choice available in each state, as well as for keeping that decision at the state level. Utilizing a content analysis, this study coded for frames used by the DDNC in its press releases and frames used in newspaper coverage of death with dignity across the same period of time. It was found that press releases about and newspaper coverage of the death with dignity social movement shared significant correlations in terms of the frames each used, as well as the level of substance given to these frames. Few significant correlations were found, however, for frame valence. It seems as though discussion of this social movement utilizes the same substantive or ambiguous frames, but cannot decide whether these frames are positive, neutral, or negative.en
dc.description.degreeMaster of Artsen
dc.identifier.otheretd-05232006-120650en
dc.identifier.sourceurlhttp://scholar.lib.vt.edu/theses/available/etd-05232006-120650/en
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10919/33154en
dc.publisherVirginia Techen
dc.relation.haspartKyleJHolodyThesis.pdfen
dc.rightsIn Copyrighten
dc.rights.urihttp://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/en
dc.subjectFramesen
dc.subjectFramingen
dc.subjectSchiavoen
dc.subjectKevorkianen
dc.subjectDeath with Dignity National Centeren
dc.subjectEuthanasiaen
dc.subjectPhysician Assisted Suicideen
dc.subjectInfluenceen
dc.subjectSocial Movementsen
dc.subjectOregonen
dc.titleFraming Death: The Use of Frames in Newspaper Coverage of and Press Releases about Death with Dignityen
dc.typeThesisen
thesis.degree.disciplineCommunication Studiesen
thesis.degree.grantorVirginia Polytechnic Institute and State Universityen
thesis.degree.levelmastersen
thesis.degree.nameMaster of Artsen

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