Ana C. Garner

Mothers of Soldiers in Wartime: A National News Narrative

National news media represent mothers of US combat soldiers in the Iraq War as archetypal good mothers, that is, mothers who continue their maternal work even after their children are deployed. However, not all mothers are depicted as the archetypal patriotic mother, i.e., a good mother who is also stoic and silent about the war and her childs role in it. Mothers of soldiers are portrayed as good mothers who sometimes also voice their attitudes about the war effort. The maternal attitudes ranged from complete support for the war to opposition to the war but support for the soldiers. The findings suggest a picture of wartime motherhood that is more nuanced than the historical image of the patriotic mother suggests.

Reconstructing reality: interpreting the aeroplane disaster news story

At 9 a.m. on 31 August 1988, Delta Flight 1141 crashed on take‐off, killing 13 people and leaving 94 survivors. Existing research has furthered our insight into media coverage of disasters but it has not broadened our understanding of disaster narrative interpretations and disaster behaviour education. In total, 24 in‐depth interviews explore reader interpretations of print‐mediated disaster reality and the Delta 1141 disaster. Disaster news stories provide the frames people use to interpret aeroplane disaster behaviour. Concludes the media need to recognize that their pedagogical role extends beyond disaster reporting and includes disaster behaviour information.

The wreck of Amtrak's Sunset Limited : News coverage of a mass transport disaster

Using the 1993 crash of Amtraks Sunset Limited in Mobile, Alabama, this study examines the safety education provided by seven newspapers. A total of 117 news stories were analysed for five primary themes: overall story category, passenger safety theme, train personnel safety theme, train safety theme and rescue safety. Sixty-three per cent were found to contain at least one safety theme paragraph within the larger story. A total of 631 paragraphs were identified as safety theme paragraphs, 32 per cent of which were passenger safety themes, 8 per cent were train personnel safety, 31 per cent were train safety and 29 per cent were rescue safety themes. As in previous research, safety themes rarely appeared alone; more often than not, a story contained a mixture of all themes. Some safety themes appeared more frequently than others, but overall, the safety themes present a complete view of the safety issues surrounding the crash. Safety themes are embedded within a story framework which reflects the three stages of disaster news work. Images of normalcy tragically disrupted by the crash abound as do images of passengers escaping and aiding others. Disaster relief personnel and aviation officials are shown working to restore order and solve the mystery of the crash. Within this framework we can learn what to expect when a train crashes and what we might have to do in a similar situation.

Negotiating Our Positions in Culture: Popular Adolescent Fiction and the Self-constructions of Women

This study examines the influence of adolescent fiction on the identity constructions of 84 adult women. Based on their reading autobiographies, the study argues that childhood reading did more than gratify needs for entertainment; it provided women with alternative targets for identification when they experienced division within their environment. By looking for strong, smart, sassy, independent heroines the women were seeking agency and practicing resistance as they negotiated their positions within their families and the larger culture.

THE WORLD WAR II PATRIOTIC MOTHER

The archetypal good mother and the archetypal patriotic mother are important symbols in American culture. Both are rooted in maternal work but are separated by two conflicting assumptions. The good mother nurtures her children and protects them from harm, while the patriotic wartime mother remains silent when the government sends her child directly into harms way. This study explores how the World War II press positioned mothers of soldiers to sacrifice their children in support of the nations war effort. The findings point to the importance of understanding the role of archetypes in news narratives.

Mother as Mother and Mother as Citizen: Mothers of Combat Soldiers on National Network News

This study examines national television news images of mothers of US combat soldiers during the first seven years of the Iraq War. News stories presented mothers as archetypal good mothers engaged in maternal work long after their children’s deployment. Some mothers were depicted as vocal vis-à-vis their position on the Iraq War, a contrast to the historical depiction of the archetypal patriotic mother who is stoic and silent. The resulting image is more complex, suggesting the boundaries of the archetype may be changing.

Mobilizing Mother From Good Mother to Patriotic Mother in World War I

The American press played a key role in the Wilson administration’s effort to craft an image of the Patriotic Mother of the Great War. The Patriotic Mother of a soldier was encouraged to assume the mantle of the Spartan Mother. This monograph contrasts the Spartan Mother archetype used by the government and the press to another wartime maternal archetype, that of Thetis, the mother of Achilles, who objected to her son’s participation in the Trojan War. U.S. mothers of soldiers were socially and politically positioned to assume the role outlined by the Wilson administration and advocated by the news media.

The Never-ending Struggle: US Press Coverage of Contraception 2000–2013

In 1873, the Comstock Act labeled contraceptive information and materials obscene and banned their distribution. The issue divided the United States then, and it divides the nation today. This essay examines 2000–2013 press coverage of contraception in the New York Times and the Los Angeles Times, two newspapers that have covered contraception since 1873. Press coverage reveals that contemporary efforts to regulate women’s bodies are cloaked in discussions about the Affordable Care Act, religious freedom, morality, and employer rights. Accepting the ideology that contraception is no longer a reproductive rights issue allowed the press to exclude women from the debate. In doing so, the power of political, social, and religious groups to control the contraception narrative and women’s lives is confirmed. The lived experience of women has evolved from 1873 when press coverage at least gave women a platform to speak about contraception. By 2013, this power appears to be lost.

Wicked or Warranted? US Press Coverage of Contraception 1873-1917

This study examines the New York Times and the Los Angeles Times press coverage of contraception during one key period: 1873–1917. The first 30 years after the passage of the Comstock Act in 1873 were difficult for contraception advocates. The New York Times narrative reflected a battle between those who supported the Comstock Act and the men and women who opposed it. Conversely, the Los Angeles Times narrative portrayed the birth control debate as a wide-ranging battle of ideas occurring in a variety of venues. Press coverage revealed that the use of birth control was common and the real debate was over who had access and whether the information should be publicly available. The battle that began in 1873 is not over as contemporary press coverage reveals the debate over birth control continues.

The Birth Control Divide: U. S. Press Coverage of Contraception, 1873-2013

For more than 140 years, religious, medical, legislative, and legal institutions have contested the issue of contraception. In this conversation, predominantly male voices have attached reproductive rights to tangential moral and political matters, revealing an ongoing, systematic attempt to regulate human bodies, especially those of women. This analysis of 1873-2013 press coverage of contraception in the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, and the Chicago Tribune shows a division between institutional ideology and real-life experience; women’s reproductive rights are negotiable. Although journalists often reported that contraception was a factor in the everyday life of women and men, press accounts also showed religious, medical, legislative, and legal institutions debating whether it should be. Contraception originally was predominately viewed as a practice of prostitutes (despite evidence to the contrary) but became a part of everyday life. The battle has slowly evolved into one about the Affordable Care Act, religious freedom, morality, and employer rights. What did not significantly change over the 140-year period are larger cultural and ideological structures; these continue to be dominated by men, who retain power over women’s bodies.