Meghan Sobel

Chronicling a crisis: media framing of human trafficking in India, Thailand, and the USA

Despite the vast research on human trafficking, little is known about mass media coverage of the issue. This study, a quantitative content analysis of English-language news coverage of human trafficking in the USA, India, and Thailand, analyzes human trafficking coverage before and after the launch of a large-scale international anti-trafficking treaty to determine whether the treaty had an impact on the amount and framing of media coverage on the issue. Findings reveal that while coverage of the issue increased after the treaty, was more localized, and suggested causes and remedies more frequently, it also placed less blame for the problem occurring, focused primarily on crime and policy sides of human trafficking rather than human rights or public health, and lacked the voices of victims. How the news media, and in turn the public, deal with mediating such an issue is a significant and meaningful question, and this paper suggests that United Nations policy-makers need to take proactive steps in order for policy information to be more thoroughly disseminated via the news media.

Framing an Emerging Issue: How U.S. Print and Broadcast News Media Covered Sex Trafficking, 2008–2012

Sex trafficking has increasingly become a topic on the public and political agenda. This study revealed that coverage of sex trafficking in U.S. print and broadcast media from 2008–2012 was largely episodic, focused on crime and policy frames, privileged official sources, and neglected survivors’ voices. However, findings suggest a shift toward thematic framing as the issue became more widely understood by the public and policymakers.

Motivating news audiences: Shock them or provide them with solutions?

Despite the well-established power of the media to shape public perceptions of social problems, compassion fatigue is believed to remain prevalent. So what does it take for someone to be compelled to act after reading a story or seeing an image of a prominent issue? This study, a 3-by-2 between subjects experiment, examined the effects of two journalistic techniques — shocking audiences into action with offensive stories or inspiring them to act with solution-based stories – in the context of sex trafficking. Results revealed that neither shock nor solutions stories led to increased empathy for trafficked individuals, greater understanding of the issue, increased desire to share the story or increased desire to act, but that readers of solutions stories felt more positive and were more likely to read similar stories about the issue. This suggests that solution-focused news stories might be at least somewhat more engaging than shocking and offensive stories.

Reconstructing Rwanda: How Rwandan reporters use constructive journalism to promote peace

In 1994 Rwanda, some journalists used their power for evil when government-run media houses perpetrated genocide through what scholars termed “hate media.” Since then, however, Rwanda’s media landscape has changed dramatically and the country has seen tremendous social and economic progress. Building on the tenets of social responsibility and framing theories and on literature regarding journalistic role functions, this study utilized qualitative interviews with Rwandan journalists to discover how they view their roles today and whether they have contributed to the reconstruction and recovery of the country by practicing constructive journalism. In keeping with the social responsibility theory of the press, constructive journalism calls for the news media to be an active participant in enhancing societal well-being. Results revealed that while journalists in Rwanda aim to fulfill traditional roles like informing and educating the public, they value a unique role to promote unity and reconciliation. They carry out this role by regularly practicing constructive journalism techniques, such as solutions journalism and restorative narrative, which involve reporting on stories that foster hope, healing, and resilience, and they strongly believe that this style of reporting has contributed to the country’s post-genocide reconstruction.

Confronting sex trafficking: Gender depictions in newspaper coverage from the Former Soviet Republics and the Baltic states

The Former Soviet Republics and the Baltic states are a primary source destination for sex traffickers. Drawing on framing theory and the gendered mediation thesis, this study uses a quantitative content analysis and a qualitative textual analysis to analyse how four English-language newspapers in the Former Soviet Republics and the Baltic states report on the issue of sex trafficking over a period of 11 years. Findings suggest that there is little coverage of sex trafficking in English-language newspapers in the region, existing coverage lacks a clear definition regarding what sex trafficking is and the issue appears to only be deemed newsworthy when tied to policy changes. This article argues that given the severity of the issue, it is important that it is brought to the public and policy makers’ attention. News media have the ability to serve that function, but are not currently doing so.

Female genital cutting in the news media: A content analysis

Mass media play an important role in explaining the issue of female genital cutting and can influence discourse among the general public as well as policy makers. Understanding how news media present female genital cutting has strong implications for the global status of women. This study, a quantitative content analysis, analyzed how 15 years of newspaper coverage surrounding the launch of the Millennium Development Goals framed female genital cutting in four countries with varying prevalence levels of female genital cutting: the United States, Ghana, The Gambia, and Kenya. The study found female genital cutting is consistently portrayed as a problematic and thematic topic, largely tied to cultural rituals. However, coverage is minimal and inconsistent over time, and does not appear to be impacted by the increase in international initiatives aimed at combatting the practice.

Sex Trafficking as a News Story: Evolving Structure and Reporting Strategies

ABSTRACT This quantitative content analysis uses sex trafficking as a case study to understand how news reporting techniques evolve as a social problem emerges on the public agenda. Results indicate that as news organizations became more experienced in covering trafficking and the public made more aware of trafficking as a social issue, journalists moved from routines that favored official perspectives and frames that concentrated on individuals, to the sociocultural level, in which knowledgeable sources attempted to explain why trafficking occurs, and to an institutional level, in which strategies for intervention were proposed and debated. In this way, the newsworthiness of trafficking is sustained.

The State of Journalism and Press Freedom in Postgenocide Rwanda

News media played a prominent role in perpetuating the 1994 Rwandan genocide. Since then, Rwanda has undergone impressive social and economic growth, but the media landscape during this redevelopment remains understudied. Qualitative interviews with Rwandan journalists reveal that reporters censor themselves to promote peace and reunification. Short-term, prioritizing social good over media rights might help unify the country, but ultimately it could limit development and reinforce existing authoritarian power structures. Findings suggest that McQuail’s development media theory and Hachten’s developmental concept maintain relevance but point to the need for a new or revised media development paradigm.

News Borrowing Revisited: A 50-Year Perspective:

Analyzing 50 years’ of New York Times international news coverage (N = 20,765), this study extends research on the “shrinking international news hole,” levels of press freedom, agent (e.g., Times correspondent), and “borrowed” news—information gleaned from local media, including social media. Data show a recent, growing role for social media and an increase in news borrowing, while foreign coverage declined; slight resurgence in foreign coverage during the last quarter-century; reduced wire copy use but increased correspondent news borrowing; and increased coverage of but decreased news borrowing in news from non-free nations. Borrowing from social media was greatest in non-free nations.

Newspapers use unnamed sources less often in high-stakes coverage

This analysis of unnamed sources in newspaper coverage of the attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya, finds unnamed sources to be most common just after the attack and in its immediate aftermath. While unnamed sources were prevalent, they were less common than in studies of routine news coverage, suggesting journalists seeking transparency in reporting are less willing to grant source anonymity with high-stakes stories.