Departmental Papers (ASC)

Document Type

Journal Article

Date of this Version

2013

Publication Source

Feminist Media Studies

Volume

13

Issue

1

Start Page

46

Last Page

63

DOI

10.1080/14680777.2011.647970

Abstract

This study examines mainstream television news coverage of the kidnapping and rape of Megan Williams in late 2007 and coverage of Williams’ recantation in 2009. The publicity of this case provides a unique opportunity to scrutinize the under-examined topics of news coverage of whiteon-black rape and white female perpetration. Feminist and critical media studies perspectives are called upon to provide an understanding of hegemonic discourses of gendered violence in media discourse. The intersection of race and class with such discourse is examined. Content and discourse analysis methods allow a critical examination of coverage of the Williams’ story on four of the most watched television news sources in America. Results reveal disturbing trends in the framing of white-on-black perpetration. Additionally, stark differences in ideological constructions of rape and race are found among the news outlets examined, suggesting that some news sources do more to reproduce raced and gendered discourses of privilege than others.

Copyright/Permission Statement

This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Feminist Media Studies on 2013, 13(1). available online: http://wwww.tandfonline.com/10.1080/14680777.2011.647970

Comments

Note:

At the time of this publication, Sarah Jackson was a Postdoctoral Teaching Fellow in the Department of Communication Studies at Northeastern University. Currently, she is a faculty member at the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania.

Keywords

racialized rape, intersectionality, framing, television news, content analysis, discourse analysis

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Date Posted: 19 July 2021

This document has been peer reviewed.