Bachelor of Science of Journalism (BSJ), Ohio University, 2022, Journalism

This article investigates the news coverage of the Stanford, California 2015 rape case People v. Turner. Pulling from five national and two local daily newspapers, I conducted a qualitative thematic analysis of 96 news articles. I examine three questions: (1) How did journalists frame news articles in relation to the rape victim? (2) How did journalists frame news articles in relation to the rapist? (3) How often do rape myths and stereotypes appear in news articles about the case? My analysis reveals that the news coverage of People v. Turner frequently mentioned the victim's alcohol use when discussing consent and mentioned the perpetrator's alcohol use when excuses were made for his actions. There was indirect and direct coverage of the excuses made for the perpetrator's behavior, in addition to frequent mentions of his white privilege and status as a star student and athlete. Finally, the analysis demonstrated that rape myths concerning alcohol use, consent, and the rapist image were presented, endorsed, and rejected in the news coverage of the case. These findings shed light on how victims and perpetrators are framed by news media, and the findings also provide insight into how rape myths are used by news media in sexual assault coverage.

Committee: Holly Ningard (Advisor) Subjects: Journalism; Sociology