UNITED STATES
HYPOCRISY OR
TOLERANCE
The influence of state policy on media coverage on gay rights related to the Olympic Winter Games in Sochi
JUNE 23, 2014
BACHELORTHESIS ALGEMENE SOCIALE WETENSCHAPPEN CONFLICT STUDIES GROUP 1 Rik Salomé 6317898
Anne de Jong & Martijn Dekker Words: 17918
List of Abbreviations
AT&T: American Telephone & Telegraph IOC: International Olympic Committee) LGBT: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender NBC: National Broadcasting Company U.S.(A.): United States (of America) USOC: United States Olympic Committee
Abstract
In the run-up to the Sochi Olympics there has been a lot of international commotion regarding the Russian anti-gay propaganda law, generating a lot of media attention. This study looks at two regional American newspapers, one from a state with conservative conceptions regarding gay rights illustrated by its gay legislation and one with a liberal perspective, and strives to explore to what extent there is a difference in coverage on gay rights, related to the Sochi Olympics.The two states included in this research, based on the theory of Lax & Philips (2009), are Utah (conservative) and Massachusetts (liberal). The results show that both newspapers localize international news but there is a clear difference in news coverage on gay rights related to the Sochi Olympics between the newspapers. The difference in coverage is caused by their stage of development regarding gay legislation. In Utah the gay rights discussion is heating up while in Massachusetts gay rights have been the status quo for some time. This results in the Salt Lake Tribune (Utah) being more prone to frame events as illustrative of American tolerance towards the gay community. The Boston Globe and Herald uphold a critical discourse, arguing that in some states America’s legislation shows similarities to the Russian situation.
Table of Content Introduction p.1 Research Objectives p.4 Methodology p.5 Method p.7 Relevance p.8 Interdisciplinary p.9 Chapter Outline p.10 Theoretical Framework p.11
1. Dynamics of News Coverage p.13
2. Gay Rights and Public Opinion in the U.S. p.18 Results
3. Social Significance & Framing p.21
4. Personalization & Glocalization p.37
Conclusion p.42
Literature p.44
Introduction
A variety of people from different countries reached out to the media to share their thoughts about the Olympic Winter Games in Sochi on account of the much-discussed policy concerning gay and lesbian people. Actor Stephen Fry spoke out last summer, he argued that countries should not give Russian president Putin the ‘’approval of the modest world’’ (Fry, 2013). To show their disapproval of the current situation regarding gay rights in Russia, many voices, gay and heterosexual, posed for a boycott of the Olympic Winter Games in Sochi. “I adore the opening ceremonies but how can I watch when Russia is so hateful to the gays? I boycott all things Russian” said Mickey Boardman, the editorial director of Paper Magazine and openly gay man (Boardman, 2014).German president Joachim Gauck announced he would not make the trip to Sochi because of Russia’s controversial anti-gay policy (Nieuwsuur, 2013: 0:20). Short after, President Obama announced that the delegation of the United States of America would not include the president, first lady or vice-president because his schedule would not allow it. Instead, the U.S.A. sent with former professional tennis player and advocate of gay rights Billie Jean King, figure-skater Brian Boitano en ice hockey player Caitlin Cahow a full gay delegation to Sochi (NOS, 2014). The statement said ‘President Obama is extremely proud of our U.S.A. athletes and looks forward to cheering them on from Washington. He knows they will showcase to the world the best of America’s diversity, determination and teamwork’ (Whitehouse, 2013). Later in an interview with NBC’s Bob Costas Obama said he chose not to attend the Winter Olympics, in part because he didn’t want to distract from the competition (Epstein, 2014).
In addition President Obama said that openly gay athletes who are part of the U.S.A. Olympic team make it clear that the U.S.A. does not discriminate and base their selection completely on merit (Epstein, 2014). He added that this attitude is “certainly consistent with American values and we want to make sure the people understand that” (Obama, 2014). In his turn, Putin claimed that their policy regarding gay people in Russia is in line with their values. International news media condemned the Russian gay policy as a violation of human rights, where Russian news media broadcast stressed that being gay is not a crime in Russia, but that ‘propaganda of non-traditional relationships to minors’ is a crime (Russia Today, 2013a). In addition to this Putin said: ‘’we have our own traditions and our own culture. We treat with respect all of our partners and we anticipate that our traditions and culture are respected’’ (Putin, 2014). Implying that homosexuality does not fit the Russian traditions and culture. This disjunction in
attitudes about this matter shows in news reports. Where the U.S.A Guardian (2014a) opens an article with the title ‘Russia’s anti-gay law is wrong’, Russia Today (2013b) reports about the same law with ‘Putin signs 'gay propaganda' ban and law criminalizing insult of religious feelings’. Where the Russian article states that the Russian gay law is mainly there to protect children and the Russian traditions, culture and religion, the U.S. article claims that the Russian gay law is morally wrong and triggers homophobic violence (Russia Today, 2013b; Bennetts, 2014). This moral conflict brings up a delicate question because the U.S.A., as a country, has not fully embraced all facets of gay rights, while President Obama states that embracing gay rights is fully in line with American values (Obama, 2014). This is questionable, as in seventeen American states same-sex marriage is legal, but in thirty-three states it is still considered illegal to marry someone of the same sex by law (Washington Post, 2014). So although President Obama portrays a positive media image of the U.S.A. in the American media, this is not supported by some of their state policies. Law professors at Yale University Ian Ayres and William Eskridge (2014) wrote an article in The Washington post called ‘The U.S. hypocrisy over Russia’s anti-gay laws’ claiming that some U.S.A. state laws are similar to the Russian legislature and offer the same justification. It seems that the U.S.A. is internally divided on this topic, but their national news broadcasts send a united message. Therefore I want to focus on the news content on a local level to see if there are differences between states with different legislature regarding gay rights. To study this I pose the following main research question:
To what extend are there differences in media coverage concerning gay rights in Russia related to Sochi, between an American state wherein gay rights are fully recognized and a state where this is not the case?
To answer this question the following sub questions are constructed:
1. Which differences can be distinguished concerning news selection between both
newspapers?
2. What is the role of framing in the news coverage about events concerning the Sochi
Olympics, related to gay rights?
3. How is personalization of news used in both newspapers?
4. What is the influence of the glocalization of news on the media content of the two
newspapers?
To compare differences in media coverage, first the basic dynamics of news in its earliest stage have to be addressed, namely news selection. This is what the first sub-question deals with. After news is selected, news is constructed. News content can differ highly between different news media, how this is manifested in media coverage is covered by the second sub-question. The third sub-question addresses the differences between media coverage, herein localism is an important factor. But there are also different focuses when looking at media coverage. Not only the processes involving the construction of media content are important, but also the extent of media coverage is a key factor when comparing different news media. The American pro-gay protest which Obama claims is in line with American values, is not backed up by certain American state policies. This incongruence between on the one hand Obama’s words, saying that homosexuals are part of American culture, and on the other a majority of the state policies that do not embrace gay rights is what got my attention. The question that followed was if these differences in state law influence the media coverage regarding the violation of human rights of homosexuals in Russia, related to Sochi. That is why I want to look at the articles from two regional American newspapers, concerning gay rights in Russia related to Sochi. The two newspapers were chosen according to extremes. One newspaper is based in a state where gay rights are almost fully embraced by state law. And the other, from a state where there is still a radical anti-gay attitude which is reflected in state policy. By comparing the media coverage of these two newspapers I strive to derive an effect from the regional legal environment, on the amount and sort of media attention regarding gay rights in Russia. I want to achieve this by doing a qualitative content analysis on two newspapers. To include the long term effects of the Olympic Winter Games on the media content I want to analyze all the articles regarding gay rights in Russia related to Sochi from the first of January until the first of April.
Research Objectives
With this paper I aim to explore an under highlighted domain linking media coverage and state laws concerning gay rights. I strive to find a difference within news media coverage by two local American newspapers, one newspaper situated in a pro-gay rights state and the other a conservative, leaning to anti-gay attitude, state. My expectations are that state policy influences media coverage, and that this expresses itself in the newspaper targeting a more liberal audience, having more news coverage about gay rights in Russia related to Sochi and employs a more involving discourse comparing the situation of gays and lesbians in Russia to the local environment as the events in Russia go against the dominant beliefs which are also embodied in state laws. The newspaper situated in the conservative state will pay less attention to the subject of gay rights in Russia and will have a different discourse, which is less empathetic because it deviates less from the local values compared to the more liberal orientated newspaper. On a more broad level, this research tries to expose a correlation between the localization of international news and state policy. Next, the methodology part will explain how I strive to achieve these goals.
Methodology
This thesis presents a case study on the effect of local policy on media coverage concerning gay rights related to Sochi. Simons (2009) describes a case study as ‘’an in-depth exploration from multiple perspectives of the complexity and uniqueness of a particular project, policy, institution, program or system in a “real life” context’’ (Simons, 2009: 21). The case study of media coverage on gay rights has all these characteristics, it is a unique and complex event, which has to be explored through an interdisciplinary theoretical framework to get to the core of the issue. To answer the main question of this thesis I need to critically analyze the discourse used in both newspapers. To thoroughly analyze the discourse used in both newspapers, a qualitative approach is chosen because for a more open/adjustable working method. Because the medium is a newspaper, the analysis will be done in the form of a qualitative content analysis. I think this is the best choice because through this research strategy I can shine a critical light on both newspapers, extract the themes expressed through specific wording used in both discourses so I can analyze their similarities and differences. Furthermore I can study the results and compare them to the state policies to see if the discourse used in the paper correlates with state policy. This is the final step in answering my main research question, with which I want to address the relation between state law and local media content. The newspapers have been selected through the opinion estimates on gay policy constructed by Lax & Philips (2009). Lax & Philips (2009) gathered data from the Human Rights Campaign, which came from the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, and constructed opinion estimates on gay rights per state on eight different policy sections. State Policy is coded as of June 2009 and the policy sections are: Adoption, Hate Crimes, Health, Housing, Jobs, Marriage, Sodomy and Civil Unions. These concepts are estimated through survey questions. The survey questions are categorized to measure each concept individually and are roughly depicted in appendix 1.1. On the basis of the data gathered by Lax & Philips (2009), a mean opinion is calculated which estimates the average opinion on these concepts, all including a certain facet of gay rights (Appendix 1.2). In addition they also calculated a mean opinion for all opinions on the eight policies per state. I will use these means to select the two states, one with the most pro-gay policy attitude and one with the most negative attitude towards gay policy, of which I will pick the regional newspaper with the biggest daily circulation to conduct my research. I expect that the biggest regional newspaper will account for the majority of the state citizens and will therefore be the best
reflection of public opinion on a state level, though I am aware that not all citizens will be
represented through this selection process. The lowest
calculated mean of state opinion on gay rights is thirty-eight, which belongs to the state Utah. Utah scores the lowest on ‘second parent adoption’ (22), ‘hate crimes’ (55), ‘health benefits’, ‘housing’ (57), ‘jobs’ (40) and civil unions (31). This indicates an all over low acceptance of pro-gay rights state legislation in Utah. The highest mean of state opinion on gay rights given by Lax & Philips (2009) is sixty-eight, which illustrates the mean opinion of the citizens of Massachusetts on the eight policies. Massachusetts scores the highest on ‘second parent adoption’ (57), ‘hate crimes’ (81), ‘housing’ (82) (ties with New York, Rhode Island and Maryland), ‘jobs’ (70) (ties with Connecticut, New Jersey, New York and Rhode Island), ‘marriage’ (57), ‘sodomy’ (61) and ‘civil unions’ (69). These scores designate that the citizens of Massachusetts have the most pro-gay rights attitude of all the American states. On the basis of these scores I choose the state Utah as the state with the most negative attitude towards gay policy and Massachusetts as the state with the most pro-gay legislation attitude. I am aware that through this process I don’t include some of the state characteristics for example the number of citizens or the political significance on a national level but as I am purely interested in the local news coverage these state characteristics can be neglected.
Now that the states are selected I still have to select the newspapers. The newspapers I am interested in are daily newspapers as they have more space to report different events so they can be relatively less selective in choosing which articles they want to publish. This decreases the chance that certain events regarding gay rights in relation to the Olympic Winter Games in Sochi are left out of the newspaper purely because of the limited space in the newspaper. Because of practical reasons, only newspapers which are also available online are included in the selection process. I am aware that through this selection process some newspapers are left out and that this can create a bias. According to the data gathered by the Audit Bureau of Circulations (2011) The Salt Lake Tribune is the biggest daily newspaper in the state of Utah with a daily circulation of 113,032. The Boston
Globe is the largest daily newspaper of Massachusetts with a daily circulation of 219,214
(Audit Bureau of Circulations, 2011). On the basis of these numbers, I had selected these newspapers to include in my research. But because I was not able to get enough articles from the Boston Globe, I was forced to also include articles from the second largest newspaper in Massachusetts, The Boston Herald with a daily circulation of 123,811.
Method
I have chosen to do a qualitative discourse analysis. This method allows me to be critical and selective in the articles I choose to analyze, and the selection process alone can already tell me something about the direction of the research. This would not have been possible when doing a quantitative study, because then I would have had to pick random articles for my sample. Choosing that method, I would have already discarded key information about the articles that are selected by the newspapers themselves. With the qualitative discourse analysis, I can select by event, if something is covered by a newspaper or not, and pay attention to the amount of articles there are. Regarding the amount of articles, my search terms will be ‘Sochi’/’Olympics’ and ‘Gay’. I am searching for both ‘Sochi’ and ‘Olympics’ as the geographical location is sometimes not rendered as important to some audiences, so in that case the event will be related to the ‘Olympics’ and not to ‘Sochi’ in particular. Both refer to the same event, so to include as many articles in the selection process as possible both search terms will be used in the research. In addition, I have chosen to search for ‘Gay’ instead of ‘Gay Rights’, which is the term used in the main question, because it also says something about the article/newspaper if there is a harmful event wherein gay people are identified as such but no reference to gay rights is made. To go into the research as blank as possible this
approach is chosen. The newspapers I have selected are the
Salt Lake Tribune and the Boston Globe. In both newspapers every form of newspaper content is included (articles, columns, opinion pieces and letters) to give a complete overview of the media coverage on the subject and to include every voice that can express any form of public opinion in newspapers. The Salt Lake Tribune has a free database, the Boston Globe has a paid archive. The search on the site of the Salt Lake Tribune gave 614 results when using ‘Sochi’ and seven-hundred-sixteen results when using ‘Olympics’ for the 1st of January 2014 till the 1st of April 2014. The same search on the Boston Globe site gave twenty-three results when using ‘Olympics’ and eighteen results using ‘Sochi’. The number of relevant articles by the Boston Globe is too small. To create a balance between the conservative state (Utah) and the liberal state (Massachusetts) I included articles from another newspaper, The Boston Herald. This is the second largest circulating newspaper in Massachusetts (Audit Bureau of Circulation, 2011). I have selected nineteen articles from the Salt Lake Tribune and
15 articles from the Boston Globe and Boston Herald together. Next I will discuss the relevance of this study.
Relevance
The Olympic Winter Games in Sochi have given gay rights in Russia a top spot on the international political agenda. Question marks have been raised to their state policy and how the international political actors have dealt with this issue in the past. There has been many political and scholarly interest in the coming out of gay and lesbian athletes and their participation in the Olympic Games. Most of the scholarly interest focuses on the establishment of the gay identity in the world of sports and the complex dynamics that influence deviant identity formation. But what I am interested in is what influences media coverage concerning these issues. I expect that if Russian policy correlates with values of audiences of news media, this influences media coverage of the Olympic events involving gay and lesbian people because news media content is adapted to the demand of the audience (Chomsky & Barclay, 2010). My expectations is that these cultural values, also embraced by the concept of public opinion, are embodied in state policy as it is generally constructed through democratic processes. ‘What makes this a particularly attractive test case is the potential not only for value framing within the public debate over the issue but also for conflict over the meaning of values in that debate’ (Brewer, 2003: 174). Therefore I am interested to see if states that have not included basic gay rights in their policy, report differently on Olympic events involving gay rights. This touches an area that has not received a lot of attention in current research, therefore my research will provide an interesting perspective on the relation between law and media coverage regarding gay rights. It can give insight in the dynamics of news coverage they experience on a daily basis. In a more general view, this research can also add to the knowledge on media presentation of conflict and its relation to legal policy. The next part will explain the interdisciplinary character of the research.
Interdisciplinary
The study will show that the concepts of media coverage, state laws and gay rights are interdisciplinary, as they are overarching concepts. The concept of framing introduces the discipline of communication sciences and psychology. Framing can also be discussed in a sociological perspective as frames can create a social reality to which their audiences react. The concept of framing also touches the political domain as media frames are used by the political elite to manipulate events in their interest. Furthermore the concept of glocalization in relation to media content links different scientific fields. Glocalazation originates from international relations studies and is used in this paper as a tool to explain the local influences on news media. The studies of communication and international relations are integrated to fit the news media angle that this study requires. But in addition to the internal, there are also external influences on media content and the process of media coverage. The influence of state law on media coverage strengthens the link between the local and the global character of the media and connects the concepts of framing, public opinion to a local discourse.
Chapter Outline
First I will provide a theoretical framework that will serve as the foundation of my thesis. The framework provides theoretical guidance that will structure my data and give me the tools to analyze the results. The theoretical framework will introduce the concepts of framing, news values, gay rights in the U.S. and public opinion, state policy & gay rights. I will then use these concepts to analyze the selected articles. The results will be discussed according to the formulated sub-questions which combined, will answer my main question in the conclusion. The conclusion will also consist of a discussion on the research process, wherein I will critically reflect on my own thesis. In addition the conclusion will include recommendations for future research as I expect that my study will generate new questions.
Theoretical Framework
The case of Sochi illustrates an internationally covered issue which concerns highly value orientated content. All international news coverage on this issue transfers a certain message, positive or negative. This is quite contradictory as the journalistic norms is to be objective. Norms are regulatory rules but the journalistic norm is more than a rule, it is the desired mode of practice (Rupar, 2006). But this norm can no longer be maintained as the new media ecology forces journalists to make drastic changes to their way of gathering and reporting the news (Deuze, 2006). The uncertainty, flux and unpredictability of modern time demands that journalism adapts itself to these developments, introducing what Deuze (2006) calls ‘liquid journalism’. This new form of journalism is defined by the uncertainty of modernity, resulting in a bewildering of the ‘classic’ top-down approach. In this new structure, peer-driven collaborative journalism will exist alongside the classic approach which promotes a continuing mix of ‘onesize-fits-all’ content made for largely invisible mass audiences next to and enriched by forms of transmedia storytelling, fusing sender and receiver into one actor (Deuze, 2006). Therefore journalistic objectivity in news coverage is an undesirable concept as there is no such thing as an objective observer (Shoemaker & Reece, 1991: 15). All of our perceptions are interpretations of reality and transfer, conscious or unconsciously, certain values. This is not necessarily a bad thing as long as we are aware of this bias. These values integrated in media communication take on a central position in the case of Sochi.
To analyze news media content, first it is necessary to get insight in how selection of certain aspects of a message is, consciously or unconsciously, used to transfer a certain message to the recipient. This introduces the concept of ‘framing’. The concept will clarify what dynamics are involved in transferring news content. News content itself is another important concept, because before a news message is transferred news is first bound to a selection process but what factors influence this selection mechanism? The concept of news values addresses which factors are influential in selecting news stories. I will
bring forth the importance of proximity regarding news content, because this concept forms the bridge for linking news coverage to state policy as state policy forms the foundation of regional norms and values. I therefore argue that state policy can be an important influential factor in selecting and framing news. To specify these concepts more to the case, state policy regarding gay rights have to be discussed and finally the framing of gay rights in news media has to be looked into to distinguish specific characteristics of framing of gay rights in media.
With this theoretical framework I strive to explore the relation between state policies on gay rights, expressed through public opinion, and media coverage concerning this topic. Studies have shown that there is correlation between public opinion and media content. And that there is a relation between public opinion and state policy. Therefore I want to connect these three concepts and see if state policy is reflected in local media coverage.
1. Dynamics of News Coverage
Erving Goffman looks at the structures that govern day-to-day situations. He states that these structures ‘’are schemata of interpretation that enable individuals to locate, perceive, identify and label events within their social boundaries and of the world at large’’ (Ritzer, 2011: 380). Goffman (1974) claims that people try to make sense out of events through these structures which he calls ‘frames’. These frames are unconsciously adopted in daily life through communicative processes. Frames determine if people value certain events, they organize experience and steer action on an individual and collective level (Snow, 1989: 464). According to Goffman (1974) frames are tools of organization that define our experiences. ‘’Without frames, our world would be a cluttered amalgamation of unrelated events and facts’’ (Ritzer, 2011: 380).
Goffman (1974) is not so much interested in separate individual interaction, but in the eternal structure and ideology of interaction which depends highly on culture. This cultural resonance, implies that a frame recalls a schema on the basis of which the receiver fills in the other reasoning devices that are not explicitly incorporated in the message. ‘These reasoning devices are tied in shared cultural phenomena’ (van Gorp, 2007: 65). The potency of frames to influence the public lies in the fact that they are closely linked with familiar cultural frames (van Gorp, 2007: 75).Each culture has core ideas that serve as a toolkit when interpreting various events. Through this cultural framework its members can attribute meaning to various events and issues with which they are confronted (Swindler, 1986). This is not only done by receivers of communication, when authors frame a message they connect their communicated message to a topic to notions that are part of this cultural ‘common ground’, such as values, archetypes and shared narratives (Van Gorp & Vercruysse, 2012). The transfer of such a cultural frame can be illustrated through the quote by Obama stated in
the introduction. Referring to the American athletes competing in the Winter Olympics, Obama said the athletes would represent ’America’s diversity, determination and teamwork’ (Obama, 2013). Knowing that there are open gay athletes competing in the U.S.A. Olympic team, Obama presents gay athletes as a symbol of American values, implying that American values embrace gay ideals. This can be seen as a communicated cultural frame to connect the American culture to a pro-gay attitude.
But since these cultural frames are clustered, they shouldn’t be encountered as individual elements but as frame packages. ‘Packages fluctuate in prominence and are constantly revised and updated to accommodate new events’ (Gamson & Modigliani, 1989: 2). A package has an internal structure. At its core is a central organizing idea, or frame, for making sense of relevant events, suggesting what is at issue (Gamson & Modigliani, 1989: 3). A frame package allows a range of positions, rather than any single one, allowing for a degree of controversy among those who share a common frame (core). These frame packages are displayed through condensing symbols that suggest the core frame and positions in shorthand. This allows a frame package to be illustrated as a whole with a ‘’deft metaphor, catchphrase, or other symbolic device’’ (Gamson & Modigliani, 1989: 3). These frame packages can thus be used to identify bigger themes in texts. This allows an interpretative schema to be deployed for a critical discourse analysis. This is why this theory is critical for the research. Although one can claim that frames have an eternal character, it is also the case that the relation between actors and frames have interpretative and constructionist features (Swatos, 2007). Actors decide which frames are being uphold in a given situation and frames themselves may be transformed by actors if the need arises (Ritzer, 2011: 381). Frames are not static and can thus change over time and appear in different forms. This happens when dominant frames are successfully contested, resulting in an alteration of the dominant frame or replacement by different frames.
According to David Snow (2007) frames have three interpretative functions. First, they focus attention to our environment by highlighting the important features, also called in-frame, and irrelevant aspects called out-frame characteristics. Second, frames act as articulation mechanisms by linking the highlighted elements, so that a ‘story’ is told about them that conveys a certain set of meanings. Third, frames have a transformative function through reconstitution of the way some things are seen in relation to other things. Acknowledging the transformative character of framing, one also agrees that when looking at framing effects, one should not just look at immediate effects ‘as framing effects at some given point in time can be diminished or reversed at a later point in
time’ (Matthes & Schemer, 2012: 319). Matthes & Schemer (2012) call this the diachronic nature of framing. The diachronic nature of framing has to be acknowledged because a reversed frame can imply a of change cultural values as frames are connected to the cultural environment of the audience (Van Gorp & Vercruysse, 2012). Because framing takes on a prominent role in communication, it is closely linked to news media. Most of the newsworthy events, a concept that is discussed later, are not experienced by society directly so they depend on the ‘reality’ the news provides them with. Within national states, news media form a crucial link between citizens and the political sphere (Grundmann, 2000). Media framing goes beyond making some aspects of an issue more salient than others, it goes into how people should think about these issues (Craft & Wanta, 2004). This transfer of values captivated within a message can be distinguished in immediate effects of message processing and effects that reveal themselves later on. Price & Tewksbury (1997) call these applicability – and accessibility effects. These messages are incorporated in the frames transmitted by news media. Cappella and Jamieson (1997: 39–40) define news frames as ‘’those rhetorical and stylistic choices, reliably identified in news, that alter the interpretations of the topics treated and are a consistent part of the news environment.’’ Through these news frames, news media construct a ‘social reality’ for their audiences (McQuail, 2005). This construction of social reality is what makes struggles over media control an inevitable part of modern conflict. Control over media communication is an important factor in keeping social control because it allows social groups , like (local) governments, to spread their own perspectives and ‘truths’ of reality (Curtis, 2000: 4) . These ‘truths’ are inherently exposed to manipulation if the events and people involved are relocated into news, as news uses frames to convey their message (Shoemaker & Reece, 1996: 34). In this context the media often used to emphasize certain cultural values. This so-called value framing can be a powerful tool in shaping public opinion, because the internal values determine what lies at the heart of the issue and how it can be resolved (Ball Rokeach & Roeach, 1987). Value framing is an important concept because the acceptance or dismissal of gay rights is closely linked to cultural values (Erikson
et al., 1993). This
research thus upholds that communication is given perspective through framing and that news media uses framing to construct social realities for their audiences, the paper will further elaborate on the concept of news values. What makes an issue newsworthy?
American media have taken on a leadership role in Western news media, the American conceptions of newsworthiness dominate Western media values (Shoemaker et al., 1991: 2). The theoretical basis of the newsworthiness can be broken down into three general theoretical dimensions. The deviance dimension is composed of novelty/oddity/unusual, prominence, sensationalism and conflict or controversy. ’The social significance dimension consists of importance/impact/consequence and interest, both of which are often positively correlated with deviance (Shoemaker et al., 1991: 3).’ The last dimension consists of contingent conditions including timeliness and proximity. This model predicts that events of high deviance and high social significance should receive the most prominent coverage (Shoemaker et al., 1991: 3). Events that show both low deviance and high social significance or of high deviance and low social significance should be given moderate attention. The least covered events should be of low deviance and low social significance, and should only be covered if they are timely and/or proximate to the media organization's headquarters. Events of low deviance and low social significance that are neither timely nor proximate should not be covered at all (Shoemaker et al., 1991: 4). Direct U.S involvement in an event would make it more newsworthy to U.S. journalists, since the U.S. government's participation in an event reveals U.S. vested interests in the event (Shoemaker et al., 1991: 4).
In line with the findings of Shoemaker et al., Grundmann et al. (2000) found that the proximity of an event is both important for news selection and news coverage. Proximity in this case, has an extra symbolic dimension meaning that proximity can also manifest itself as cultural similarities. Grundmann et al. (2000) have shown that a higher level of cultural proximity leads to more news coverage. But news coverage is not necessarily linked to cultural proximity, according to Song & Chang (2013) if the host country of an event does not show cultural similarities, international news is placed within a local cultural frame. This process of domestication of international news ‘is often the norm, not the exception’ (Song & Chang, 2013: 2). This prominence of a local framework in a globalizing world introduces the term ‘glocalization’. Ritzer (2004) defines glocalization as ‘the interpenetration of the global and local resulting in unique outcomes in different geographic areas’ (Ritzer, 2004:77). This phenomenon is further explored by Song & Chang (2013) who argue that both the selection and presentation of news are bound to a national prism. They state that it is crucial that international news is molded to local cultural conceptions. According to Wu (2000) most newspapers tend to illustrate a worldview that is similar the vision of their nation regarding global events. Therefore the world’s news coverage is dominantly shaped by national interest and ‘configured according to national boundaries’ (Song & Chang, 2013: 4). But this
prominence of national interest can also be downsized to the local level. ‘News must reflect local ideation if they are to make sense to the host society or they risk being considered immoral, irrational, or irrelevant and therefore discarded’ (Biggart and Beamish 2003, p. 448; Biggart and Guille´n, 1999: 726). News remains materially identical but the symbolic, discursive and rhetoric content is transformed to fit ‘the beliefs, norms, laws, and values that characterize the host society’ (Gond & Boxenbaum, 2013: 2). This emphasis on the local value narrative in news links the concepts of value framing and glocalization.
To add another dimension to this local discourse Nossek (2004) claims that journalists first define an event as ‘theirs’ or ‘ours’ when looking at an issue, and that this is critical for how the audience looks a news item. When an event is defined as ‘ours’ the objectivity declines and the use of local discourse rises. If an event is labeled as ‘theirs’ the professional frame dominates. Which frame prevails depends on the newsworthiness of the event. The influential factors Nossek (2004) names overlap with the three dimensions of Shoemaker et al. (1991). This confirms the prevalence of the proximity factor in reporting international news. In addition to the three dimensions of newsworthiness described by Shoemaker et al. (1991), there are three primary interests concerning news values that add to the newsworthiness of an event: conflict, human interest and consequence (Price et al., 1997). News media tend to cover events involving crisis or conflict more often (Shoemaker et al., 1991: 2). ‘Conflict is one of the most significant and reliable contributors to readers interest’(Price et al., 1997: 4). Especially the United States is focused on individualism, materialism and conflict-orientated content (Supadhiloke, 2012: 3).
The second dimension relates to the preference of journalists to prefer the human interest angle. News often focuses on characters instead of institutions that greatly affect society (Prince et al., 1997). Personalizing news is what makes a good journalist, one who can evoke sympathy by making news about the individuals affected by the event instead of the event itself. Audiences are thus naturally interested in hearing about other individuals (Prince et al., 1997). The third core news value is consequence. Graber (1993) stresses the importance of the impact of an event on the audience. Proximity is an essential feature when looking at the consequence dimension as there is greater interest in local events independent of the impact an event has outside the local community. Gamson (1992) argues that ‘’news producers often feel they must make issues and events relevant to their audiences, as a result they localize stories by relating the issues to concerns held by ordinary people’’ (Gamson, 1992: 163).
These three dimensions have to be kept in mind when looking at media content as
media employs these concepts during news selection. The internal dynamics of the media landscape regarding news selection are discussed, but there are also external dynamics that influence media content. First a brief overview of the historical background of gay rights in the U.S. is given and after that gay rights will be linked to public opinion as a representative of state policy.
2. Gay Rights and Public Opinion in the U.S.
In the past lesbians and gays received little media attention, and if they did they were seen as ‘’a risk to national security’’ (Chomsky & Barclay, 2010: 3). As a result, their interests were excluded from the public agenda and the media ignored compelling stories involving lesbians and gays (Chomsky & Barclay, 2010: 3). According to Alwood (1996) the news media’s norms and values contributed to anti-gay coverage. A dominant value frame in this anti-gay debate was that gay rights went against the traditional American moral values (Brewer, 2003). Eventually there was a boost in media coverage from 1960 to 1995 (Chomsky & Barclay, 2005). ‘’The increased attention identified lesbian and gay issues as important to ordinary citizens and might have compelled government officials to act on them (Chomsy & Barclay, 2010: 3).’’ However it is unclear what fueled the dramatic change. Gross (2001) argued that the increased media attention reflected growth of gay and lesbian support in public opinion. ‘’Newspapers across the nation from diverse regions and with distinct audiences have become broadly supportive of lesbian and gay rights and same-sex marriage in recent years. (Chomsky & Barclay, 2010: 8).’’ This supposed relation between media attention and public opinion is the area of interest. Further on in this thesis I will explain how this relates to the main research question.
But before this is being discussed, it should be made clear what the discussion on gay rights entails. According to Brewer (2002) ‘gays and lesbians constitute a politically powerful minority group whose goal is to attain full social acceptance of homosexuality by using the legal system to reinforce their own view of morality’ (Brewer,
2002: 6). Walters (2001) argues that since the ‘90s, representations of gay people in the media emphasized the similarities between gay people and heterosexuals. In this view familiarity between gays and heterosexuals translates into tolerance and equality (Brewer, 2007: 3). But although gay rights are continuously more accepted in the U.S., there is still a lot of variation within the U.S. regarding gay rights. Lax & Philips (2009) argue that ‘the rights of gay and lesbians as part of the so-called ‘culture wars’, lie at the heart of recent political conflict in the United States’ (Lax & Philips, 2009: 1). These culture wars depicted a clash between the culturally orthodox and progressive (Hunter, 1991). Especially at the local level, battles over gay rights have been fought intensively (Hunter, 1991). This variety between state policies is what lies at the heart of this research. In the next part the theoretical framework regarding the relation between public opinion, state policy and gay rights will be discussed to explain this variety.
While innovation of state policy is a widespread followed process leading to a high level of homogeneity between state policies, the differences that do exist are often important. These differences reflect differences in policy preferences of state citizens (Erikson et al., 1993). Policy preferences of citizens are captured by the concept of ‘public opinion’. State public opinion is measured as ideological identification and, in a broad sense, refers to ideological preferences which can be divided into liberals and conservatives (Erikson et al., 1993). This is a simplified depiction of the ideological division of society, but it is a helpful tool to explore the concept of public opinion. To measure this ideological preference, policy variables can be selected which in this case shall be policy regarding gay rights. Public opinion on gay rights can thus serve as a representative for this specific state policy.
Public opinion is a strong variable in determining ideological tilt of state policies in the U.S., according to Erikson et al. (1993) ‘state opinion is virtually the only cause of the net ideological tendency of policy in the states’ (Erikson et al., 1993: 81). The relation between public opinion and state laws is mainly formed through what Lax & Philips (2009) call ‘electoral connection’. The desire for reelection forms an incentive for the elected officials to do what the public wants and thus act on public opinion (Lax & Philips, 2009: 3). The public especially expects to get what they want if it concerns a morality issue such as gay rights, ‘because they invoke general notions of right and wrong, can be framed in noncomplex ways, and have been at the heart of recent political debate’ (Lax & Philips, 2009: 4). And because state policy structures are in compliance with general attitudes, delivering more liberal
policies to more liberal states and more conservative policies to more conservative states, there is a clear link between state policy and public opinion (Erikson et al., 1993: 95).
Public opinion is hard to influence, it may be fixed or reliable on structural factors like social backgrounds. If public opinion is shaped by personal backgrounds, people may only focus to media messages that correspond with their existing values. The public can therefore counter media messages or interpret them within a glocalized perspective, resulting into a transformation of a message to local beliefs (Neuman et al., 1992). Media does have influence through media messages, as stated before if people do not experience something directly they are dependent on news media and the media may have the capacity to change people’s opinion. But ‘policy preferences may be more difficult to move, particularly when they represent basic values’ (Chomsky & Barclay, 2010: 1).
In addition the media have audiences to please so they may adjust their own content to conform to the public opinion. ‘As a result, the media may take centrist stances to avoid alienating any part of their potential audiences or may adopt the viewpoints of their audience’ (Chomsky & Barclay, 2010: 1). Both cases illustrate the point being made, namely that the media responds to the existing public opinion rather than shape it. But this does not mean media is not an influential actor regarding public opinion. Walter Lippmann (1929) pointed out that the media creates a ‘pseudo environment’ that is different from reality. He warned that people may be more likely to respond to the pseudo world than to the real one. So the media does influence public opinion, but only if one’s own background is insufficient to deal with public policy choices (Chomsky & Barclay, 2010: 2). If someone’s insecure about their preference, media has a significant influence on policy choice (Page et al., 1987). The amount of attention given to a subject, may influence the importance the public attributes to it. The influence of public opinion on state policy is especially strong with state policy concerning lesbian and gay rights (Erikson et al., 1993; Chomsky & Barclay, 2010). Regarding gay rights Brewer (2003) identified two values, equality and traditional morality, that are dominant within the public debate over gay rights. Equality serving as a pro-gay themed discourse and traditional morality as an anti-gay prism. These values can be linked to the simplified ideological preferences of news media audiences, being either liberal or conservative. Research has shown that both equality and traditional morality are important factors in American political culture and crucial topics of public opinion about gay rights (Brewer, 2003; McClosky & Zaller, 1984; Wilcox and
Wolpert, 2000). In this thesis I strive to identify frame packages
that symbolize these values, which are integrated in state policy and reflect state orientated
public opinion. As this theoretical framework has illustrated, news coverage is selected on basis of the news values identified by Shoemaker et al. (1991) and the content of news is shaped by frames that correspond with local norms. These local norms are reflected through public opinion which correlates closely with state policy. The case study will link specific local values to the discourse used in the local news media and see if there is a connection between these elements. Next I will discuss the results of the analysis, structured by the formulated sub-questions.
Results
3. Social Significance & Framing
Which differences can be distinguished concerning news selection between both newspapers?
According to the theory of Shoemaker et al. (1993) the newsworthiness of an event depends among other things on the so called social significance dimension which entails the ‘importance/impact/consequence and interest’ of news. This dimension of newsworthiness is supported by the data. Athlete Brian Boitano’s coming out was widely covered by the Salt Lake Tribune with a two page length article, which suggested a strong link between Boitano’s coming out and his selection to the U.S. delegation two days before, which already included two openly gay athletes Billie Jean King and Caitlin Cahow. According to the Salt Lake Tribune Boitano had always wanted ‘to keep his personal life private, but President Barack Obama's decision….was widely seen as a message to Russia about its treatment of gays and lesbians’ (Armour, 2014). The word ‘but’ is essential in this quote, it suggests that the decision of Obama to include open gay athletes in the U.S. delegation stimulated Boitano to shift his gay identity from the private to the public sphere. A subtle stimulation to the gay American population that it is ok to be (an) openly gay (athlete/) individual in America. A point explicitly made by the following quote by Boitano ‘first and foremost I am an American athlete and I am proud to live in a country that encourages diversity, openness and tolerance’
(Armour, 2014). The Boston Globe and the Boston Herald did not write
an entire article about Boitano’s coming out. Both newspapers only briefly mention him being part of the U.S. Olympic delegation as an openly gay man when reporting about the gay situation in Russia, but they report nothing about his recent coming out and it being stimulated by Obama’s ‘message’. The same goes for the coming out of former German international Thomas Hitzlsperger. His coming out as gay was covered with a whole article by the Salt Lake Tribune but The Boston Globe only dedicated two sentences to the situation. And where The Boston Globe reported it as an event on its own, the Salt Lake Tribune links Hitzlsperger’s coming out to the Winter Olympics. The article in the Salt Lake Tribune states that Hitzlsperger came out because he thinks ‘we need some critical voices to counter the campaigns by various governments against homosexuality’ (Fahey, 2014). A link that was never mentioned in the Boston Globe. The social impact of the coming out of Boitano, being an American athelete, and Hitzlsperger, as a big name in a worldwide popular sport, is quite big and is therefore reported. In comparison, just days before the Winter Olympics, Finnish Olympic Athlete Ari-Pekka Liukkonen came out with a similar message as Boitano and Hitzlsperger but this was not reported in any of the American newspapers included in this study (Peeples, 2014). The fact that he is a less significant name in his sport could have been at the heart of the coverage of Boitano and Hitzlsperger and the disregard towards Liukkonen’s coming out. Social significance as a news value thus seems to be an important indicator for news coverage. The coverage of these coming outs of Olympic athletes by the Salt Lake Tribune and not by the Boston Globe or Herald could be explained by the article ‘How Gay Rights has become a Foreign Policy Issue’. This article argues that the fight over gay rights is moving from the U.S. to the world stage. According to the article the fight over gay rights on a national scale is cooling down and it is emerging as a foreign policy issue. The article mentions that gay marriage is legal in an increasing number of states, gays and lesbians can now serve openly in the military, and a bill to protect gay workers is widely popular with the public. All these facets of gay rights have already been part of the Massachusetts state law since 1989. In Utah the ban on same-sex marriage was ruled unconstitutional since the twentieth of December last year and the fight for the protection of gay workers in private and public employment is currently heating up (McCoy, 2007). Herein it is clear that the deviance and the social significance are closely correlated as Shoemaker et al (1993) stated in their theory. The coverage of the development of gay rights as a foreign policy issue is rendered as important by their audience (social significance) because of the novelty of the gay rights situation from a regional perspective (deviance). Namely the Salt Lake Tribune acknowledges that Americans are far from politically settled on
the issue of gay rights, but they state that the ‘once-hot fight among social conservatives has cooled’ (Phillips, 2014). This is illustrated by a recent veto by Republican Governor Jan Brewer Arizona of an anti-gay bill. The anti-gay bill would have given business owners who ‘sincerely held’ religious beliefs the legal right to deny someone service if that would conflict with their religious beliefs (The Guardian, 2014b). It was passed by the right wing legislature but vetoed by Governor Brewer as the bill ‘does not address a specific and present concern related to religious liberty in Arizona and could result in unintended and negative consequences’ (Brewer, 2014). According to the article by Phillips (2004) the veto symbolizes the cooling down of the fight among social conservatives on gay rights, as Republicans were traditionally unified in their voice against gay issues as same-sex marriage and the Employment Non-discrimination Act (Phillips, 2014). This veto implies that a significant part of the Republicans are settling for a more pro-gay legislature, as prominent Republicans also argued for a veto including Arizona senators John McCain and Jeff Flake and former presidential candidate Mitt Romney (The Guardian, 2014b). The deviance dimension will be further explored later on.
Another important news value by Shoemaker et al. (1993) that influences the news coverage on the shift of gay rights as a foreign policy, is the proximity of an event to the host country or culture of the host country. The veto of Arizona Governor Brewer is used to illustrate the positive development regarding gay rights in the U.S. It frames America as an emerging international gay rights advocate, which is in line with the content of the article ‘how gay rights has become a foreign policy issue’. The Salt Lake Tribune used an example from a neighboring state to back up the claim that the discussion on gay policy is shifting from the domestic to the foreign policy domain. The Salt Lake Tribune used a proximate event to illustrate the positive development of gay rights in the U.S, which confirms that it is becoming more of a foreign policy issue than a national issue. For the Boston based newspapers this might not be a socially significant or deviant development as the acceptance of gay rights have been the status quo there for some time which can explain the disregard towards the topic.
An event that is socially significant for the Boston Globe is the Boston marathon bombings. With this example Abraham (2014) addresses the indifferent character of terrorism. A terrorist
attack that happened close to their homes and hit the audience of the Boston Globe directly. In the Salt Lake Tribune the threat of terrorism experienced in Sochi is treated as something isolated to Russia and maybe even as something that Russia has called upon themselves when they host the Olympics just a ‘few hundred miles west of a region where Islamic insurgents carry out bombings and other attacks almost daily?’ (Berry, 2014). This difference in the frame that is transferred can be the result of a difference in social impact of terrorism within the regions. The Boston Globe recognizes that the threat of terrorism is indifferent to borders because the Boston region has experienced this themselves. This supports the theoretical link between the concepts of proximity and consequence. Proximity closely correlates with the consequence an event has on the audience. In addition one could argue that the difference in framing is motivated by the chance that acknowledging terrorism is indifferent to borders would denigrate the criticism of the Salt Lake Tribune on the organization of the Sochi Olympics, equalizing Russia and America regarding this matter.
Another news value identified by Shoemaker et al. (1993) and previously briefly discussed is the deviance dimension, which is composed of novelty/oddity/unusual, prominence, sensationalism and conflict or controversy. There are certain topics that are covered in both the Salt Lake Tribune as in the Boston Globe and Herald because of their deviance to the American culture as a whole. Where in the previously discussed topics a distinction had to be made at a state level between Utah and Boston, now America can be addressed as a whole. The coverage on Putin linking homosexuality to pedophiles, stating that homosexuals can feel at ease in Russia as long as they ‘leave the kids alone’, was a thorn in the eye of American citizens (Putin, 2014). The fact that the link between pedophilia and homosexuality differs from the American norms and values explains the coverage of the event in the regional newspapers. Although the link between homosexuality and pedophilia deviates from the public opinion of the audience of both the Boston-based newspapers and the Salt Lake Tribune, there is a difference in the message the newspapers send. The coverage of the actual event is the same but the message within the article differs. The Salt Lake Tribune reports that the assurance that ‘one can feel calm and at ease, as long as they leave the kids alone’ was not the assurance ‘sought by the United States and other Western governments and human rights activists’ when an Olympic volunteer asked Putin about Russia’s attitude towards gays (Putin, 2014; Lally, 2014). This sentence is phrased as if there is a political unity consisting of the United States, Western Governments and human rights activists regarding this matter, while
the United States are internally still not united on the gay rights issue. Keeping this in mind it seems faulty to claim that there is a politically united Western front regarding this issue. According to the Salt Lake Tribune ‘the law has provoked deep concern in the United States and other Western countries, where it is seen as an infringement on human rights’. Again underlining the cooperation between the United States and Western countries, but also at the same time transferring a frame that these practices are not deemed deviant by non-Western countries. Therefore framing non-Western countries as non-supportive for the gay cause. The Boston Globe and Herald do not mention both frames.
The difference between the newspapers regarding the framing of the events that compare the American situation to the Russian, is consistent. For example the Salt Lake Tribune claims that as a result of the law teachers ignore the subject, isolating gay teenagers (Lally, 2014). Which is remarkable because an editorial posted in the Boston Globe criticizes American education, pointing out that Alabama requires that sex educational classes teach "homosexuality is not a lifestyle acceptable to the general public." (Keane, 2014). The neglecting attitude towards the local American situation, which in some cases shows similarities to the Russian situation, is not only isolated to this particular case but can be found in the articles throughout. The fact that the Boston Herald/Globe stay away from such claims as posted in the Salt Lake Tribune, could indicate that they uphold a
more objective perspective. The coverage of both newspapers on
Putin’s remark linking homosexuality and pedophilia support this statement. The Boston-based article reports on the event but stays away from making additional claims, where the Salt Lake Tribune connects Putin’s remark about gays and pedophilia to more general comments about the anti-gay propaganda legislation in Russia. For example the Salt Lake Tribune claims that ‘some homophobes have interpreted the law as encouragement to beat up on gays‘ (Lally, 2014). This claim is ungrounded as there is additional information that backs up the link between the law and violence against gays. The Boston Herald reports on the same issue but distances itself from the claim by using a quote by Olympic delegate Billy Jean King who says that she is ‘worried about the LGBT community for their safety. Basically, it's OK to hate now and you can get away with it’ (King, 2014). Although the law is linked to the declining safety of gay people, it is not explicitly linked to violence. Furthermore by using a quote, the newspaper does not report the issue as a fact, but merely as a statement from King. A small but essential difference between the two newspapers. An overarching topic that includes the deviance news value is the reports on violations of the Russian gay propaganda law. The fact that people are fined and can do prison time for gay ‘propaganda’ is a
controversial situation and therefore covered by the media. In both the Salt Lake City and Boston based newspapers cases of the implementation of the gay propaganda law are covered and wherein the offenders are framed as defenders of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender (LGBT) rights and the absurdity of what is seen as ‘propaganda’ is highlighted. The absurdity of the situation is mainly stressed by using stories of people who were fined for violating the law. For example the story of a fourteen year old schoolgirl in the Boston Herald, who held a one-person picket to protest the gay propaganda law and was reported by an anti-gay activist. As a result she was disciplined by a government-run commission which ordered her to make weekly visits and advised her to go see a psychiatrist (Mills, 2014). While under ‘normal’ circumstances she could not be legally accountable as she has not reached the legal age of sixteen yet (Mills, 2014). The word ‘normal’ underlines the absurdity of the situation and maybe even the illegitimacy of it. This frame is then strengthened by using a quote of an anti-gay legislation enforcer who says ‘If we don't do it (enforce the law), things will be bad for this country’, underlining the skewed vision anti-gay activists have. The Salt Lake Tribune covers the story of a Russian newspaper editor who was fined for interviewing a gay school teacher who was fired after he came out.
Another topic that is covered similarly in all newspapers because of its deviancy is the Olympic coverage of the NBC which is highly criticized because of their rose-colored coverage of the Sochi Olympics. According to the Salt Lake Tribune the NBC will not show much about ‘Russia’s anti-gay laws’, ‘if you want in-depth reporting about Russia, you'll have to look elsewhere’ (Pierce, 2014). The Boston Herald criticizes the NBC for not showing the United States Olympic Committee delegation at the closing ceremony while they sat a section below Putin. ‘The opening ceremony delegation, featuring openly gay former Olympians Brian Boitano and Cahow, also weren't shown by the network that paid $775 million for the rights to the games’ (Murphy, 2014). While focusing on another event the overall tendency of the articles are the same, NBC’s coverage is biased. While the Boston Herald does not go deeper into this, the Salt Lake Tribune states that ‘NBC’s in business with Russia’ and therefore can not report anything about the Russian anti-gay laws. Although the Boston Herald does not state this as clearly, it could be argued that they also identify this as the source of the bias derived from the comment on the economic share the NBC contributes to the Games.
The deviance and social significance dimension identified by Shoemaker et al. (1991) prove to be consistent indicators for news selection for the news media, although the content of the
coverage differs between the news media. Therefore the use of framing throughout the news coverage will be analyzed next.
What is the role of framing in the news coverage about events concerning the Sochi Olympics, related to gay rights?
The results of the first sub-question have shown that the concepts of framing and news values are intertwined as news values determine which events are covered and thus which news values are prominent during news selection by the different newspapers. This already indicates what kind of perspective a newspaper upholds. As can be derived from the results discussed in the first part, there is a difference in the coverage of the Salt Lake Tribune and the Boston-based newspapers. Not only which events are covered (news value) but also how they are framed. The difference in framing between the newspapers perspective could origin from the fact that Salt Lake City hosted the event in 2002, therefore the people living in Utah have a bias. This is especially clear when it comes to articles about the organizational structure of the Games. A column that was published in the Salt Lake Tribune wherein the political interests of Russia in hosting the Winter Games are criticized. The Salt Lake Tribune opens with: ‘the Olympic Games, a washing powder for autocrats everywhere’
(Leicester, 2014). Stating that if your government violates human rights, like the rights of the gay community, they are an ideal candidate to host the games. While this negative depiction of Russia’s gay attitude may be in line with America’s current foreign policy as depicted by the Salt Lake Tribune, the column never refers to America’s legislation at the time of the Salt Lake City Olympics. Namely during the 2002 Olympic Games in Salt Lake City gay sex was still forbidden by law. To compare, same-sex sexual activities were decriminalized in Russia in 1993 (Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, 2000). This repression of human rights is not mentioned in the article, which is a bit striking as the lack of a critical public voice towards Russia is criticized but the author, John Leicester (2014), fails to critically reflect on America’s situation regarding gays during the Salt Lake City Olympics while America’s situation back then shows similarities with Russia’s current gay-policy. The fact that there is no comparison between America and Russia concerning their gay legislation at the time of the Olympics might be motivated by the frame that America is currently trying to establish a reputation as an international pro-gay rights advocate, as posted in the Salt Lake Tribune. Stating that America was in a similar position regarding gay rights during their Winter Olympics could have a negative impact on the course they have set as a gay rights advocate.
This frame of a tolerant America and anti-gay and corrupt Russia is not dominant in all Salt Lake Tribune coverage. The article that discusses the Olympic aspirations of the citizens of Utah, transfers a different frame. The Salt Lake Tribune states that 82 percent of the Utahns want to host another Olympics but can the Olympics possibly be worth the trouble with the ‘cost, corruption and the threat of terrorism’ (Piper, 2014)? Claiming that the Utahns ‘do believe that hosting a games is just an incredibly serious endeavor’ Gochnour (2014). With this phrasing it puts cost, corruption and terrorism in a victimized frame, like it is an inescapable consequence of hosting the Olympics. While in the other articles these negative aspects involved in hosting the Olympics were isolated to the dictatorial regimes, it is now framed as something that is inherent to hosting the Olympics. The article even makes a comparison between the Russian’s and the Utahns who ‘endured’ the same doubts about the Olympics being beneficial for the state (Piper, 2014). The word ‘endured’ reaffirms the ‘victim’ frame of the Olympic host. This is an example of the diachronic nature of framing. The negative frame of corruption and terrorism being isolated to the Sochi Olympics is reversed to utilize it as a positive frame to illustrate the dedication of the Utahns to host another Olympics. As Van Gorp & Vercruysse (2012) argued, the reversed frame implies a of change cultural values that is connected to the cultural environment of the audience. Which is in this case strategically used to support the wish of
the Utahns to host another Olympics. The article continues arguing that a strong majority of the Utahns feel that hosting the Olympics was worth the trouble and that they feel they are still seeing the positive impact of the Games. The article steers towards bidding again for the Olympics in 2026. Piper states that ‘the Utah Olympic Exploratory Committee recommended that Salt Lake City bid for the 2026 Winter Games, as hosting another Olympics would result in an economic jolt’ (Piper, 2014). While Berry (2014) claims Utah should host the Olympics for economic reasons, the Salt Lake Tribune criticizes Russia for their motive to host the Winter Olympics claiming Putin uses the Olympics to ‘demonstrate Russia’s economic might’, framing it as an international status issue. Opinions vary on whether the Sochi Olympics will have a positive impact on the Russian economy, possibly justifying it being the most expensive games ever (Hudson & Summers, 2014; Bender, 2014). Unfortunately it is still too early to tell, but the incentive for Russia to host the Olympics can possibly the same as for the Utahns, a long term investment in the national economy, but there is a big difference in how both motives are portrayed in the Salt Lake Tribune. It is arguable that this difference is motivated by national interest.
Where the Salt Lake Tribune focusses on the economic advantages of hosting the Olympics, based on previous experience, the Boston Globe states that ‘any bid that would make economic sense would never win’ (Matheson, 2014). Although the Boston Globe also gives a voice to the pro-Games side that sees the Games as an opportunity to establish long term economic growth on a state level, it is framed as a ‘noble motive’ but a too risky undertaking contrary to the Utah Olympic Exploratory Committee, which sees it as a chance for economic growth (Abraham, 2014). This perspective could be strongly influenced by the 2002 Winter Olympics that had a positive impact on the regional economy (Berry, 2014). The Boston-based newspapers do not have any experience with hosting the Games and therefore have a different perspective on hosting the Olympics, which could be defined as more objective but can also be seen as a more short-term vision depending on which perspective is uphold.
Another example that illustrates the influence of the Salt Lake City Olympics are the articles in The Salt Lake Tribune about International Olympic Committee. The Salt Lake Tribune is more critical towards the IOC than the Boston Globe and Herald. The Salt Lake Tribune accuses the IOC of enabling the use of the Olympic Games for ‘politicians to score points’ to get them on the international radar (Leicester, 2014). As an example the Salt Lake Tribune states that the IOC ‘rewarded’ the regime of South Korean dictator Chun Doo-hwan with the
