Graduation Year

2009

Document Type

Thesis

Degree

M.A.

Degree Granting Department

Anthropology

Major Professor

S. Elizabeth Bird, Ph.D.

Keywords

Anthropology, Audience, Farming, Journalism, News framing

Abstract

The purpose for this thesis was to explore a dynamic between the news media, their subjects, and their audience. I investigate whether everyday news media frame the information they deliver in such a way as to potentially direct the audience on how to respond to news stories. The setting for this research question is in the Tampa Bay area of Florida and the subject matter deals specifically with agriculture, its practitioners, how they do business, and how the local news media report about it. The issue will be explored from an applied anthropological perspective, basing conclusions on field research and an internship with the Department of Environmental Protection and their agricultural liaison. Several newspaper articles and television news broadcasts were monitored over several years and selected on a basis of their relevancy to the topic. The anthropological value of this study is in discovering how media disseminate this particular subject matter and how a deficiency in information flow could result. I explore a body of literature that is both diverse and germane to the field of media studies to gain a broad perspective on how different news events are mediated. Following the analysis, a qualitative assessment is given to further the understanding of how local news media frame reports related to the practice of agriculture.

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