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Item Framing the COVID-19 vaccine in Nigeria : an analysis of Nigerian media : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the award of a degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Communication and Journalism at Massey University, Wellington Campus, New Zealand(Massey University, 2024-11-27) Sadiq, MohammedVaccine hesitancy is one stumbling block in managing the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak globally. Documented evidence shows vaccine hesitancy has existed for more than 100 years, with unnecessary mortality from vaccine-preventable diseases than otherwise might have happened. This is true in Nigeria; where the COVID-19 vaccination campaign suffered major setbacks, due to misinformation, fake news, and a lack of trust and suspicion of the vaccine’s safety. Against this background, the influence of news framing came to the forefront as soon as the COVID-19 vaccination campaign was rolled out in Nigeria and the health authorities began urging citizens to get vaccinated. The media framing of the COVID-19 vaccine has arguably contributed to the rising COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy and the 39% vaccination rate (as of March 2024). Stiff-anti-vaccination sentiment, building on prior assumptions among the lay publics, coalesced into hesitancy against the COVID-19 vaccination among many Nigerians. Therefore, this study seeks to examine how Nigerian media framed the COVID-19 vaccination rollout. Identifying the factors that shape/influence the media's framing of the COVID-19 vaccination discussion in Nigeria. Examine the reported barriers to the COVID-19 vaccination adoption in Nigeria. The study adopts mixed methods, content analysis and natural language processing using sentiment analysis to explore data from YouTube videos and Nigerian online newspapers. The research applies the theory of planned behaviour and framing theory as the theoretical foundations to understand how the media (YouTube and Online Newspapers) frame the COVID-19 vaccination campaign in Nigeria.Item Gender and ethnicity in politics : an intersectional approach to New Zealand and French media coverage : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Communication at Massey University, Wellington Campus, New Zealand(Massey University, 2021) Galy-Badenas, FloraMedia play an important role in reinforcing dominant ideologies and in shaping people’s opinions. Previous studies of media representations of women politicians, many conducted in the US, have illustrated how biased coverage may convey a negative image of these women politicians to an audience. This project contributes to the literature by examining discriminatory media discourses, with a special focus on the representations of minority women politicians outside of the North American context. It investigates the role media discourses play in reproducing and perpetuating hegemonic ideologies that sustain the oppression of and discrimination against some groups in the specific contexts of Aotearoa New Zealand and France. To this effect, this project analyses media representation of five high-profile women politicians: Jacinda Ardern, Rachida Dati, Najat Vallaud-Belkacem, Metiria Turei, and Paula Bennett. Grounded in social constructionism, this project draws on concepts of neoliberal-feminism, Othering, anti-Māori themes, and intersectionality. Methods used include reflexive thematic analysis, feminist critical discourse analysis (FCDA), and intersectionality to analyse data from mainstream news media in Aotearoa New Zealand and France. This project includes three empirical studies. The first one explores the reproduction of, and to some extent the challenging of, dominant ideologies about gender roles in pregnancy, parenthood, and work/family balance through coverage of Ardern’s pregnancy in both New Zealand and international media. The following two articles extend Article I by integrating the concept of intersectionality into the analysis to consider how the combination of various social identities contribute to the construction of varying discriminatory discourses in culturally diverse environments. Article II examines the Othering of Dati and Vallaud-Belkacem in French newspapers Le Monde and Le Figaro, arguing that the immigrant background of both ministers is frequently mentioned in their coverage, especially in reference to their missteps, which effectively render them illegitimate in their ministerial roles. The intersection of other social identities furthers the Othering process present in the coverage of these two minority women politicians. Finally, Article III explores the construction of Turei and Bennett in terms of anti-Māori themes in New Zealand media, demonstrating that both ministers are denigrated both as individuals and in their political roles, but on different grounds: Bennett’s alignment to the Establishment is reflected in the more gendered coverage she received; whereas Turei, who represents the anti-Establishment, is marginalised for her Māoriness along with her gender. Results of all three studies illuminate the complexity of discourses, especially when they involve various intersecting social identities, and the importance of taking into account the societal, political, and historical context in which media discourses are constructed. This research project contributes to the gendered and racialised mediation literature, and furthers the discussion on intersectionality.Item 'That fantasy that you can deal with everything yourself and move mountains', an examination of men's beliefs and media representations about mental health services : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Clinical Psychology at Massey University, Wellington, New Zealand(Massey University, 2021) Gallagher, Jake MarekYoung men tend to be less likely to seek help for mental distress due to barriers to help-seeking. Lack of knowledge and negative attitudes regarding services is one such barrier to help-seeking; however, little research examines what men who have not accessed services believe services involve. Likewise, there is little research assessing how services are presented in news media. This project comprised two studies designed to address these gaps in the literature. Both studies utilised inductive thematic analysis within a social constructionist epistemology to examine possible influences on men’s help-seeking. Study One aimed to develop an understanding of young men’s beliefs about mental health treatment when they have not utilised such services. Ten young men who had not accessed services participated in a semi-structured one-on-one interview. Participants expressed a preference to fix problems independently if possible, negative views of the possibility of relying on prescription medication, and they likened talk-therapy to informal social supports. They also acknowledged the limits of their understanding of services, stating that most of their beliefs were based on fictional depictions of services, and that in a consultation they would likely listen to their doctor’s advice. It was concluded that better public education regarding services and treatment may affect attitudes and behaviours towards services; however, the culturally embedded imperative to deal with problems independently also requires challenging. Study Two aimed to understand how services were presented in digital news media. A preliminary quantitative content analysis identified recent rates of mental health reporting on the news platforms Stuff and NZ Herald. Articles were taken from May and February 2019, the most recent peak and trough, respectively, of mental health related articles. Thematic analysis of these articles indicated that news media presented positive outcomes of mental illness through recovery. However, articles also stated that services were underfunded, and understaffed, that mental illness is a rising issue in New Zealand, and that government was not doing enough to improve services. Thus, although the news media gave the message that recovery is possible, it also framed services as struggling, which may have implications for intentions to help-seek.Item Killing innocents : an analysis of historical news reporting of multiple-child murders in New Zealand and the legislation that changed the crime reporting framework : a thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at Massey University, Wellington, New Zealand(Massey University, 2021) Tyler, FrancineThe murder of children – innocents who require nurture and love – is one of the most horrific and inexplicable of crimes, and has generated innumerable column inches of newspaper reportage. This research project addresses a gap in academic research by examining naming and framing practices in newspaper accounts of multiple-child murder cases in New Zealand during the 60-year-period from 1870 to 1930. It also examines the discussion around New Zealand’s suppression laws and their introduction and evolution in legislation and in common law; these laws changed the framework for how multiple-child murders could be reported in news reports. The research into the evolution of suppression laws, beginning at the turn of the twentieth century, is used to examine whether these legal changes altered the media landscape and the way multiple-child murders were reported. Drawing on a database of digitised historical New Zealand newspapers, and using both qualitative and quantitative research methods, this study examines how historical New Zealand journalists crafted stories of multiple-child murders, and illuminates whether some media practices observed in other Western nations, in both modern and Victorian times, are also evident in historical New Zealand news reporting. Earlier research has found that in cases of murder, one way that journalists seek to explain the actions of the accused persons is by broadly constructing frames for them using categories of ‘mad’, ‘bad’ or ‘sad’. An historical analysis of the evolution of New Zealand’s unique name suppression laws also illuminates a broader media context which affected whether and how media could name and create frames for those involved in the court process. The findings showed that newspapers at the end of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth century named the accused killers much more frequently than their victims, effectively raising the killers’ profile while diminishing the status of the dead children. In addition, the findings also suggest that while coverage of early New Zealand child murder cases broadly fits within classic theories of media framing of crime, in particular the use of ‘mad’, ‘bad’ or ‘sad’ categories to create frames for murderers, there are distinct limitations to expecting that modern explanatory models and taxonomies can or should apply. The examination of the evolution of New Zealand’s name suppression laws shows that the increasing judicial, media and public discourse around these laws had little impact on the naming patterns in the multiple-child murder cases examined. The research, however, illuminates a little-examined area of New Zealand’s media history and reveals that the restrictions on the information which may be published in crime and court news have been imposed gradually over more than 100 years and have eroded press freedoms in New Zealand. Analysis of the development of New Zealand’s suppression laws has illuminated some of the reasons that ‘newsroom practice’ in New Zealand developed in unique ways and demonstrates that, while certain journalistic challenges may be universal, individual media/cultural contexts may have highly distinct impacts on journalistic practice. This research project has contributed to a more thorough understanding of historical newspaper practices and suggests that these reporting practices were not monolithic. This research shines a light on reporting practices in New Zealand which, during the period analysed, evolved from a British colony to a nation with its own unique identity and, to a degree, the study addresses the limitations of British and North-American focused scholarship to date, providing a useful and needed extension of the literature on historical journalism.Item At loggerheads : an examination of afforestation as a climate change prevention tool and environmental policy : a 60-credit Journalism project presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Journalism at Massey University, New Zealand(Massey University, 2020) Schwanecke, GianinaThis project examines the impacts of afforestation as a policy tool for mitigating climate change. Additionally, it examines the New Zealand media coverage of the One Billion Trees programme, and how this is influenced by access to sources and the use of framing. It will explore the programme’s tensions between farming and forestry, and native versus exotic tree planting and its implications as a policy to address climate change.Item A period of change : menstruation in the media : a 60-credit Journalism project presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Journalism at Massey University, New Zealand(Massey University, 2020) Bhamidipati, SoumyaThis project examines the portrayal of menstruation in news and other media. It provides an in-depth examination of New Zealand media coverage of the ‘Positive Periods’ petition for government funding of menstrual products in schools and explores how news coverage of issues can lead to social change movements. Additionally, it examines the use of framing, news values, as well as the practical limitations of journalists who have covered menstruation stories in New Zealand media.Item The representation of cults / new religious movements in the media : a 60-credit Journalism project presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Journalism at Massey University, New Zealand(Massey University, 2020) Burmeister, HopeThis project aimed to discover how cults were represented in the New Zealand media by comparing what was found in international media about cults. It analysed how Gloriavale Christian Community and Shincheonji 2019 news articles were written through themes, sources and language. The accuracy of cult stereotypes was challenged through interviewing people who were part of Gloriavale and Shincheonji. It concludes there were similar features throughout the personal stories. However, the stereotypes are often more simplified or exaggerated than what people have experienced.Item "To die peacefully without pain...I want the right to have that choice!" : discursive constructions of euthanasia in the Aotearoa New Zealand media : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Psychology (with an endorsement in Health Psychology) at Massey University, (Distance), Aotearoa, New Zealand(Massey University, 2019) Booth, Amanda AnnThis paper drew on Foucauldian understandings to analyse and critique the construction of euthanasia in the mainstream Aotearoa New Zealand media and what the media portrayal of euthanasia made possible for people to think, feel and do. The analysis involved a review of 45 articles published in early 2018 and the responses to a subset of 6 articles that were made open for reader comments. Analysis identified dominant discursive formations related to a particularly Western and individualised notion of ‘autonomy’. Euthanasia was represented as ‘right’ and much needed ‘choice’ to alleviate fear of future pain and suffering and fear of dependence on others. People and institutions supporting euthanasia were portrayed as heroes and martyrs and those against as villains. A terminal condition was not a prerequisite to legitimate euthanasia in the media. Resistance to the dominant formations rested on understandings that positioned euthanasia as dangerous for society and a not a real choice when people do not have equitable access to choices in life; and unnecessary if people could access palliative healthcare. Absent was any consideration of non-Western understandings of death and dying, and religious and spiritual understandings of dying were marginalised. These conclusions suggest diverse socio-cultural understandings of euthanasia are lacking in the media, and as such, future euthanasia legislation could be harmful to non-dominant cultures and groups living in Aotearoa New Zealand.Item Representation of autism in Vietnamese online news media between 2006 and 2016 : a thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy degree in Communication and Journalism at Massey University, Wellington, New Zealand(Massey University, 2020) Nguyễn, Yến KhanhBeing a parent advocate of the rights of children with autism, I have witnessed how the Vietnamese news media perpetuate misrepresentation, misinformation and disinformation about autism. As the first media study of its kind in Vietnam, this thesis set out to describe, interpret and explain the issue of misrepresentation, misinformation and disinformation about autism in the Vietnamese online news media between 2006 and 2016. The literature review in chapter 1 showed that existing studies of media representation of autism elsewhere in the world mostly used manual content and framing analysis. These revealed that autism was often represented as a medical, family or social problem, mediated by damaging stereotypes and stigmas. However, the existing literature lacked explanatory depth in illuminating the macro, meso and micro contexts that shaped the media representation. This thesis drew on the combination of cultural political economy, corpus framing analysis and critical discourse analysis to understand and explain how and why Vietnamese media and news sources shaped the meanings about autism in media discourse. This mix of quantitative and qualitative approaches demonstrated its relevance in examining complex issues, which required multiple political, economic, social and cultural reasonings. Theoretically, the synergy of cultural political economy and critical discourse analysis was also resourceful in problematising and explaining the constitutive relationship between discursive structures and social reality, as discussed in chapter 2. The cultural political economy analysis of Vietnam’s state, economy and society, including its media industry, in chapters 3 and 4 contextualised the empirical analysis of media texts in later chapters. The computerized corpus framing analysis in chapter 5 provided a broad thematic overview of the media discourse, as well as captures the voice and visibility of different actors in the corpus of media coverage about autism by the 11 most popular Vietnamese online news media outlets from 2006 to 2016. The critical discourse analysis of chapters 6, 7 and 8 then examined the ideological implications and power relations of three important frames which represented autism as, variously, a social policy issue, a medical problem or family story. The thesis found that Vietnamese online news media rarely framed autism as a social policy issue in a deliberate way, even though people with autism accounted for approximately 1 to 2% of the population and autism-related matters touch millions of family members and social actors. State officials were strikingly absent from the media coverage, indicating that the media did not hold institutional stakeholders accountable, even though different Vietnamese laws have stipulated the need for universal education, integration and facilitation of individuals with disabilities in social setting. This was a Vietnam-specific perspective which contributed to the diverse global media literature on autism representation. This study showed autism was predominantly represented in the medical model as a disease that needed to be cured, rather than as a life-long disability that needed social facilitation. Doctors and service providers had the most prominent voices in the media discourse. When professionals acted as the major media sources, the critical discourse analysis demonstrated how they abused their power and access to the media by making misleading claims, sometimes overstating the efficacy of their treatment methods for their own commercial interests. In family stories, this study showed that individuals on the autism spectrum were stereotyped with troubling behaviours that caused terror, pain and even family breakup, but they rarely had the chance to speak for themselves. Media representations of family narratives were also ridden with a medicalized language about intervention and normalization efforts by “heroic” warrior mothers. The pressure to fit in with social norms was so great that parents, especially mothers, set out to fight against autism and normalize individuals on the autism spectrum, rather than accept their life-long challenges and embrace their diversity. This finding was unique to Vietnam, given its collective culture, centred on conformity, belonging and submission of the minority to the majority’s expectations. This thesis contributes to both the scholarly body of knowledge in media and communication studies about autism representation and to the generally under-developed field of media and journalism research in Vietnam. It also suggests what solutions are available to address current problems in media representation about autism in Vietnam.Item Under the gaze : a study of the portrayal by the New Zealand print media of Pacific Island workers in the Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) scheme, 2007-2012 : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Media Studies at Massey University, Wellington New Zealand(Massey University, 2019) Enoka, Angelynne JosephineMedia reporting on Pacific people in New Zealand has frequently been criticised for being sensationalised, biased and narrow. Yet, there have been few broad and systematic analyses of the nature of reporting specifically concerning Pacific Island seasonal workers in New Zealand. My thesis explores how the New Zealand print media portrayed Pacific Island seasonal workers travelling under the Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) scheme from 2007 to 2012. That period represented the first five years of the scheme and a time when it was in the news by virtue of its novelty in New Zealand, thereby providing a rich vein of media representations to study. My research focusses on the media themes occurring in the communities where RSE workers were living, while they were living there, so as to understand the discourse circulating in their immediate community. This provides understanding of the philosophical and cultural assumptions that underpin mainstream regional media reporting in New Zealand with regards to the particular representation of Pacific RSE workers, and how this compares with representations of Pacific people as a whole. Although the goal of my thesis is to trace the nature of the portrayal of Pacific Island workers under the RSE scheme, I have contextualised this with a review of the depiction of Pacific people dating back to their arrival in the 1950s and ‘60s. I look at how Pacific people were racialised in the early 1970s and compare that with coverage of the influx of Pacific Island seasonal workers in 2007, exploring underlying assumptions prevalent in the 1970s that Pacific Island workers were disruptive to New Zealand, such as by taking employment from New Zealanders or posing a threat to health, law or order. A sample of 115 articles drawn from the five regional newspapers – Bay of Plenty Times, Hawkes Bay Today, Nelson Mail, Marlborough Express and The Southland Times – was chosen for media analysis. Additionally, five selected case studies extracted from the NZ Herald, a metropolitan newspaper, for each calendar year from 2007-2012, were explored and compared to the regional sample, to help identify themes about Pacific seasonal workers that were portrayed in the wider New Zealand news media but missing from the regional coverage. I analysed the articles using interpretive thematic analysis. In this method, I looked at newspaper coverage in depth to make sense of the patterns of meaning. I identified themes used by print media to portray Island workers in regions that constitute a high number of Pacific seasonal workers during the scheme’s first five years of operation in New Zealand, and mapped these over time to investigate whether there was a shift in the discourse of stories as the scheme matured. With 115 articles assessed from 2007 to 2012, concentrating on November to March in each season when most RSE workers are in New Zealand, key themes were identified. Media analysis showed the reportage had extensive positive coverage of the scheme’s policy aims in New Zealand, with government, agency officials and industry spokespeople the most frequently cited news sources. Nine key themes; Labour shortage, RSE policy, New Zealanders first, Pastoral care, Economic benefits, New Zealand unemployment, RSE cap, RSE praises and RSE issues were represented in regional coverage across regions and time periods. The overall portrayals of Pacific Island seasonal workers under the scheme represented a more positive light in comparison to what we know broadly about historical depictions of Pacific peoples in the New Zealand media. The patterns and trends in media reporting in the studied RSE regions uncovered a more affirmative portrayal overall, but also indicated that local media perceptions shifted in particular regions as time passed. The characterisation of Pacific RSE workers by the New Zealand print media in the first five years of the scheme carried fewer stigmatising discourses than in the 1970s. However, examined critically, these seeming positive discourses can be understood as positive to those promoting capitalism and seeking cheap labour, but as positioning Pacific temporary workers as dehumanised commodities in ways that may contribute to undermining their human rights and long-term best interests. These discourses and patterns are important to understand. They fill a gap that exists in the examination of how Pacific people working in temporary labour positions have been represented by the New Zealand print media. The findings provide RSE Pacific countries with insights into the issues, challenges and successes depicted by the media about their workers, as well as alerting the New Zealand public more broadly to patterns in the way the scheme has been reported to them, and to broader patterns of racialised and economic discourse. [The RSE scheme was launched in April 2007 with a cap of 5,000 workers under the then Labour Government led by Helen Clark, but the cap was lifted to 8,000 in October 2008 and was lifted again in November 2014 from 8,000 to 9,000, and then again from 9,000 to 9,500 in December 2015 and 10,500 in December 2016. It lifted again in December 2017 to 11,100 and the latest increase was in November 2018 to 12,850. The workers are mostly sourced from the Pacific Islands. They contribute substantially to New Zealand’s economy but do not accrue any rights to citizenship in New Zealand as a result of participating in the scheme.]