Citation

Wuestewald MI, Wuestewald TC. J. Crim. Justice Pop. Cult. 2022; 22(2): 1-19.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2022, University at Albany, School of Criminal Justice)

DOI

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PMID

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Abstract

This study used a content analysis to review newspaper coverage of mass murders that occurred in 2018 to determine how the media portrayed these incidents. Specifically, this research examined the contributing factors that were identified in newspaper articles within the first 30-days of a mass murder event and whether these contributing factors varied by the political leanings of media outlets. For comparison purposes, a left-leaning, a centrist, and a right-leaning newspaper were selected. These were The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and the New York Post, respectively. The analysis examined a sampling frame of 1,251 articles that was reduced to a final analytic sample of 60 articles.

FINDINGS included that the three most cited contributing factors were guns, mental illness, and extremism. The political leanings of newspapers did impact two of the three contributing factors that were emphasized in articles. Based on these findings, implications are discussed.

Language: en