Framing BSE: Canadian news coverage of Canadian-born cases of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE)
Date
2010-09-07T16:23:31Z
Authors
Cram, Stephanie Marie
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Abstract
This thesis is a critical examination of newspaper coverage of Canadian-born cases of Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) discovered between May 2003 and December 2005. Data for the thesis has been compiled from three newspapers: the Edmonton Journal, the Calgary Herald, and the Globe & Mail. The Alberta newspapers were chosen for their proximity to the BSE discoveries, and the Globe & Mail was chosen for the national focus of its coverage. Using Fairclough’s method of ordering discourses, I examine three discourses prominently featured in the coverage: the political discourse, the science discourse, and the socio-cultural discourse. I analyse the three discourses independently, incorporating relevant theory to further explicate the discourses. The primary focus of the thesis is on the newspaper coverage of the first Canadian-born BSE case, but newspaper coverage of additional discoveries are included to examine how the BSE media package changed over time.
Description
Keywords
Critical discourse analysis, BSE, Mad Cow Disease, Media representation, Fairclough