CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2015
| Author | Sorensen, Caroline Alice Eleanor |
|---|---|
| Title | Trophy Hunting in the U.S. Media: A macro- and micro-level frame analysis |
| Summary | Hunting as a conservation tool is highly debated, even amongst hunters. Morals, emotion, and personal opinions drive the debate; with media sometimes picking up and exploiting the controversial nature of the topic—trophy hunting in particular. This research investigates how trophy hunting is framed in the media and public comments. The relationship between the macro-level frame of an article and the micro-level frame(s) of the comments on it is explored for three different articles. Online news articles, from U.S. news sources posted online between January 2013 and December 2014, were collected from the NexisLexis Academic database by searching for “trophy hunting/hunter/hunt”. Using the Atlas.ti software, the macro- and micro-level frames of the articles and comments, respectively, were identified using a set of key words and determining their frequency within the text. Interestingly enough, it was determined that of 68 articles, 76% had the information frame indicating that the article accurately spoke about some aspects of the principles and best practices of sustainable use through trophy hunting. On the other hand, of 202 comments analyzed, the majority (30%) were framed with demonization, using derogatory words to describe trophy hunting and trophy hunters. The public reaction to the articles was overwhelmingly anti-trophy hunting, which has far-reaching consequences for sustainable use-based conservation worldwide. This thesis provides insight into the current state of media reporting on trophy hunting, obstacles to the widespread acceptance of trophy hunting as a conservation tool, and potential solutions to increase global acceptance. |
| Supervisor | Steger, Tamara |
| Department | Environment Sciences and Policy MSc |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2015/sorensen_caroline.pdf |
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