Date of Award

1-1-2014

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Specialization

Communication and Leadership

School or Department

School of Leadership Studies

First Advisor

Dr. Pavel Shlossberg

Abstract

The Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse scandal has been a prominent topic in the news media for over two years. Over this time period, different media outlets have covered this scandal in different ways. Many news articles have portrayed former Penn State head coach Joe Paterno as a main character in this scandal. Ninety articles from July 10, 2012 to July 31, 2012 were examined from a national source, ESPN.com, and a local source, The Centre Daily Times. These dates were selected to analyze a sample of the media coverage in the aftermath of the Freeh report and the NCAA sanctions against Penn State. Using critical discourse analysis, the study examined (a) what frames were used in the coverage of Joe Paterno; (b) if and how the coverage promoted a kind of ritual excommunication (Carey, 1998); and (c) through its framing of the scandal, what insights we might glean about media’s power and role in promoting and policing public morals and values. The study found that ESPN’s national coverage featured themes of shame, blame, and excommunication regarding Paterno. The news articles had subtle mentions of these themes, but then the commentary articles featured and emphasized these ideas heavily. Paterno and his supporters were heavily criticized and mostly silenced by ESPN’s coverage. The Centre Daily Times’ local coverage followed the same stories, but largely, did not symbolically castigate, shame, or excommunicate Joe Paterno and his supporters.

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