Date of Award

12-2011

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Specialization

Communication and Leadership

School or Department

School of Leadership Studies

First Advisor

Dr. Heather Crandall

Second Advisor

Dr. David Givens

Abstract

The news media has the ability to influence the public agenda as well as impact business decisions. This thesis explores media agenda-setting and framing during the BP oil spill in order to determine whether newspaper coverage is a contributing factor in the delegation of oil spill claims. The affects of the Deep Water Horizon are slowly dissolving in the coastal Alabama region; however, residents and business owners have not been fully restored to the same economic complacency of pre-oil spill times. This study utilized content analysis to examine newspaper coverage of the BP oil spill in the Mobile Press Register, the Sun Herald, and the Pensacola News Journal from April 20, 2010 to April 20, 2011. Results indicate that more media attention was focused on tourist areas of coastal Alabama, including Gulf Shores Beach and Orange Beach, and these areas did in fact receive the most compensation in claims from the Gulf Coast Claims Facility compared to other affected areas.

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