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Nancy Trageser '04 MCM
Excerpt from Nancy Trageser’s Applied Learning Project

Teresa Heinz Kerry: An Analysis of Newspaper Coverage, September 2003 through September 2004

Introduction

This study is an analysis of the news frames in the media coverage of philanthropist Teresa Heinz Kerry, who is married to Senator John F. Kerry of Massachusetts, the former Democratic Presidential candidate. Heinz Kerry became a news story in her own right during her husband’s campaign. She was described by journalists as opinionated, refreshingly honest, out-spoken, undeniably smart, and a distraction from her husband’s campaign. Republican political consultant Mary Matalin called Heinz Kerry “…one of those polarizing people” but then admitted that she, too has been called outspoken and considers the charge a “badge of honor” (Abcarian, 2004).

We rely on media sources for the information about world events that we don’t witness first hand. We couldn’t be in Manchester and Des Moines, or Miami and Boston, to witness all of the election activity during the campaign last summer and fall, but we did pick up the Globe or the Herald, or USA Today, and read the coverage the next day.

We learned new information, made assumptions, formed opinions or reinforced existing ones, based on how the information was presented or framed. What we do with the information and what impact our actions have, is why an understanding and awareness of news frames is important.

When the media select and publish stories, they make decisions about how to frame them. They choose the tone, placement, language, what information to include, and what to leave out. I don’t mean to imply that there is anything deliberately sinister or blatantly unfair in the process, at least generally speaking. But by making these decisions, media sources provide context for a story which affects how a reader understands, remembers, and acts upon it.

I chose to analyze the newspaper coverage of Teresa Heinz Kerry from September 2003 through September 2004. This time period begins, approximately, when John F. Kerry announced his intention to seek the Democratic presidential nomination and ends shortly after the Democratic convention was held in Boston in August of 2004. I extended my review through September 2004 to capture the post-campaign coverage. In the following pages I will review the literature on media campaign coverage generally and the coverage of first ladies and first (and second) ladies-to-be specifically, as well as on the role of first ladies, past and present, and its importance in our culture. The more I read about Heinz Kerry and the other candidates’ wives, the more central the perception of first ladies became in understanding the nature of the coverage. I then describe my methodology, and present my findings, analysis and conclusion.

Conclusion

Reading the literature, I realized that understanding the coverage of Teresa Heinz Kerry and candidates’ wives requires a deeper historical perspective of the first lady’s role, to get at the true nature of the coverage. Media frames provide context, enabling readers to relate, respond and react to what is written. The meaning is interpreted based on perceptions of the wider world, and what we have learned in the past and believe to be true today.

The frames that shape the news can either provide or preclude a flow of diverse views and ideas. This study shows that in the coverage of first ladies and candidates wives, the media interprets today’s events using old ideas, inhibiting change. Continuing the study of news frames will maintain focus and attention on media sources and the necessity for change. We want the press to deconstruct events, expose new information, and hand it over. Rather than reflect back at us what we already know, tell us what’s really happening, what’s news.