Battle of the Bulge: Ideology and the Framing of Obesity in News Media, 2007-2013

Abstract

Although there has been considerable research examining the framing of obesity in news media, there has been little exploration of how political affiliation shapes obesity discourse. Sociological research has found a relationship between political affiliation and attitudes toward social problems, such as that surrounding poverty. This thesis employs a content analysis of articles from Alternet.org, Time, and The National Review to investigate whether news sources with political bias frame obesity differently than mainstream sources. This analysis suggests that liberal sources frame obesity differently than mainstream and conservative sources by framing obesity primarily in terms of its structural causes.