The purpose of this study was to determine how the tone and roles of women serving in the Iraq War were portrayed in newspaper articles. Issues of how women in the military were portrayed in terms of page and story prominence were also of importance.
A content analysis was conducted in order to determine the tone, roles, story, and page placement of newspaper articles published in the United States and the United Kingdom over a 7-year time period. Newspaper articles related to the topic were retrieved from the LexisNexis database and analyzed.
The results showed that mentions of military women during the Iraq War in United Kingdom newspapers were almost twice as negative as those in United States newspapers (28.4% vs. 15.5%). Story placement of women in the military was more prominent in United States newspapers than United Kingdom newspapers. Mentions of women in news articles were 14.8 percentage points more positive than those in editorials. The tone of women serving in the military during the Iraq War was most polarized at the beginning of the war and became increasingly neutral as the war progressed.
","abstract_html":"<p>The purpose of this study was to determine how the tone and roles of women serving in the Iraq War were portrayed in newspaper articles. Issues of how women in the military were portrayed in terms of page and story prominence were also of importance.</p><p>A content analysis was conducted in order to determine the tone, roles, story, and page placement of newspaper articles published in the United States and the United Kingdom over a 7-year time period. Newspaper articles related to the topic were retrieved from the LexisNexis database and analyzed.</p><p>The results showed that mentions of military women during the Iraq War in United Kingdom newspapers were almost twice as negative as those in United States newspapers (28.4% vs. 15.5%). Story placement of women in the military was more prominent in United States newspapers than United Kingdom newspapers. Mentions of women in news articles were 14.8 percentage points more positive than those in editorials. The tone of women serving in the military during the Iraq War was most polarized at the beginning of the war and became increasingly neutral as the war progressed.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Fritz, Audra Jaclyn"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"MA (Master of Arts)","degree_level":"Thesis - unrestricted","degree_discipline":"Communication, Professional","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2011,"date_issued":"2011-12-17T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2011-12-17T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:20:31Z","subjects":["military service","Iraq War","women","Communication","Gender, Race, Sexuality, and Ethnicity in Communication","Social and Behavioral Sciences"],"languages":[],"rights":["Copyright by the authors."],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/1391","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Fritz, Audra Jaclyn"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["1990-01-01T08:00:00Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2011-12-17T08:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Communication, Professional"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis - unrestricted"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["MA (Master of Arts)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["military service","Iraq War","women","Communication","Gender, Race, Sexuality, and Ethnicity in Communication","Social and Behavioral Sciences"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["Copyright by the authors."]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://dc.etsu.edu/context/etd/article/2582/viewcontent/FritzA120911f.pdf","https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/1391"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["The purpose of this study was to determine how the tone and roles of women serving in the Iraq War were portrayed in newspaper articles. Issues of how women in the military were portrayed in terms of page and story prominence were also of importance.
A content analysis was conducted in order to determine the tone, roles, story, and page placement of newspaper articles published in the United States and the United Kingdom over a 7-year time period. Newspaper articles related to the topic were retrieved from the LexisNexis database and analyzed.
The results showed that mentions of military women during the Iraq War in United Kingdom newspapers were almost twice as negative as those in United States newspapers (28.4% vs. 15.5%). Story placement of women in the military was more prominent in United States newspapers than United Kingdom newspapers. Mentions of women in news articles were 14.8 percentage points more positive than those in editorials. The tone of women serving in the military during the Iraq War was most polarized at the beginning of the war and became increasingly neutral as the war progressed.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Military Women A Content Analysis of United States and United Kingdom Newspapers Portrayal During the Iraq War."]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:creator":["Fritz, Audra Jaclyn"],"dc:date.available":["1990-01-01T08:00:00Z"],"dc:date.issued":["2011-12-17T08:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["The purpose of this study was to determine how the tone and roles of women serving in the Iraq War were portrayed in newspaper articles. Issues of how women in the military were portrayed in terms of page and story prominence were also of importance.
A content analysis was conducted in order to determine the tone, roles, story, and page placement of newspaper articles published in the United States and the United Kingdom over a 7-year time period. Newspaper articles related to the topic were retrieved from the LexisNexis database and analyzed.
The results showed that mentions of military women during the Iraq War in United Kingdom newspapers were almost twice as negative as those in United States newspapers (28.4% vs. 15.5%). Story placement of women in the military was more prominent in United States newspapers than United Kingdom newspapers. Mentions of women in news articles were 14.8 percentage points more positive than those in editorials. The tone of women serving in the military during the Iraq War was most polarized at the beginning of the war and became increasingly neutral as the war progressed.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://dc.etsu.edu/context/etd/article/2582/viewcontent/FritzA120911f.pdf","https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/1391"],"dc:rights":["Copyright by the authors."],"dc:subject":["military service","Iraq War","women","Communication","Gender, Race, Sexuality, and Ethnicity in Communication","Social and Behavioral Sciences"],"dc:title":["Military Women A Content Analysis of United States and United Kingdom Newspapers Portrayal During the Iraq War."],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Communication, Professional"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis - unrestricted"],"thesis:degree_name":["MA (Master of Arts)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:20:31Z"}