This study examined patterns of framing in newspaper articles that mention gay teen suicide, gay bullying, and the \"It Gets Better\" campaign. A content analysis of randomly selected newspaper articles from 2009-2011 was performed. After presenting the frequency of content themes, emergent patterns are discussed. The most consistent theme--an evasive frame-- occurred with regard to homophobia, heterosexism, and meaningful solutions to anti-gay bullying. The day-to-day discrimination that LGBTQ people face was rarely addressed; instead, hot-button political topics such as same-sex marriage and \"Don't Ask, Don't Tell\" were presented as signs of social progress. This research shows the importance of media framing, particularly the news media, in stories that report on gay bullying, suicide, and homophobia.
","abstract_html":"<p>This study examined patterns of framing in newspaper articles that mention gay teen suicide, gay bullying, and the "It Gets Better" campaign. A content analysis of randomly selected newspaper articles from 2009-2011 was performed. After presenting the frequency of content themes, emergent patterns are discussed. The most consistent theme--an evasive frame-- occurred with regard to homophobia, heterosexism, and meaningful solutions to anti-gay bullying. The day-to-day discrimination that LGBTQ people face was rarely addressed; instead, hot-button political topics such as same-sex marriage and "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" were presented as signs of social progress. This research shows the importance of media framing, particularly the news media, in stories that report on gay bullying, suicide, and homophobia.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Greene, Averie Alese"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"MA (Master of Arts)","degree_level":"Thesis - unrestricted","degree_discipline":"Sociology","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2013,"date_issued":"2013-05-11T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2013-05-11T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:20:42Z","subjects":["homophobia","heterosexism","LGBTQ suicide","anti-gay bullying","Communication","Social and Behavioral Sciences","Social Influence and Political Communication"],"languages":[],"rights":["Copyright by the authors."],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/1514","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Greene, Averie Alese"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2013-05-11T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Sociology"]},{"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":["homophobia","heterosexism","LGBTQ suicide","anti-gay bullying","Communication","Social and Behavioral Sciences","Social Influence and Political Communication"]}]},{"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/2707/viewcontent/GreeneA122712f.pdf","https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/1514"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["This study examined patterns of framing in newspaper articles that mention gay teen suicide, gay bullying, and the \"It Gets Better\" campaign. A content analysis of randomly selected newspaper articles from 2009-2011 was performed. After presenting the frequency of content themes, emergent patterns are discussed. The most consistent theme--an evasive frame-- occurred with regard to homophobia, heterosexism, and meaningful solutions to anti-gay bullying. The day-to-day discrimination that LGBTQ people face was rarely addressed; instead, hot-button political topics such as same-sex marriage and \"Don't Ask, Don't Tell\" were presented as signs of social progress. This research shows the importance of media framing, particularly the news media, in stories that report on gay bullying, suicide, and homophobia.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["News Media Framing of Gay Teen Suicide and Bullying"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:creator":["Greene, Averie Alese"],"dc:date.issued":["2013-05-11T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["This study examined patterns of framing in newspaper articles that mention gay teen suicide, gay bullying, and the \"It Gets Better\" campaign. A content analysis of randomly selected newspaper articles from 2009-2011 was performed. After presenting the frequency of content themes, emergent patterns are discussed. The most consistent theme--an evasive frame-- occurred with regard to homophobia, heterosexism, and meaningful solutions to anti-gay bullying. The day-to-day discrimination that LGBTQ people face was rarely addressed; instead, hot-button political topics such as same-sex marriage and \"Don't Ask, Don't Tell\" were presented as signs of social progress. This research shows the importance of media framing, particularly the news media, in stories that report on gay bullying, suicide, and homophobia.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://dc.etsu.edu/context/etd/article/2707/viewcontent/GreeneA122712f.pdf","https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/1514"],"dc:rights":["Copyright by the authors."],"dc:subject":["homophobia","heterosexism","LGBTQ suicide","anti-gay bullying","Communication","Social and Behavioral Sciences","Social Influence and Political Communication"],"dc:title":["News Media Framing of Gay Teen Suicide and Bullying"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Sociology"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis - unrestricted"],"thesis:degree_name":["MA (Master of Arts)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:20:42Z"}