Stigma, News Media, and Mental Illness 1 Running Head: STIGMA IN ONLINE NEWS COVERAGE

Stigma in Online News Coverage: Am I More than a Mental Illness? Christina M. Birgy, Courtney L. Reed, and Cassondra A. Zaleski Villanova University

Stigma, News Media, and Mental Illness 2 Literature Review Introduction Mental illness is one of the most stigmatized health topics in our society (Corrigan & Penn, 1999). Sensationalized stories about mentally ill individuals disseminate fear and falsehoods that have damaging effects on the stigmatized individuals (Wahl, 2003). Our goal was to define stigma through a theoretical framework, which guided our research in evaluating how Internet news media creates and reinforces stigma related to mental health issues. We will begin by broadly explaining stigma and the theories that are helpful in understanding how it is a social construction that produces and reproduces power and control. This will be followed by a discussion of the stigmatizing effects of the news media in relation to mental illness. The review of the literature ends by explaining how this previous research can be applied to our study using frame analysis and Burkean tragic frame. Theories about Stigma Link and Phelan (2001) most appropriately define stigma. For our purposes, stigma exists when elements of labeling, stereotyping, separation, status loss, and discrimination occur together in a power situation that allows them (p. 377). They have proposed a conceptualized stigma process composed of four stages. By breaking it down, we can further elucidate the social construction and power that is weaved within the conceptualization of stigma. Boyle et al. (2009) state this process as the following: 1) A human difference is identified and labeled. 2) The negative stereotyping process begins with linking the labeled person with undesirable characteristics according to current societal norms.

Stigma, News Media, and Mental Illness 3 3) The stigmatized group becomes the out-group. 4) As members of the out-group they experience rejection, exclusion, discrimination, and loss in status by the non-stigmatized population. (p. 202) As the initial stage suggests, stigmas are based on the labels and the socially constructed meaning around them. Other definitions provide different ways of looking at stigma and by viewing the group as a whole. Goffman (1963) provided one of the earlier definitions in his work Stigma that focused on social and cultural aspects of stigma. He described it as possessing an attribute that makes him different from others[and] is thus reduced in our minds from a whole person to a tainted, discounted one (p 2-3). Smith (2007) defines stigma as a simplified, standardized image of the disgrace of certain people that is held in common by the community at large. (p 464) Many scholars attribute the multitude of definitions to the fact that stigma is studied across many disciplines, from communication to sociology, and each separate background brings a new perspective to the work that is done. Social psychologists Crocker, Major, and Steele (1998) define stigma as occurring when an individual is believed to possess an often objective attribute or feature that conveys a devalued social identity within a social context. Link and Phelan (2001) however, took the definition in a different direction and focused on the sociological aspect creating a broader concept of stigma that consisted of five components: labeling, stereotyping, cognitive separation, emotional reactions, and status loss & discrimination. The important addition this definition makes to the stigma canon is that the authors include power dynamics as an important facet. They believe that stigma is created by social, economic, and political power hierarchies that facilitate its function in society. Overall, the common threads in the different definitions are critical to defining stigma.

Stigma, News Media, and Mental Illness 4 Stigma needs to include some sort of mark that labels someone as different which devalues and discredits his or her place in society, as well as separation, physical or mental, from the group. Perceived danger or peril from the stigmatized conditions as well as a power hierarchy are also important because they help to validate the applied stigma. Recognizing that discrimination and prejudice stem from stereotypes is important in regards to understanding why we treat some people poorly. We use stereotypes as an efficient means to organize our world into cognitive schemas and quickly generate impressions about people in certain groups (Hinshaw, 2007). Understanding that a stigma is formed through a social process and is not something natural is crucial to intervening in this issue. Rather than a stigmatized person being intrinsically flawed, he/she is flawed based on external and social decisions and definitions. Society and culture participate in attributing negative traits to an individuals devalued characteristic (Hinshaw, 2007). Based on societys standards, certain traits are valued while others become devalued. This rule applies to all facets of life, and can be seen in relation to various health issues. Social Constructionism theories are important to look at when discussing how stigma is created in the cultural context. Stangor and Crandall (2000) detail different theory groups that describe three ways stigma could have possibly developed. The Functional Theories assume people create stereotypes and stigmas as a way to provide personal benefits for themselves, simplify social perception, and enhance self-esteem. Stereotyping, prejudice and comparisons between different in and out-groups help to bolster ones social identity through downward comparisons (Fein & Spencer, 1997). These theories support the idea that stigma developed out of a real need and served a legitimate function in different groups (Rubin & Hewstone, 1998). The Perceptual Theories assume that the initial categorizing and stereotyping comes from

Stigma, News Media, and Mental Illness 5 observing the social environment directly and that these observations will be biased due to exaggerations and amplifications of different characteristics. Stereotyping is exaggerated because of biased attributions, biased information searches (Trope & Thompson, 1997), and biased memories (Fyock & Stangor, 1994). Accentuating the differences between the in-group and outgroup allows stereotypes to be created and supported through misinterpreted information. A second subset of perceptual theories works with the belief that the negative traits assigned to a minority group will lead to inaccurate perceptions related to the characteristics of that sect because of their smaller size in relation to the majority (Hamilton, 1981). The characteristics of any minority group will be less frequent so their behaviors and traits will become more apparent to the majority leading to erroneous associations that account for stigma development. The illusory correlation, as this subset is called, expects unusual characteristics to be stigmatized. The Consensus Theories are based on social exchange and communication, which assume that stereotypes and other stigmas are perpetuated through communication with in-group and outgroup members (Haslam, Turner, Oakes, Reynolds, Eggins, Nolan, & Tweedie, 1998; Hardin & Higgins, 1996).

The more common information is to group members, the more likely it will be discussed and then passed down to newer members so that stigmatized attitudes can be furthered. The Consensus Theories also detail how stigma can be communicated both passively and actively within a group. Passive transfer of different beliefs can occur through exposure to different messages most likely via the mass media. This idea is extremely important because it shows how one does not actually need to verbalize a stigma to believe it, but it can be internalized without one realizing it. Active transfer comes through actual communication between members of a group,

Stigma, News Media, and Mental Illness 6 which helps to perpetuate a certain stigmatized attitude. These beliefs are more likely to remain a part of the culture since group members will pass down their negative stereotyping to future generations. Moreover, labeling plays an important role in stigmatizing certain individuals. It involves the active communication of a stigmatized belief. As Corrigan (2005) states, Labeling theory is the explanatory framework that has been developed by sociologists to account for the stigmatization associated with devalued statuses, such as delinquent, criminal, or mentally ill (p. 130). The theory is rooted in symbolic interactionism, explaining that we perceive ourselves and view ourselves from the standpoint of the community called reflected appraisals (Corrigan). Therefore, conforming to the roles that society has defined for us reinforces the label, affecting our self-evaluation, usually in a negative way. In turn, it links to our social positions (Corrgian). This social construction of labeling serves to perpetuate power inequalities. Those who have power are the ones defining the labels to serve their interests, and the less powerful have little power in resisting the application imposed upon them (Corrgian). Klin and Lemish (2008) explain that, the tendency to label (stigmatization) is actually a survival strategy since it involves identifying and expelling scapegoats (p. 436). Labeling people through stigmatization provides a way for societies and cultures to organize, and eliminate certain people from privileged groups. Social Identity Theory proposes that social beings categorize themselves into separate groups in order to protect their in-group from the outgroups (Veer, 2009). Veer continues to explain that people are prejudiced against out-groups in order to allocate resources for their in group, and that discrimination towards an out-group is natural human behavior.

Stigma, News Media, and Mental Illness 7 News Media and Stigma

The construction of stigma as a social process can be linked to the influence of the news media. According to a study conducted for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, of the 1,300 respondents, 87% indicated that television news and programs were their most frequent source of information, followed by newspapers (76%) and magazines (74%) (DYG, Inc., 1990). Since the public gains most of their knowledge about mental illness from mass media outlets, it is problematic that these are the images that are presented to the general public. Even more alarming is that only a small minority indicated that they question the credibility of this information. The powerful impact of the news media as a determinant of public opinion is undeniable. News coverage can have a significant influence on the issues that people consider most important. A key factor in news coverage is selectivity (Wahl, 2004). Editors, publishers, and reporters must choose the stories and events that are to be presented to the public. If they select stories that are biased or unrepresentative, it will cultivate a false view of the world for the public. Framing also contributes to the publics understanding of news coverage (Gamson, Croteau, Hoynes, & Sasson, 1992). Media frames place more emphasis on certain issues, which causes the public to find these issues to be more salient. Framing can also influence how people view a certain issue. A positive or negative frame can shift the publics view of a topic. Corrigan, Watson, Gracia, Slopen, Rasinski, & Hall (2005) posit that negative media frames can foster unfavorable attitudes and biases about a certain group, such as individuals with mental illness. In turn, these attitudes can shape how people act toward that group. Thus, it is unfortunate that an individual or group of individuals might be mistreated due to the medias biased view.

Stigma, News Media, and Mental Illness 8 There has been research devoted to studying the influence of news media on public opinion about mental illness. National Alliance of Mental Illness provides a definition of mental illness, stating that, Mental illnesses are medical conditions that disrupt a person's thinking, feeling, mood, ability to relate to others and daily functioning. Just as diabetes is a disorder of the pancreas, mental illnesses are medical conditions that often result in a diminished capacity for coping with the ordinary demands of life (What is a Mental Illness, 2010). For example, Wahl (2004) conducted a content analysis of 50 articles from each of six U.S. newspapers including the New York Times, the Washington post, the Los Angeles Times, the St. Louis-Post Dispatch, the Boston Globe, and the St. Petersburg Times. The prominent theme among the articles was that people with mental illness are dangerous. In addition, the majority of the articles also appeared in the context of violent crimes. As a result, it is not unlikely that the average person would draw a connection between people with mental illness and violent crime, promulgating the idea that they are dangerous. These findings were similar to other studies of news sources. Corrigan et. al (2005) gathered a probability sample of 70 newspapers across America. Their findings also indicated that stories related to dangerousness were the most common (39%). Furthermore, they found that the majority of the stories about crime and violence were on the front page of the newspaper, which increased their possible influence on the public. Although news coverage is not the sole cause for stigma about mental illness, there are strong implications that it could account for the widespread, negative attitudes held by a majority of the public. However, the public has shifted toward the Internet as its primary source of news. According to The Pew Research Center for People & the Press, 40% of those surveyed, out of 1,489, said they got most of their national and international news from the Internet, which is a 16%

Stigma, News Media, and Mental Illness 9 increase from the previous year (Horrigan, 2006). In addition, 46% of all Internet users say they go to the website of a national TV news organization such as CNN or MSNBC. Due to a gap in research on the impact of Internet news sources, we feel that this is a significant topic since media consumption patterns have shifted over the past decade. Ott and Aoki (2002) used frame analysis, Burkean tragic frame, with an emphasis on the scapegoat process, in analyzing print news media on the Matthew Shephard murder. The media consisted of three national newspapers and well-known magazines, and it functioned ideologically to reaffirm a dominant set of discourses and perpetuate power relations. In order to understand how the public makes sense of and responds to this tragic event, Ott and Aoki looked at the symbolic discourse used in the news media. Ott and Aoki explain that Burke analyzed audience attitudes through terministic screens and media critics have called this frame analysis. Ott and Aoki (2000) state: Frame analysis looks to see how a situation or event is named/defined, and how that naming shapes public opinion. It accomplishes this analysis by highlighting the inherent biases in all storytelling, namely selectivity (what is included and excluded in the story?), partiality (what is emphasized and downplayed in the story?), and structure (how does the story formally play out? (p. 3) Frames function ideologically in that they determine and peoples attitudes about the world and each other (Ott & Aoki). Moreover, the results of their study showed that by the media framing the Matthew Shephard murder in tragic terms and scapegoat process, it alleviates the public from any responsibility and victimizes others. The public feels that by projecting evilness on the murderers, the public achieves resolution while perpetuating the status quo. In turn, Burke

Stigma, News Media, and Mental Illness 10 proposes the event be portrayed through a comic frame, which allows for maximum consciousness"self-awareness and social responsibility at the same time" (p. 15). People are able to transcend themselves, identify with the mistaken, and learn from the experience, therefore, correcting rather than perpetuating the status quo. Research Questions RQ1: How does the news media represent people with mental illness? RQ2: Does this representation stigmatize individuals with mental illness?

Method We selected a total of six news websites in order to conduct a rhetorical criticism of articles about mental illness over the course of a ten-week period (January 1, 2010 through March 16, 2010) using frame analysis and Burkean criticism. The news media framing is responsible for perpetuating dominant ideologies and discourses that reproduce a hegemonic set of sociocultural ideals about mental illness. We want to look at how the stories are framed within this analysis. The websites we chose to include were cnn.com, msnbc.com, usatoday.com, latimes.com, washingtonpost.com, and nytimes.com. We chose three national and three regional websites to get a broader sense of news coverage within the United States. Due to time constraints and number of researchers, we were unable to fully investigate all regional areas. The regional websites we chose are several of the most visited news sources online. On each website, we use the keyword mental illness to search for our articles. Although we are studying stigma and mental illness, we solely used the term mental illness to

Stigma, News Media, and Mental Illness 11 discover how it is portrayed and determine whether or not it is a stigmatized condition. On WebMD, the term mental health explains that, There are many different conditions that are recognized as mental illnesses (Chakraburtty, 2009). In other words, it is an umbrella term that incorporates a multitude of mental health problems such as, bipolar disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, schizophrenia, etc. At this point, we assigned two websites to each researcher, one national website and one regional website. Individually, we started to compile our own articles within the timeframe determined as a group. To search for articles on the websites for CNN, The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, MSNBC, The New York Times, and USA Today the keyword mental illness was entered in order to gather a preliminary sample of articles. However, there were not enough articles to create a quality database for all of the websites. As a result, a second search was conducted, this time using the keywords of depression, anxiety disorder, and schizophrenia. These keywords were selected because they are a sub branch of mental illness and generated the most articles in the second search. This time, a larger number of articles were assembled so as to accurately represent the news reported by these websites. The search engines on CNN, The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, and USA Today had the results organized by date, with the most recent articles appearing first, so the parameters did not need to be changed. MSNBC, however, did not have a feature that would allow for a search by date. As a result, we typed in the keywords and had to scan the results for articles written in 2010 that were between January 1 and March 16. On all of the websites, many more articles came up than were relevant to what we were searching. Any articles that were not related to mental health, opinion pieces, blog articles, magazine articles, encyclopedia articles that were more about defining the illnesses, and letters to

Stigma, News Media, and Mental Illness 12 the editor were omitted because they do not qualify as items that are reporting the news, but are secondary additions to the websites. The items that we included had to fall within the given time period, discuss some facet of mental health, and be solely a report of a news story. The articles found were shared with each of the group members and a practice reading was conducted with a sample article from each researcher. This was to ensure that all of the appropriate articles were found and that each researcher would be able to pull out similar themes and ideas based on the nature of our rhetorical framework. Individually, we read and analyzed all of our articles using the frame analysis and Burkean criticism, searching for themes in relation to stigma and mental illness. Due to the qualitative nature of the research, the initial list of themes was fluid, general, and flexible. We generated eight vague themes and again, we each read through our individual articles to more clearly determine and define the themes. We individually recorded the themes that were present in each of the articles. Most articles represented more than one theme. Then, we came together to establish which of the preliminary themes were valid, and discussed any possible new themes that emerged after the second reading of our articles. Finally, we came to a consensus of eight clear, concise, and suitable themes for the articles, in relation to mental illness and stigma in online news coverage. These eight themes are: 1) Dangerousness news coverage that focused on violent crimes committed by those with mental illness, 2) Positive Outlook stories that emphasized rehabilitation and other ways to lessen mental illness, 3) Internal vs. External news stories that focused on whether or not the consequences of a mentally ill person were based on genetics or the environment, 4) A Legal Defense these stories focused on mental illness as a legal defense, 5) The Hidden Disease news coverage about people who were not known to have mental illness, 6) Evil Perpetrator vs. Blameless Victim stories about an evil perpetrator, a person with mental

Stigma, News Media, and Mental Illness 13 illness, and a helpless victim, 7) More than a Mental illness? - these stories tended to deny humanity and ignore the person focusing on their disease and 8) Outcomes stories about the negative or positive consequences for individuals with mental illness. One final time, we went through the articles to alter the themes that were initially assigned in order to apply the final concrete and concise themes. In order to ensure intercoder reliability and to get a second analysis, we exchanged our individual articles with each other. Each researcher gave their articles from one website to one of the other researchers and the remaining set of articles from their second website to the other researcher. In order to create a holistic picture of the findings and to draw meaning out of them, we counted the number of times a theme appeared in each of the articles. Each story could be categorized as more than one theme. Additionally, we conducted a thematic analysis in order to discuss the framework of the articles and how they are perpetuating a stigmatized view of mental illness. Before our readings of the news articles, we did not know what we would find or uncover. The meaning and reason behind the eight themes all stem from how mental illness has been defined, how stigma has been defined, and how people with mental illness have been stigmatized. The eight themes cover a broad range of feelings, attitudes, and beliefs the reader takes away from reading the articles in the news about the people with mental illness. Each theme serves to create a unified and complete picture of how mental illness is stigmatized in online news sources. Coding Schema We developed a coding schema based on eight different themes. The first theme: Dangerousness, was characterized by news coverage that involved stories about murder and other violent crimes committed by those with mental illness. An example of this was the Pentagon shooting in which John Patrick Bedell, a man who was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, shot and

Stigma, News Media, and Mental Illness 14 injured two police officers. The second theme: Positive Outlook, was found in stories about treatment and rehabilitation, as well as de-stigmatization. These stories often focused on finding a cure or treatment options such as when Glenn Close got her genome sequenced in an effort to unlock the genetics of mental illness. Others emphasized changing attitudes and perceptions, such as the American Psychiatric Association advocating that mental retardation be changed to intellectual disability. The third theme: Internal vs. External Factors was present in news coverage about genetics as an origin for mental illness, as evidenced by family history or environmental factors. Other stories focused on mental illness that arose out of a traumatic event such as the Haiti earthquake or the war in Iraq. The fourth theme: Mental Illness as a Defense presented itself in articles in which an individual was trying to deny culpability for a crime based on the claim that they had a mental illness. An example of this was a mother who allegedly killed her 4-year-old daughter by giving her too much prescription medication. The mother claimed that she was struggling with bipolar disorder. The fifth theme: The Hidden Disease was found in stories where an individual was not known to have a mental illness and thus, their treatment was not a top priority. A doctor was found to have been faking research for a dozen years. His defense was that he had no financial motivation to do so and that it was purely because of The sixth theme: Evil Perpetrator vs. Blameless Victim was found in news coverage about an individual with mental illness committing a crime against a victim. An example of this was the Elizabeth Smart case in which two people, claiming to be mentally ill, kidnapped 14-yearold Elizabeth from her home. They later tried to use mental illness as a legal defense, which categorizes this story under both theme four and theme six. The seventh theme: More than a Mental Illness? was found in stories that solely focused on the disease, not the individual. These

Stigma, News Media, and Mental Illness 15 news stories often involved mislabeling people, as well as isolating them. A New York judge decided to move a number of mentally ill people from an adult home because they wanted to live their lives like everyone else. Prior to this, they had felt segregated and ostracized from the rest of society. Finally, the eighth theme: Outcomes was characterized by news coverage about individuals who had, or claimed to have mental illness, and the negative or positive outcomes that arose from their actions. The same doctor who was found to be faking his research had his medical license revoked and he lost all of his credibility. On the other hand, there were other stories about that did not involve negative consequences. For example, there was a woman who had schizoaffective disorder, but she was able to overcome her illness and returned to school. Results H1 stated that the online news media outlets perpetuate stigma of individuals with mental illness. A thematic analysis was conducted for a sample of 97 articles from both national news websites including msnbc.com, cnn.com, usatoday.com and regional news websites including washingtonpost.com, nytimes.com, and latimes.com. The results supported our hypothesis, as evidenced by theme 1: Dangerousness, being the most prevalent since it appeared in 52 articles (54%). Furthermore, theme 8: Negative Outcomes appeared 49 times (51%). Theme 2: Treatment and de-stigmatization was the third most prevalent, appearing 44 times (45%). After that, theme 3: Internal vs. External appeared 30 times (31%), theme 7: More than a Mental illness? appeared 29 times (30%), theme 4: Mental Illness as a Defense appeared 27 times (28%), theme 6: Evil Perpetrator vs. Blameless Victim appeared 21 times (22%), and them 5: The Hidden Disease appeared 20 times (21%). The themes least identified in the articles were theme 3, external causes and theme 8 Outcomes. In terms of national and regional news

Stigma, News Media, and Mental Illness 16 coverage, the top three themes were the same, meaning that the coverage was consistent across sources. Discussion The purpose of our study was to measure the degree to which news media outlets stigmatize individuals with mental illness. The results replicate previous findings while also building upon them, in that they explore the portrayal of mental illness through a new and different medium, the Internet (Klin & Lemish, 2008). According to Klin and Lemish, mass media contributes to the perpetuation of stigmas of mental illness by presenting people with mental illness as violent and dangerous. In addition, Corrigan et al. (2005) reported that the themes related to dangerousness and violence appeared most frequently (39%) in the newspaper stories and ended up in the front sections. Similarly, theme 1, Dangerousness, appeared the most often in our sample of online news articles. Therefore, as the world shifts from reading print news sources to online news sources, this particular theme remains consistent. In turn, this misperception and inaccurate labeling perpetuates stereotypes thereby keeping people with mental illness segregated and separated from society. The labeling and stigmatization perpetuates power and domination for those who hold the most control in society. This alienation is highly correlated with theme 8, Outcomes. In effect, being labeled as different and dangerous leads to negative outcomes. Roughly half (51%) of our articles showed a negative consequence, such as suicide, mistreatment, jail time, and job terminations. However, there are some stories that combat this negative news coverage, as shown by the prevalence of theme 2, Positive Outlook. This refers to appropriately treating the diagnosis of mental illnesses in order to avoid such negative consequences in addition to medication, connectivity with others, and rehabilitation programs. These stories also emphasize the ability of individuals to overcome

Stigma, News Media, and Mental Illness 17 their disease in order to live happy, more productive lives. It is important to note that there are differences in ways to interpret this particular theme among others. Positive Outlook can also be seen as negatively undermining the individuality of a person with mental illness. The group in power encourages conformity to one set of societal rules, determining what behavior is normal. For example, one of the articles is about a young boy who gradually pulls away from family, friends, and extracurricular activities. He is diagnosed with bipolar disorder, and in turn, medicated in order to return to his normal activities. After treatment, he reenters society by participating activities such as hockey, getting his drivers license, and going to school. This scenario can be interpreted positively in that the medication led to a happy life in which he is a full participant in society. This may also be interpreted negatively in that the medication is a way for those in power to keep societal structures the same. The medication is used as means to allow the boy to reenter the socially defined normal activities. Moreover, the fact that theme 5, Hidden Disease, is one of the themes least covered in our new articles is of concern. In order to treat, overcome, and alleviate stigma related to this Hidden Disease, mental illness news coverage should focus on this reality. Mental illness as a hidden disease will remain hidden if we do not take steps to increase communication about the diseases, awareness, and treatment. We would have hoped to see more articles with this theme in order to acknowledge that mental illness, although hidden, is as serious and prevalent of a health issue as physical health problems, like cancer. Moreover, the treatment for a mental illness is often administered secondarily to any treatment for a physical ailment; therefore, the segregation and negative consequences will continue until this is addressed equally to all illnesses, physical or mental. For example, several articles address health care issues, such that there is less coverage for mental health care than for the treatment of physical conditions. The theme of Hidden Disease

Stigma, News Media, and Mental Illness 18 also had the tendency to appear in articles in conjunction with another theme, More Than a Mental Illness? because when the disease is still hidden, no one knows it is present and therefore no labeling can occur. However, when the disease is diagnosed then the opportunity for labeling a person is present and stigmatization takes place. Overall, the results of the study showed both negative and positive stories. Despite several positive articles, it is imperative to focus on the online news coverage that continues to stigmatize those with mental illness. Our first research questions how the news media represents people with mental illness. According to the top three most prevalent themes indentified in the articles, a person with mental illness is biologically conditioned to their mental illness, dangerous, and their choices will have a negative consequence for themselves or society. This perpetuates the stigma associated with mental illness because this is not every person with mental illness. The theme Evil Perpetrator vs. Blameless Victim does not have one of the highest frequencies of all the themes, but when it does appear, it is always with Dangerousness and Negative Outcomes. This theme appears with Dangerousness because the person with mental illness is portrayed as having malicious intent towards others and in general they pose a threat to others. The victims of a dangerous circumstance or crime then look for some sort of retribution for what has occurred and that usually results in a negative outcome for the perpetrator, be it jail or job termination. Although some articles do advocate a positive and different view of a person with mental illness, the overall tone condenses and stigmatizes people with mental illness into a narrow category and description. Limitations The number of articles collected that comprised the data set were not as numerous as what could have been possible. With only three researchers in charge of gathering, reading, and coding each article the number of total articles was limited. In the short amount of time for research, it

Stigma, News Media, and Mental Illness 19 was not possible to look at all the online news sources found on the Internet, so it is noted that many websites were excluded from the study, even other websites with high levels of readership. News items like letters to the editor, opinion pieces, and special features were also excluded from the study limiting the different types of data collected. Finally, it is important to acknowledge that while many more people are receiving their news from an Internet source, there are still a high number who do not. They may not have consistent access to a computer or they may prefer reading a print copy of a newspaper or magazine to gather their news. Future Research The next step for further research on mental illness stigma in the Internet news media would hopefully move towards an inclusion of human subjects into a study instead of only relying on text based sources. It would be interesting to see how, and if, the subjects opinions on mental illness are affected by what they consume via the online news. The results of a study like that could help to concretely prove that what the public consumes related to stigma and mental illness has a direct affect on their opinions and how they are expressed. This approach would be more specific and the logical next step. Testing the perceptions of human subjects would allow more indepth questions to be asked to really gauge what is happening when their opinions are formed. Another idea for future research could focus on following the coverage of a news story across national and regional media outlets to compare the level of stigmatized coverage and whether or not the location affects how a story is reported.

Conclusion Our proposed study will contribute to the issue of stigma, mental illness and the media by

Stigma, News Media, and Mental Illness 20 filling a gap in the literature. Due to the constant evolution of technology, little research has been done in relation to the Internet and news media. According to The Pew Research Center for People & the Press, there is a shift in the Internet becoming the primary source of news (Horrigan, 2006). In our study, we analyzed various news websites coverage in regards to mental health, both regional and national, in order to discover the degree to which stigma is portrayed. We used rhetorical analysis for our study because we did not want to set too many parameters so we can inductively discover the meanings and themes of various articles. Finally, we used a frame analysis and Burkean criticism to look at how the news media frames people with mental illness. In turn this affects how the public views a person with mental illness and how that perspective translates into actions and treatment toward them. Although mental illness is an everyday occurrence, and the Matthew Shephard murder is one event, the news media functions similarly. The Matthew Shephard murder and news coverage was based around prejudice against homosexuals while our articles are based on the stigmatization of mental illness. The shortcoming of tragic frame is that it brings about symbolic resolution without turning the issue into a lesson for those involved (Dr. Heidi Rose, Qualitative Research Class, February 2009). Therefore this framework demonstrates how power relations and social inequalities are perpetuated through the medias framing of issues, in our cases, mental illness. A more effective and equal framework proposed by Burke is the comic frame. This frame allows one to identify with the mistaken, become a student himself, and transcend himself by noting his own foibles and learning from the experience (Dr. Heidi Rose, Qualitative Research Class, February 2009). This frame is better and more effective in getting the public to take action rather than focusing on the scapegoat process. Our goal is to strive for a higher level of media literacy when it comes to the stigmatized beliefs about mental illness and the news media. Raising awareness about this issue will prevent

Stigma, News Media, and Mental Illness 21 the public from blindly believing everything that is reported in the mass media.

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