One Way Street: A Case Study of The Philadelphia Inquirer and The Philadelphia Daily News coverage concerning the 2009 Septa Strike
Open Access
Author:
Smith, Jeremy Paul
Graduate Program:
Communication Arts and Sciences
Degree:
Master of Arts
Document Type:
Master Thesis
Date of Defense:
October 03, 2011
Committee Members:
Ronald V Bettig, Thesis Advisor/Co-Advisor
Keywords:
organized labor media communications
Abstract:
Labor scholars have examined the claim of negative media bias towards labor unions. In an attempt to substantiate these claims, a case study of the Philadelphia Inquirer and Philadelphia Daily News was conducted examining their coverage of a November 2009 public sector labor union strike. Articles from both papers running between March and November 2009 were examined. It was found that there was an overwhelming tone of negative labor coverage in hard news and opinion content. It was also found that both papers, jointly owned, provide little diversity in coverage, and was overtly homogenous in their coverage of the strike.
