Title
When New Media Make News: Framing Technology and Sexual Assault in the Steubenville Rape Case
Publication Date
2016
Document Type
Article
Abstract
The 2013 Steubenville, Ohio, rape case featured a sadly familiar story of juvenile acquaintance rape involving star football players; what captured national interest in the case, however, was how the rapists and peer witnesses alike captured video and photos of the sexual assault and disseminated them swiftly and publicly via social media sites. This qualitative textual analysis utilizes framing theory to explore how national news coverage framed new media technology in relation to the Steubenville rape case, particularly how technology was framed as witness, galvanizer, and threat during the rape and its aftermath. Implications of these frames, as well as a lack of broader sexual assault context in the media coverage, are considered.
Original Citation
Pennington, R. & Birthisel, J. (2016). When New Media Make News: Framing Technology and Sexual Assault in the Steubenville Rape Case. New Media & Society, 18(11) 2435-2451. https://doi.org/10.1177/1461444815612407
Identifier
Virtual Commons Citation
Pennington, Rosemary and Birthisel, Jessica (2016). When New Media Make News: Framing Technology and Sexual Assault in the Steubenville Rape Case. In Communication Studies Faculty Publications. Paper 48.
Available at: https://vc.bridgew.edu/commstud_fac/48