Thesis
A tale of two policies: changing images of immigration in newspaper
Washington State University
Master of Public Affairs (MPA), Washington State University
2014
Handle:
https://hdl.handle.net/2376/101439
Abstract
Public sentiment towards immigration policy has been both dynamic and fluid, constantly evolving in response to the perceived needs of both the public and immigrants. According to several theorists, shifts in policy are a result of a change in the policy image by the public and government, stipulating that these changes are not arbitrary or independently identified. Media framing plays a role in disseminating policy images and issues, impacting policy at the agenda setting stage and draws attention to a given topic by way of amount of attention and linguistic choices associated with the way it is presented. In recent decades California has been home to several dynamic policy shifts regarding undocumented immigrants and access to education. This descriptive content analysis selected a random sample of several thousand articles form the top six in circulation California newspapers looking for linguistic patterns and word associations using the key words immigration and education. The findings suggest that the word choice associated with undocumented immigrants is varied and with no specific pattern related any specific singular identity. Descriptives centered on economy and the specificity of cultural or country of origin identify are found most often in articles. Language choices meant to specify identity appears to be less consistent when compared to other linguistic variables implying that images may be more impacted by the perceived economic or administrative costs.
Metrics
Details
- Title
- A tale of two policies
- Creators
- Sara Seyller
- Contributors
- Dana Lee Baker (Degree Supervisor)
- Awarding Institution
- Washington State University
- Academic Unit
- Politics, Philosophy and Public Affairs, School of
- Theses and Dissertations
- Master of Public Affairs (MPA), Washington State University
- Publisher
- Washington State University; [Pullman, Washington] :
- Identifiers
- 99900525024801842
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Thesis