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Sequencing Whistle Blowers: An Exploration of Julian Assange, Bradley Manning and Edward Snowden from 2010-2014

Tue, August 25, 10:30am to 12:10pm, TBA

Abstract

Does media coverage impact the way the public views prominent whistle blowers? To explore this effect I applied Cerulo’s (1998) sequencing method. A combination of qualitative and quantitative methods were used to explore my hypotheses. I used Cerulo’s system of five sequential frames to analyze 109 articles collected on three whistle blowers. Content analysis of these articles on Julian Assange, Bradley Manning, and Edward Snowden was employed. Sequencing might explain the widely varying sentiments on whistle blowers in public opinion data and also offer some insight into the patterns in articles about this new breed of tech-savvy dissenter. In the case of each whistle blower, over time, context became the dominant sequence and was also the most frequent sequence for each subject. This means that the media’s coverage of whistle blowers primes audiences to view the actions of Assange, Manning, and Snowden as justified.

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