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The Politics of Silence: The Public and Private Matter of Theresa Marie Schiavo

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Date Issued:
2007
Abstract/Description:
Theresa Marie Schiavo died March 31, 2005. The 41-year-old's human and communicative faculties were so deficient that a feeding tube was necessary to nourish her and she had been silent for 15 years. In her final month, Ms. Schiavo's health, the dispute between her husband and parents concerning the removal of her feeding tube, and her subsequent death were covered extensively by American broadcast, online and print media. As she lay silent in a Florida hospice, the U.S. Congress, the president and the courts intervened, and those who spoke about her matter and the news media propelled her human tragedy toward the top of the public agenda. News stories, reports and analyses of the case from Time, Newsweek, The New York Times, The Washington Post and St. Petersburg Times are analyzed using a critical-qualitative approach to framing.
Title: The Politics of Silence: The Public and Private Matter of Theresa Marie Schiavo.
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Name(s): Reinson, Kyle F.
Tracy, James F., Thesis advisor
Florida Atlantic University, Degree grantor
Type of Resource: text
Genre: Electronic Thesis Or Dissertation
Date Created: 2007
Date Issued: 2007
Publisher: Florida Atlantic University
Place of Publication: Boca Raton, Fla.
Physical Form: application/pdf
Extent: 93 p.
Language(s): English
Abstract/Description: Theresa Marie Schiavo died March 31, 2005. The 41-year-old's human and communicative faculties were so deficient that a feeding tube was necessary to nourish her and she had been silent for 15 years. In her final month, Ms. Schiavo's health, the dispute between her husband and parents concerning the removal of her feeding tube, and her subsequent death were covered extensively by American broadcast, online and print media. As she lay silent in a Florida hospice, the U.S. Congress, the president and the courts intervened, and those who spoke about her matter and the news media propelled her human tragedy toward the top of the public agenda. News stories, reports and analyses of the case from Time, Newsweek, The New York Times, The Washington Post and St. Petersburg Times are analyzed using a critical-qualitative approach to framing.
Identifier: FA00000954 (IID)
Degree granted: Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2007.
Collection: FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection
Note(s): Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters
Subject(s): Schiavo, Terri,--1963-2005
Right to die--Moral and ethical aspects
Political sociology
Mass media and culture
Privacy, Right of
Journalism--Objectivity
Held by: Florida Atlantic University Libraries
Sublocation: Digital Library
Persistent Link to This Record: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00000954
Use and Reproduction: Copyright © is held by the author with permission granted to Florida Atlantic University to digitize, archive and distribute this item for non-profit research and educational purposes. Any reuse of this item in excess of fair use or other copyright exemptions requires permission of the copyright holder.
Use and Reproduction: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
Host Institution: FAU
Is Part of Series: Florida Atlantic University Digital Library Collections.