Abstract:
The George Zimmerman and Trayvon Martin case sparked national debate. I have examined the discourse generated by the media surrounding this high-profile case. I have used stories from The Washington Post, The New York Times, and The Chicago Sun-Times to understand how the media portrayed George Zimmerman and Trayvon Martin during the pre-trial case. I have answered two very important questions surrounding this case. First, in what way did the media frame George Zimmerman and Trayvon Martin? Second, what are the implications of this media framing for society as a whole?
After analyzing the articles from these three national newspapers, I discovered the use of episodic, thematic, and partisan media frames. All three frames told the story of the Trayvon Martin and George Zimmerman case in different ways. This research paper will encourage people to better understand how the media shapes their world perspective.
