Model
Digital Document
Publisher
Florida Atlantic University
Description
This study examines the coverage of an event that took place mostly in Miami, Florida and was reported on by The Miami Herald for more than six months. There are several issues that are addressed in this thesis. The primary hypothesis of this analysis is that the coverage of the Elian Gonzalez custody battle as it appeared in The Miami Herald uses the same narrative techniques as those used in fictional melodrama or soap operas. John Fiske's theory of melodrama as developed from Brown (1987) and a similar model used by Fiske (1987) is used to compare the specified piece of news coverage with generic soap opera narrative elements. The historical and political backgrounds of the Miami-Cuban community are integral factors in this news phenomenon---their roles in this controversy are thoroughly analyzed. Serious implications occurred as a result of this coverage; they are discussed in the conclusion of this thesis.
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