Representing stalking in the news

Abstract

This thesis examines the news media's representation of stalking. Through claims-making, I investigate dominant constructions of who stalks, who gets stalked, the relationship between stalkers and their victims, and common tactics that stalkers deploy. I also analyze the relationship between the experts sourced with the news and dominant stalking constructions that have mobilized Canada's anti-stalking legislation and subsequent amendments and reforms in Canada, the United States, and other countries reflected in Canadian national news.

Following Foucault's suggestions for analyzing discourse, I take this analysis one step further and examine the relationship between power, knowledge, truth, and discourse in relation to stalking. I argue that dominant constructions have contributed to a "politics of truth" about stalking, which experts use to evaluate new truth claims. In turn, they explicate discursive rules or show modifications in the rules as new claims come forth and challenge existing truths. I show how subjugated discourses yield power through the media with new constitutions of victims and stalkers.

Finally, I illustrate that multiple discourses co-exist in the media, each adhering to different discursive styles. Drawing from Baudrillard, I argue that these discourses vie for prominence in consumer societies, yet their appeal is not a reflection of the discourse per se. Rather, it is based on the status of the victims and stalkers involved. I contend that news that involves celebrities focuses on manifest content, which seduces consumers to read or watch the news. Intimate stalking, however, comprises a large component of the constructions and discourse because it produces truth effects that enhance our understanding of stalking as a manifestation of violence against women.