eprintid: 27
rev_number: 11
eprint_status: archive
userid: 37
dir: disk0/00/00/00/27
datestamp: 2016-10-14 09:37:36
lastmod: 2016-10-17 13:36:50
status_changed: 2016-10-14 09:37:36
type: thesis
metadata_visibility: show
creators_name: McCabe, Amy
title: An evaluation of the media coverage of Aisling Brady McCarthy, through ‘The Boston Nanny’ Case: Distinguishing the differences between localised, tabloid and broadsheet Irish print media and American print media reports.
ispublished: unpub
divisions: MAJ
full_text_status: public
keywords: Media, Journalism, America, Ireland, Childcare
abstract: Aisling Brady McCarthy featured in global headlines in January 2013, when she was first charged with the death of a baby which had been in her care for several months, whilst she worked as a nanny in America. Comparable to all murder stories Aisling’s case received a high level of attention, as the case had strong evidence weaknesses from the start.
The purpose of this dissertation is to examine the manner in which Aisling was reported on throughout the ‘Boston Nanny Trial’, with particular examination of Irish and American print media organisations. My research was centred on a content analysis approach using media framing, coding and tonality assessments.
The data sample involved three Irish print media organisations and one American print media organisation, The Boston Globe, The Irish Daily Mail, The Anglo Celt and The Irish Independent. The basis for this data sample selection was to include, a broadsheet, tabloid, American and local example of a print media establishment.
This dissertation analysed data from 2013 until the trail ended in 2015 when Aisling was exempt of the murder charges. The dissertation aims are to determine whether there are any similarities between the Irish and American print media organisations as well as any diversity in the reporting of the ‘Boston Nanny Case’ by the chosen Irish newspapers.
The content analysis highlighted a wide range of similarities in the Irish and American case coverage with the Irish Daily Mail and The Boston Globe having increased news coverage in 2015, while The Irish Independent and The Anglo Celt seen its highest rate of news coverage in 2013.
Overall, the attribution of responsibility frame was the most dominant throughout the data, with the human interest frame utilised most often by The Anglo Celt. The tonality of nearly all of the newspapers proved to be generally neutral with The Anglo Celt producing the most positive articles concerning Aisling and her case.
The Boston Globe’s coverage of the ‘Boston Nanny Case’ presents a very different interpretation of the mainstream US media, by reporting on the case in a generally neutral way, with some opinion based reports suggesting the evidence surrounding Aisling’s case to be faulty. Moreover, The Anglo Celt, which was selected as a local print media example displayed some signs of favouritism and a non-objective tone towards Aisling with an early judgement of her innocents.
date: 2016
date_type: completed
institution: Griffith College
department: Faculty of Journalism & Media Communications
thesis_type: masters
referencetext: ………………………………………………………………..…………69 Declaration I hereby certify that this material, which I now submit for assessment on the programme of study leading to the award of the MA in Journalism & Media Communications, is my own; based on my personal study and/or research, and that I have acknowledged all material and sources used in its preparation. I also certify that I have not copied in part or whole or otherwise plagiarised the work of anyone else, including other students.

Signed: ............................................................

Dated: .............................. Abstract

Aisling Brady McCarthy featured in global headlines in January 2013, when she was first charged with the death of a baby which had been in her care for several months, whilst she worked as a nanny in America. Comparable to all murder stories Aisling's case received a high level of attention, as the case had strong evidence weaknesses from the start.

The purpose of this dissertation is to examine the manner in which Aisling was reported on throughout the ‘Boston Nanny Trial', with particular examination of Irish and American print media organisations. My research was centred on a content analysis approach using media framing, coding and tonality assessments.

The data sample involved three Irish print media organisations and one American print media organisation, The Boston Globe, The Irish Daily Mail, The Anglo Celt and The Irish Independent. The basis for this data sample selection was to include, a broadsheet, tabloid, American and local example of a print media establishment.

This dissertation analysed data from 2013 until the trail ended in 2015 when Aisling was exempt of the murder charges. The dissertation aims are to determine whether there are any similarities between the Irish and American print media organisations as well as any diversity in the reporting of the ‘Boston Nanny Case' by the chosen Irish newspapers.

The content analysis highlighted a wide range of similarities in the Irish and American case coverage with the Irish Daily Mail and The Boston Globe having increased news coverage in 2015, while The Irish Independent and The Anglo Celt seen its highest rate of news coverage in 2013.

Overall, the attribution of responsibility frame was the most dominant throughout the data, with the human interest frame utilised most often by The Anglo Celt. The tonality of nearly all of the newspapers proved to be generally neutral with The Anglo Celt producing the most positive articles concerning Aisling and her case. The Boston Globe's coverage of the ‘Boston Nanny Case' presents a very different interpretation of the mainstream US media, by reporting on the case in a generally neutral way, with some opinion based reports suggesting the evidence surrounding Aisling's case to be faulty. Moreover, The Anglo Celt, which was selected as a local print media example displayed some signs of favouritism and a non-objective tone towards Aisling with an early judgement of her innocents. Acknowledgements

First and most importantly, I would like to thank my parents. Without them I wouldn't have been able to study my M.A. I am forever in depth to them for their constant support and help they have given me through my time in education. This accomplishment would not have been possible without them. Thank you.

I would also like to thank my thesis supervisor Maurice Coakley, for his help and continual advice throughout my dissertation.

Finally I would like to thank all my family, Alma, Ronan, Irene, Siobhan and Francis, as well as all my friends for their help in keeping my sanity in one piece over the last two years. Thank you for always being there to listen and for your invaluable support.

I won't forget any of you when I'm famous, promise! Chapter 1 - Introduction

Like many Irish before her, Aisling Brady McCarthy moved to America in 2002, with the hope of an exciting new adventure and new employment encounters. (Farrell O, 2015) In September 2012, Aisling married Don McCarthy and they began to live a happy life together in America. (Armstrong, K, 2015) Aisling became one of the many undocumented Irish living illegally in America, and it was this status that led Aisling to a job, which many illegal Irish females partake whilst living in America, as a nanny for an American family.

Aisling had worked as a nanny/au pair for the Sabir family in Cambridge, Massachusetts, America, for almost six months before their baby girl, Rehma, became ill. On the day of the baby's birthday, Aisling put her to bed as she noticed she was tired, when sometime later Aisling found the baby was unconscious and an ambulance was rang. Baby Rehma was then rushed to the nearest hospital and within less than a day at the hospital Rehma was diagnosed with Shaken Baby Syndrome by a doctor in the hospital, as severe head trauma was discovered on the baby's skull and the baby girl was declared dead two days later. (Perry C, 2015).

On January 21st 2013, Aisling was arrested and charged with assault and battery of the child, Rehma Sabir. (Wen P, 2015) “As the last person with the infant, Ms Brady McCarthy was ultimately arrested and charged with murdering her.” (Perry C, 2015) Aisling's bail was set at a staggering $500,000, which was set out by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement, claiming Aisling was a flight risk due to her illegal immigrant status in America.

By April 2013, Aisling's charges had been updated to the murder of the child and at that stage Aisling had already spent four months in a female federal prison, in the United Sates. On the evening of the 12th of April the nanny was charged with the murder of baby Rehma, the Attorney General Office statement read, “It is alleged that on 14 January, the child was in the care of the defendant, her nanny. Through their investigation, including interviews with witnesses, police concluded that the defendant had sole custody of and contact with the child during the time that the child sustained the abusive head trauma injuries that caused her death.” (O'Carroll S, 2013)

Aisling spent at total of 28 months in prison, for a crime she did not commit. “The narrative was clear — a crazy illegal Irish nanny had beaten a child to death.” (Breslin J, 2015) According to Aisling's lawyers the police rushed to establish the cause of the baby's death and the medical evidence was never backed up by fact; as it turns out the babies injuries were sustained when abroad in India with her parent or due to on-going medical conditions the baby girl already had, rather than in the care of Aisling. Further medical evidence, which was also ignored at the start, exposed the baby as malnourished, as well as having other minor medical conditions. The main doctor at the head of the children's hospital decided on Shaken Baby Syndrome, with no other examinations carried out, once arrested Aisling was continuously denied bail until May, 2015. (Breslin J, 2015)

Aisling's defence lawyers were asking for a constant review of the medical records which led to the office of the Medical Examiner taking the unusual step and rereviewed the medical evidence. Before the review the baby's death was a cause of ‘blunt force head traumaánd after the review the cause of death was ‘undetermined'. The judge over the case claimed, “she had additional information not available to her prior to reaching the original conclusion - such as additional transcripts of police interviews, grand jury testimony, additional medical records and additional lab tests.” Aisling was deported back to Ireland and cleared of the murder in September, 2015. (Perry C, 2015).

In January of 2016 reports began to surface that Aisling would take legal action over what had happened to her through the American legal system. “She now wants to see the doctor who first implicated her regarding Rehma's death, Dr Alice Newton, and Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan held accountable for her imprisonment. ‘They weren't just wrong in my case, they were reckless”, McCarthy told the Boston Globe in an interview reported on by the Irish Times. (The Irish Times, 2016) In February, 2016, a new lawsuit was filed against the Cavan nanny. “Aisling Brady McCarthy is being sued for wrongful death by the parents of the deceased one-year-old girl she cared for, five months after US prosecutors dropped murder charges against her,” this issue is yet to be resolved. (Carswell S, 2016)

The media can have an impact on public opinions and beliefs of high impacting news stories, as the media tend to be a key source of information for the public. The general public tend to know very little about legal cases such as Aisling's case. Therefore, the information they receive on the case or on Aisling shapes the readers views and opinions of the subject. “The media - television, the press and online - play a central role in communicating to the public what happens in the world. In those cases in which audiences do not possess direct knowledge or experience of what is happening, they become particularly reliant upon the media to inform them.” (Happer C and Philo G, 2013, p231) In this instance most information came from the main stream print and televised media establishments in Ireland and America.

Granted the media can be influential on the general public, some may interpret media differently than others. Print media readers from Ireland may read the media surrounding Aisling case from a different perceptive than the American newspapers audience. “These messages are not received uniformly by all audiences, and the level of influence that they have varies greatly.” (Happer C and Philo G, 2013, p236).

Although female offenders have been analysed in other studies, as well as wrongful convictions, there is a clear gap in a specialised case such as Aisling's case. As Aisling case was extremely high profile in the media, in both Ireland and America, the media coverage concerning a female offender turned wrongful conviction warrants a media examination. The case has never been analysed through the media coverage she received, as it is still a very recent case. Research has been carried out on a number of similar cases and on areas which concern Aisling's case. Studies by Black (2009) look exclusively at the representation of female offenders in Irish print media, comparable to this dissertation Black looks at four newspapers and uses a content analysis approach for her study. Black highlights categories in which female offenders appear in, such as, “mother, sexual, mad”. (Black L, 2009, p28). Black offers an uncommon study of the Irish media.

American studies, which are the equivalent to Blacks analysis on Irish female offenders have also been created by Pauline K. Brennan and Abby L. Vandenberg (2009), who have examined female offenders, concentrating on race and ethnicity, within front page American media, using a content analysis concentrating on two major American newspapers. The study highlighted that, “Few have considered how a female offender's race/ethnicity may impact media coverage. Such a consideration is important given the prevalence of negative racial/ethnic stereotypes in American society.” (Brennan & Vandenberg, 2009, p164).

An extensive breakdown of the literature surrounding this study is completed in Chapter 2. Many areas are analysed in the literature review, including female offenders, female offenders influenced by female stereotypes and female gender roles within the media, Shaken Baby Syndrome, media framing literature, racial bias within the media and literature surrounding media influence within wrongful convictions will also be examined for this dissertation.

This dissertation will evaluate the print media coverage Aisling received through her trial with the selected print media analysed on numerous levels, American, Irish broadsheet, Irish tabloid and localised Irish print media, while three key years will be examined through this study; 2013, 2014 and 2015. The aim of this dissertation is to illustrate the similarities and differences between the different print media outlets and discover the media frames and tones which were used by the print media when Aisling was first arrested, during Aisling's trial and when the charges were dropped against Aisling in 2015.

Like many studies relating to media conduct and representation, questions will be answered using a content analysis approach. Firstly a data sample will be collected from 2013 till 2015 with the newspapers which were selected, The Irish Independent, The Anglo Celt, The Irish Daily Mail and The Boston Globe. The chosen articles were sourced from Lexus Nexus and Irish Newspaper Databases, while The Boston Globe articles were sourced from the Boston Globe Archives. The search term which will be used through the database is “Aisling McCarthy Brady” or “Boston Nanny”, as all articles will include Aisling's name within the articles.

The framing theory will be the foundation of this research, by using the framing theory, the overall tone and character of each article can be understood. “Framing refers to the process by which people develop a particular conceptualization of an issue or reorient their thinking about an issue.” (Chong D & Druckman J, 2007, p104) Four news frames will be selected from Seon-Kyoung Ana & Karla K. Gowerb (2009) content analysis study on news crisis and news frames. These frames are; human interest frame, conflict frame, morality frame and the attribution of responsibility frame. A detailed methodology account can be found in chapter three of this study, which further outlines the methodology process.

The media coverage surrounding Aisling throughout her trial illustrates a diverse range of views from different media organisations. In both Irish and American law, everyone is entitled to a fair trial. “One of the most sacred principles in the American criminal justice system, holding that a defendant is innocent until proven guilty. In other words, the prosecution must prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, each essential element of the crime charged.” (Legal Information Institute, 2015)

Nevertheless, what happens when the accused becomes a part of a trail by the media? The trail by media can have influential effects on the general public, resulting in a negative or positive result for the accused in regards to their legal case. “The knowledge that the transformation of the sober and impartial investigation of guilt into a grotesque media “carnival” could probably happen nowhere in the Western world other than the United States reminds us again of the distinctiveness of First Amendment jurisprudence” (Phillipson G, 2007, p16). Therefore, in my opinion, a case like Aisling merits a great deal of investigation. How the media coverage changed throughout Aisling's trial will illustrate what information the general public received about Aisling's trial from the print media. Moreover, how the media coverage differed in Irish broadsheet, tabloid and localised print media and American print media will highlight the differences and similarities each had. Chapter 2 - Literature Review

Female Offender Representation

Brennan and Vandenberg, conducted a study on female offenders, concentrating on race and ethnicity, within front page American media. The main objective of this study is whether the race or ethnicity of a female offender affects her image within the media. The literature from which this study derives from suggests that white female offenders sometimes get excused for their crimes easier than if the offender is of a minority. The data analysis examined the New York Times and the Los Angeles Times, due to their wide readership. “We found that stories about white female offenders were more likely to contain excuses for their alleged or actual offenses and were, therefore, more likely to take on an overall favourable tone than stories about minority female offenders.” (Brennan & Vandenberg, 2009, p141) The study sets minorities in opposition to white female offenders and tends to see Black Americans as the other. Unsurprisingly, the results illustrated the fact that black female offenders and ethnic minorities are shown in a more negative light within front page American print media, rather than white female offenders. (Brennan & Vandenberg, 2009, p164) Brennan and Vandenberg highlight some warranted research in their study, although their methodology and chosen characteristics worked, perhaps the range of articles which were chosen could have benefited from more newspaper scope, since only two newspapers were selected for the research. This dissertation will highlight a different race, the Irish race living in America. Aisling Brady McCarthy was an illegal immigrant in America, since moving there in 2002. Therefore, this dissertation will highlight how illegal Irish female offenders are portrayed by the media in America, anticipating that illegal immigrants will be portrayed negatively by America's print media.

Lynsey Black (2009), examined female offenders within Irish media, and the repetition of these females. Following on from Brennan and Vandenberg research into offenders in American media, research on offenders within the Irish media is also fundamental in this dissertation research. Blacks' study was a content analysis of four high volume newspapers in Ireland, using a sample of each newspaper over a month and applying coding to reach her conclusions. Black's methodology is thorough, and in turn this makes the data analysis results detailed and comprehensive. “As highlighted in the literature review, women are often presented in simplistic terms pre-ordained by society; it can be seen that the representation of female offenders in Irish newspapers shares many of these limitations.” (Black, L, 2009, p55). The study suggests that female offenders are much less likely to appear in the media than male offenders and when they do appear they were placed under certain categories, such as “mother, sexual, mad”. (Black, L, 2009, p28). It will be interesting to see if Aisling appears under any of the roles which were found from Black's study. “As expected, the Irish Times carried few of these headlines. The Irish Daily Star featured the largest number, also expected, due to the emotive nature of much tabloid reporting and their penchant for gripping headlines (Conboy, 2006).” (Black, 2009, p33) Interestingly, Irish tabloids illustrated the most interest in female offenders. My own study will also compare tabloids to broadsheets in the Irish print media, therefore, our results could be somewhat similar. Black validates the influence the media can have on its audience saying, “The press is an influential institution; it must therefore engage in accurate representation,” so it is vital that media representations are correct and balanced for its audience. (Black L, 2009, p56). Resembling this study, Aisling's media coverage over the Boston Nanny trail should be represented accurately and inaccuracy or favouritism will be noted.

Rachael E Collins (2014), produced a content analysis on Canadian newspapers concerning female offenders. “Media sensationalism around female violence and aggression is not a novel phenomenon; women and girls who break the law have long captured the attention of mass audiences (Chesney-Lind and Irwin, 2008).” (Collins, 2014, p1) In Collins' study the stereotypically depictions of women were analysed just like Kathleen Evans (2012) study on female and male offenders. Collins points out that females are assumed as the victim, therefore, when they fall into the offending category they are treated much more harshly than their male counterparts. “Female offenders who have fallen from grace and are seen as violators of gender norms can be punished more harshly than their male counterparts.” (Collins, 2014, p3)

A mixed method approach was utilised by Collins in this study and four cities in Canada were chosen while local papers were also selected and covered. The dates and samples were selected randomly by Collins, “In total, 1190 articles were collected from 480 newspapers.” (Collins, 2014, p4) Interestingly, in the coding system and coding words were chosen with a detailed summary of the words meaning given in relation to its context in the media articles which were analysed. “The main goal of a CDA is to describe the nature of these messages and to shed light on the nature of the portrayal put forward for offenders and victims who are both men and women.” (Collins, 2014, p7) There was a contrast in the language used when describing female offenders in comparison to male offenders. As noted previously by Collins in the study, the media seem to be more critical of female offenders. Moreover, the research results tend to improve this argument, “Articles describing female offenders were significantly more likely to contain language describing crime as being everywhere (main effect of offender gender: F1, 1178 = 13.75; p < 0.001). The same articles also mentioned the offender's history of crime (main effect of offender gender: F1, 1178 = 11.43; p < 0.001) and occupation (main effect of offender gender: F1, 1178 = 9.00; p < 0.003) less than articles describing male offenders.” (Collins, 2014, p8) Another noteworthy point, is that in comparison to the male offenders, female's appearance was generally commented on by the media, as well as the sexualisation of females within media reports. Sexualisation examples such as, “terms like ‘bombshell banditsánd ‘beauty and bullets' to portray a fantasy depiction of the sexy bad girl with long white gloves and fuchsia lips. This sexualisation was strictly reserved for women.” (Collins, 2014, p10) This study will expectantly show some similarities to Aisling's depictions within the Irish and American media as a female offender or perhaps some contrasting points as Aisling was found innocent of the crime in 2015.

Male representation within the media will also be examined in order to improve the research of this dissertation. Kathleen Evans (2012) study examines “Media Representations of Male and Female ‘Co-Offending': How female offenders are portrayed in comparison to their male counterparts”, this study highlights a female offender case, “nursery worker Vanessa George was taken into custody on the suspicion of possessing indecent images of children”. (Evans K, 2012, p12) The study demonstrates the role of women within society, and the stereotypical roles they play. Women are maternal, mothers, caring and nurturing, thus, the author states that the female offender in question had broken two laws, a legal law of their crimes and the laws which surround women, how women should act within society, and how they are viewed stereotypically by society. The paper found that not all media could be accused of gender bias in terms of male and female offenders, but it was definitely a concern. “It highlights the potential within this method to actively seek out those suggestions of female inequality at the risk of disregarding other issues which may be of relevance”. (Evans, 2012, p17) Aisling's media portrayal may or may not be stereotypically depicted within Irish and American print media, nonetheless, this is an issue worth examining.

Female Offenders influenced by Female Stereotypes and Female Gender Roles

Brenda Russell (2013), illustrates the serotypes and gender roles which surround female offenders. As Russell points out society still sees female crimes as unusual and uncommon, although there has been a significant rise in female offenders over the past decade. Social constructions within society leave a question mark over female offenders, “Our social norms dictate that women are not dangerous that they do not commit crimes - and the thought of a female offender conflicts with prescribed gender roles: aren't women supposed to be nurturing and passive?” (Russell B, 2013, p1). In the past women have been positioned as the victim and men as the offenders, this is slowly changing within the modern society, with the literature on the subject of female offenders on the rise and vaster than ever before. This literature suggests a number of variations between male and female offenders, “In our long history of gender based norms, we cannot ignore the influence of history, politics, culture, legislation, and other contextual forces” (Russell B, 2013, p4) Moreover, Russell states that women who commit crimes are judged by the justice system through the societal female stereotypes which exist. Perhaps they are prosecuted more harshly, as women are not normally criminals. Therefore the media may also treat them differently to male offenders, “This book provides an evidence based approach of how female offenders are perceived in society and how this translates to differential treatment within the criminal justice system and explores the ramifications of such differences.” (Russell B, 2013, p4)

Georgie Ann Weatherby, Jamie Blanche and Rebecca Jones (2008), produced a paper on The Value of Life: Female Killers & the Feminine Mystique. The paper suggests that female murders are infrequent within society, and when a case emerges, society and the justice system seem much more critical of their punishment, in comparison to male offenders. The study states, “Research suggests that this discrepancy could be based on the cultural norms surrounding the view of women as inherently nurturing and feminine”. (Weatherby, Blanche, Jones, 2008, p1) Women are judged more harshly if their crime is said to be unfeminine, such as crimes concerning children. Another noteworthy difference between male and female offenders is the use of imagery which is used by the media for female offenders. “When the crimes are especially heinous and against perceived female norms, the court system, media, and public come down exceedingly hard on these unnatural and doubly deviant criminals.” (Weatherby, Blanche, Jones, 2008, p1) The media tend to quickly identify the accused women as either mad or bad, and try to convince its audience to think similarly. The authors believe that even within today's society women are put into old fashioned categories and stereotypes, “They are supposed to act, dress, and present themselves in every way possible as a lady. Such gender stereotypes that can be found, even in today's time, is that a woman should be a nurturing mother, faithful to her family, and ultimately subservient to her husband” (Weatherby, Blanche, Jones, 2008, p2) Since females are seen as the least likely to commit serious crimes, when these crimes do occur, the media and public reaction is immense according to this study, as it is seen as un-characteristic within society norms. This 2008 study selected newspaper articles from two national papers and two local papers, where the case study crimes were committed. The articles were on the subject of the case of Aileen Wuornos a female offender in America. The study analysed a number of theories, including the labelling theory, anomie theory and the chivalry theory. (Weatherby, Blanche, Jones, 2008, p5-6) The labelling theory produced the media stereotypes which would be anticipated. Aileen Wuornos was a lesbian, and her sexuality was highly concentrated on by the media. Her image was also commented on by some American media, “Tall and masculinelooking…the women wore white T-shirts with the sleeves cut out and no brassieres.” (GA. Weatherby, J. Blanche, R. Jones, 2008, p8) Overall the articles, which were analysed on Aileen Wuornos the offending female, highlighted media influence on public opinion. In addition, the context in which the woman was reported on can be viewed as discriminating. “However, it can be concluded that it was very questionable that a majority of the newspapers continuously reported irrelevant facts and opinions about each case. Instead of reporting about the facts and evidence that are pertinent to the rulings of each case, the media decided to mention divorce, sexuality, occupations, educational levels, physical descriptions, and perceived femininity levels of the woman which ultimately should not have any bearing on the actual sentence” (Weatherby, Blanche, Jones, 2008, p10)

Shaken Baby Syndrome

When Aisling was charged with the murder of Rehma Sabir, the doctors initially said the baby's death was due to Shaken Baby Syndrome. Throughout the literature of Aisling's case, which is mainly media articles, the case is compared with that of Louise Woodward. Louise was a young British women, who was also charged with the murder of the baby which she took care of for an American family. The diagnosis of this baby's death was also Shaken Baby Syndrome to begin with. (BBC NEWS, 1997) Jojo Moyes wrote an article on Louise Woodward's case, which was not a typical timeline or review of her case. The journalist suggests that the imagery of her within the media, was key to her case. Interestingly, Woodward was portrayed in a very positive light by the British media, she was a young girl, who wore very little make-up, and couldn't eat prison food because she was a vegetarian. In contrast to this view the American media seen her as the polar opposite, “She was, according to the prosecution, a "little actress", a cool, composed, nightmare nanny determined to do whatever she had to do to get off her charge.” (Moyes J, 2011) This difference of image of Louise Woodward is noteworthy in terms of my own research. This article exemplifies the support Louise got from the British media and the slating she received from the American media. Whether or not my research will have the same outcome is yet to be determined; in terms of the Irish and American media coverage differences.

Medical evidence and medical reports were the focus point of many of the articles which surrounded Aisling's Case. The medical condition, Shaken Baby Syndrome, was attributed on both Aisling and Louise Woodward in the cause of both baby's deaths. Shaken baby was once accepted by a world of medical professionals but doubt over this medical condition is now on the rise. The New York Times explain the growing doubts, “While many doctors, maybe most, still swear by the diagnosis, a growing number have lost faith. Not that they doubt that some babies have been abused. But these sceptics assert that factors other than shaking, and having nothing to do with criminal behaviour, may sometimes explain the triad.” (Haberman C, 2015) Some medical experts are now concerned that this diagnoses is leading a number of miscarriages of justice for parents and child carer cases. At the time of Louise Woodward's case, Dr. Patrick Barnes, a neuroradiology on the case in 1997, told a New York Times report “I was adamant that it had to be child abuse, shaken baby syndrome”. (Haberman C, 2015) However, since the Woodward case in 1997, Dr. Barnes has revised his views on the case and the evidence of Shaken Baby Syndrome. The doctor now believes that other reasons may form this type of head trauma, “Other doctors who share his outlook question whether just shaking an infant, without resorting to other forms of violence, could in fact produce the triad's tell-tale signs.” (Haberman C, 2015) Nevertheless, it is a medical question which can only remain unanswered as the theory of shaken a baby understandably will never be accurately tested. Shaken Baby Syndrome was a term used repeatedly by the print media through Aisling's case. It will be noteworthy to examine how the medical evidence was used by the media through her case, and whether any newspaper questioned the shaken baby syndrome before Aisling was found not guilty of the baby's death.

“For nearly 40 years, prosecutors have been winning convictions on charges ranging from child endangerment to murder based on the hypothesis of Shaken Baby Syndrome (SBS) (Committee on Child Abuse & Neglect, 1993), recently renamed Abusive Head Trauma (AHT) (Christian 2009).” (Luttner, 2014, p1). Susan E. Luttner, provides an argument surrounding shaken baby syndrome. The paper looks at the medical evidence which surrounds some of the court cases which also involve Shaken Baby Syndrome. The main motive surrounding the shaken baby argument is the evidence it provides, and as Luttner points out, there have been many cases diagnosed by medical staff “even if the child has no bruises, abrasions, grip marks, or other external signs of battering.” (Luttner, 2014, p1) Shaken Baby Syndrome divides the medical world and evidence shows it has led to many miscarriages of justice. Furthermore, some doctors disputed that such injuries could even come from falls, even dramatic falls down stairs. Therefore, the injuries that come as a result of Shaken Baby Syndrome are believed, by some doctors, to be connected with human force and abuse. (Luttner, 2014, p3)

In this paper, Luttner discusses the Louise Woodward case and the impact Shaken Baby Syndrome had on her case. Louise Woodward's case was labelled “The Boston Nanny Case”, as Louise was a British Nanny living in Boston, looking after 8-month-old Matthew Eappen. “Like many children in shaking cases, Matthew had a skull fracture that could not be dated. He also had a healing wrist fracture that no one could explain and a fatal brain injury.” (Luttner, 2014, p6) Many doctors within the trial testified that Woodward could not have shaken the baby so forcefully to cause such traumatic head injuries. John Plunkett, was one of the doctors who protested the claims against Woodward. He stated that the injuries which the 8-month-old baby received were so severe they could have come from a car crash or a fall from a two-story building, therefore Woodward had not shaken the baby to death. (Luttner, 2014, p6) Since Woodward's case in 1997, many medical associations have made new statements regarding the diagnosis, with the American Academy of Paediatrics updating their stance on the issue in 2001, stating, “These clinical signs of shaken baby syndrome are immediately identifiable as problematic, even to parents who are not medically knowledgeable (19). However, depending on the severity of clinical signs, this may or may not result in caretakers seeking medical attention. These nonspecific signs are often minimized by physicians or attributed to viral illness” (Luttner, 2014, p7)

To conclude, Luttner states that the theory surrounding Shaken Baby Syndrome is resulting in many miscarriages of justice. In addition, those who believe in the syndrome have very little records to back up their theory, they tend to rely on their own opinions as well as likeminded opinions. “Historically, courts have endorsed the theory. Fortunately more recently, courts have been more questioning, bringing judicial decisionmaking more closely in line with science.” (Luttner, 2014, p13) Luttner's paper is undoubtedly on the side of caution when it comes to the diagnoses of Shaken Baby Syndrome. As an argument and critique of the medical terms, only cases siding with her view were chosen. However, this type of literature is central to understanding Aisling's case and the media attention she received throughout her court case, as the syndrome was central to Aisling's murder charges.

Media Framing

Tankard's study (2001) discusses perspectives of media and our understanding of the media as well as the impact media framing can have within society. “News framing can eliminate voices and weaken arguments, that the media can frame issues in ways that favour a particular side without showing an explicit bias, and that defining the terms of a debate takes one a long way toward winning it.” (Tankard, 2001, p95) Tankard notes the difference between media framing and bias, which in the past were seen as similar effects. Framing unlike bias can be connected to cognitive beliefs, whereas, media bias is very recognisable, while media framing holds a deeper concept. “Framing recognises the ability of a text-or a media presentation-to define a situation, to define the issues, and to set the terms of a debate.” (Tankard, 2001, p96). It is possible that through Aisling's case the media framed some articles surrounding Aisling and the case. It will be interesting to see how Aisling and her case were portrayed during the trial and what media frame was most utilised throughout the data sample.

As this study assesses the evaluation of media coverage of Aisling throughout her trail, the influence of the media must also be assessed. The previous reading illustrates mass media effects and the significance of media framing. DA Scheufele (1999), states media framing relates to the “operationalized on the basis of the social constructivism. Mass media actively set the frames of reference that readers and viewers use to interpret and discuss public events.” (Scheufele, 1999, p105) Framing comes in two terms; media framing and personal framing. Different media outlets are bound to frame media events differently to suit their media audience and readers. “Media frames also serve as working routines for journalists that allow journalists to quickly identify and classify information and “to package it for efficient relay to their audiences.” (Scheufele, 1999, p106) Through the range of print media outlets which will be analysed for this research project, the type of media framing is expected to illustrate diverse article approaches of Aisling's trial.

In attribute agenda setting, priming and the media's influence on how to think about a controversial issue, framing is defined quite broadly by theorists, such as Entman, who describes it as “framing as a process of selecting certain aspects of reality and making them more salient), while others appear to be quite different (e.g. Iyengar's [1991] episodic and thematic frames; Gamson and Modigliani's [1989] framing as an interpretive package or a story line).” The means in which the story is framed will be how the audience are expected to portray it. (Kim, Han, Choi, Kim, 2012)

Framing tends to associate itself with one other model of media communication; agenda setting, this model is “the idea that there is a strong correlation between the emphasis that mass media place on certain issues (e.g., based on relative placement or amount of coverage) and the importance attributed to these issues by mass audiences (McCombs & Shaw, 1972).” (Scheufele and Tewksbury, 2007, p11) Agenda setting as set out in this paper suggests that the media tend to give some events more attention than others, which in turn makes the audience regard some events more news worthy, and important than others. The data analysis on Aisling's media coverage throughout her trail will examine agenda setting by the newspapers. “Both frame building and agenda building refer to macroscopic mechanisms that deal with message construction rather than media effects. The activities of interest groups, policymakers, journalists, and other groups interested in shaping media agendas and frames can have an impact on both the volume and character of news messages about a particular issue.” (Scheufele and Tewksbury, 2007, p12). The character of a news story is evident from most articles, whether that is positive or negative. Like this study the representation of Aisling's character will be examined through this dissertation.

Racial Media Bias

Rachael E Collins (2014) examines whether or not racial bias is used within Canadian print media. In this case the study looks at the racial bias which is used towards victims and offenders of crime stories in Canada's print media. It is a content analysis, with similar qualities which I hope to bring to my content analysis. As the author of this study points out, crime is popular and it sells. From the outset the study suggests that the Canadian media frame their crime news stories in order to secure power within their own class, and higher powers. Interestingly, Collins states that the media tell us who to blame for the crimes. It was not surprising that studies illustrated representation of minorities in a negative light. “Studies have repeatedly found that visible minorities are underrepresented in portrayals highlighting positive roles (e.g. positions of government, education or corporations), but are overrepresented in portrayals of depicting threats to social order, including criminal behaviour (Larson, 2006).” (Collins, 2014, p79) Aisling was part of a minority group whilst living in America as she was an undocumented illegal immigrant in America, which may lead to a negative portrayal of her in the American print media. Canadian print media tended to put immigrants and crime within the same category. (Collins, 2014) It would be noteworthy to see if Aisling was treated as a minority by the American print media throughout her trial. Media Influence within Wrongful Convictions

Julie M. Krupa, conducted a study on the representation of wrongfully convicted women as she believes that women who are wrongfully convicted of their crime are highly underrepresented in many ways, in comparison to males. The Innocence Project is part of this study with Krupa stating that although female crime has risen significantly over the years, men are still given more prominence with their wrongful conviction cases. “The number of female prisoners in state and federal prisons increased an alarming 832% between 1977 and 2007 (West and Sabol, 2008). Although the Innocence Project has exonerated over 250 people, only four of them have been women.” (Krupa, J, 2012, P94) The issue of female representation in media broadcasting and print media is noted by the author. Krupa's study selected four exonerated females and analysed the amount and the type of media coverage they received after the Innocence Project. The selected media coverage included “examining newspaper articles in the local area of the wrongfully convicted, the film The Exonerated and reports conducted by the media network CBS.” (Krupa J, 2012, P121) Just like previous literature has pointed out, media articles concerning convicted women, or in this case exonerated females, tend to stereotype women who featured in crime. The four women were seen as having low intelligence and were of low to middle class, which resulted in very little media coverage of their cases. “This is evidence of a class bias among exonerated women and in level of publicity in the media.” Although the four female cases are analysed accurately, the data is small and perhaps a bigger scale study would result in further findings concerning exonerated females, as the author points out, the literature is limited in this field. (Krupa J, 2012, P124)

Lorenzo Johnson, served 16 and a half years for a crime he did not committee. He wrote a blog for The Huffington Post highlighting the role the media play on wrongful convictions. Johnson, claims that mainstream media can sometimes be the help a wrongly convicted person needs, as they bring the injustice to a wider community. “In many cases, brave investigative reporters have generated interest in prisoners' innocence, helping them to obtain investigations, new trials, and exonerations.” (Johnson L, 2015). However, unfortunately Johnson feels the media are very selective in the cases they give attention too as he suggests that the media are fearful of cases like his own, “media will not touch a claim of innocence by prisoners who can show evidence of our innocence unless we are first granted a new trial, DNA excludes us, or we were just exonerated.” (Johnson L, 2015) Johnson makes a comparison between his own case and the Amanda Knox case. However, the startling difference between these two cases is the media coverage they both received, although both cases had the same depth and inequality to them, Johnson case received very little media coverage. Both Johnson and Knox's' cases were overturned, but after months of freedom for them both, their cases were reversed. He went back to prison quietly and received no media attention, whilst Amanda Knox's case made front-page national American news. Johnson states “My legal team has now unearthed evidence, hidden by the prosecution, that prosecutors knew of my innocence for over 18 years. Still no media attention.” Although Johnson makes some interesting points about mainstream media representation of wrongful convictions, his view could be somewhat tainted from his overlooked treatment by the main stream American media. (Johnson L, 2015)

The above literature corresponds with Julie M. Krupa study on the representation of wrongfully convicted women. Both readings illustrate that the media can be very selective when it comes to the case they choose to represent in the media. More research would further expand these types of studies, as a larger scale of wrongful convictions could be analysed, in order to produce in depth results. Chapter 3 - Methodology

Overview

Engaging with the above literature review, it will be beneficial to compare many different print media organisations, in order to achieve an objective result. Aisling's case received a lot of media attention in both Ireland and America. Therefore, American and Irish newspapers will be examined within this study. The literature review also highlights comparative studies which involve the representation of female offenders through the print media. Aisling's case has not yet been analysed in any type of research study to date.

Firstly, a content analysis will be clarified in relation to this study. Furthermore, the time frame will be specified along with the print media organisations, four newspapers which have been chosen for this study. Objective one involves the application of four selected news frames, which will illustrate the most dominant frame throughout the data sample. Objective two will examine a number of positive and negative phrases using a coding system to determine the use of each phrase. Objective three will analyse the tonality of the data sample, based on three tones, positive, negative and neutral. These steps will ultimately lead to the formation of the content analysis which will be discussed through a comparable study.

Catherine Happer and Greg Philo (2013) state, “The media - television, the press and online - play a central role in communicating to the public what happens in the world. In those cases in which audiences do not possess direct knowledge or experience of what is happening, they become particularly reliant upon the media to inform them. That is not to say that the media simply tell us what to thinkpeople do not absorb media messages uncritically”. (Happer and Philo, 2013, p321) It is imperative to critically examine the mainstream media as they are the informers of public news issues. They create a view on topical issues and set the terms of these issues within the public sphere. “But they are key to the setting of agendas and focusing public interest on particular subjects, which operates to limit the range of arguments and perspectives that inform public debate.” (Happer and Philo, 2013, p321)

Content Analysis

The research method which has been applied to this study is a content analysis.

According to Stemler (2001) “Content analysis has been defined as a systematic, replicable technique for compressing many words of text into fewer content categories based on explicit rules of coding (Berelson, 1952; GAO, 1996; Krippendorff, 1980; and Weber, 1990).” Content analysis is branded as a reliable form of research which facilitates large amounts of data, and allows researchers to focus on a certain niche, organisation or a person, if needs be. Content analysis allows researchers to find trends and comparable details within a data sample, which corresponds to this studies outline and methodology. (Stemler, Steve, 2001)

Historically content analysis can be dated back to Berelson's Content Analysis in Communication Research, in 1952 when according to Berelson a “Content Analysis is a research technique for the objective, systematic, and quantitative description of the manifest of communication”. (Berelson, 1952)

Data Sample

The overall design of the proposed research will take a content analysis approach, meaning I will use methods of sampling, coding, framing and an over-all comparable analysis.

The data sample will be conducted from four newspapers in total, these newspapers were chosen due to their high and similar circulation in both countries. One newspaper was chosen from America and three were chosen from the Irish print-media establishments. The Boston Globe was selected to represent the American print-media, The Irish Independent was selected to represent the broadsheet Irish print-media, The Irish Daily Mail was researched to represent the tabloid print media in Ireland and The Anglo Celt was also examined through the content analysis, and it will represent the local print media in county Cavan, Aisling's birthplace and family residence. The expectation from this wide range of print media organisation is that it will provide balanced and accurate results, illustrating a wide range of print media organisations.

The Boston Globe was selected as an example of the American media representation of Aisling's trial. The daily circulation of The Boston Globe, shows its popularity in America and the Boston area. “Weekday circulation, which includes print readership and digital subscriptions, was 245,572 during the sixmonth period ended in March — the highest since 2009 and 8.9 percent higher than figures for the same period a year earlier.” (Borchers C, 2013) The Irish Independent is at present the most successful and widely read broadsheet in Ireland. “According to the ABC figures, the Irish Independent now sells an average of 112,502 copies every day, increasing its share of the quality daily market to 50.3pc.” (Flanagan P, 2015) Therefore, The Irish Independent was chosen. The Irish Daily Mail was selected to represent the tabloid media within the Irish press, according to the recent ABC figures, its readership amounts to 46,028, which is one of the top three read tabloids in the Irish press, in 2015. (News Brands Ireland, 2015) Moreover, The Irish Daily Mail, reported on Aisling's case frequently in comparison to other Irish tabloids. The Anglo Celt circulation is on a smaller scale as it is the only local newspaper within the data sample. It has been selected for the local representation example and as Aisling's case was reported on continually throughout The Anglo Celt.

Data Sample Time Frame

The data sample will begin from January 21st 2013, which will be named 2013, this date has been selected as this was the beginning of Aisling's arrest and charges over the baby's death. “Then-Middlesex district attorney Gerard T. Leone Jr. announces the arrest of McCarthy. McCarthy, who had been living in Quincy, is arrested and held on $500,000 bail. She is assigned to the women's state prison in Framingham.” (Wen P, 2015)

2014 will be the second year to be analysed as 2014 dealt with Aisling's time within the American prison system, court hearings and seen the courts continual objection to Aisling's lower bail pleas and this section will be named 2014. “Defence lawyers for McCarthy lose their bid to have her bail lowered. Prosecutors argue that the nanny, who is in the country illegally from Ireland, is a flight risk.” (Wen P, 2015)

The final year which will be examined is 2015 as on the 31st of August 2015 Aisling's murder charges were sensationally dropped. During 2015, speculation arose around Aisling's case and the faulty evidence against her and eventually all charges were dropped against the Cavan native. “After deeper examination, the medical examiner determines Rehma's death was “undetermined.” The office found she died of “subdural hemorrhage with an unknown ethology.” Later the same day, Middlesex District Attorney Marian T. Ryan drops charges against the nanny, saying her office can no longer meet its burden of proof.” (Wen P, 2015)

As this case is a niche subject, entire years of the case can be analysed as the media coverage is at a minimum from month to month. Moreover, by analysing the three years of Aisling's trial through the media, a better understanding can be giving to the overall tone and frames used by the print media in this study.

The chosen articles will be collected through LexisNexis, Irish Newspaper Achieves and the Boston Globe Achieves. In order to conduct the article search, a single or double search engine term will be used to find appropriate articles. The chosen search terms, through the search engines, is: Aisling Brady McCarthy and/or Boston Nanny. Newspapers 2013 2014 2015 Total The Irish 20 5 5 30 Independent The Irish Daily 4 7 16 27 Mail The Anglo Celt 12 3 6 21 The Boston 3 3 19 25 Globe

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citation:   McCabe, Amy  (2016) An evaluation of the media coverage of Aisling Brady McCarthy, through ‘The Boston Nanny’ Case: Distinguishing the differences between localised, tabloid and broadsheet Irish print media and American print media reports.  Masters thesis, Griffith College.   
document_url: http://go.griffith.ie/27/2/MAJ_2016_A_McCabe.pdf