Abstract

The focus of this thesis is the problematic, paradoxical relationship between the mass media and social movements. It is about how news media practices naturalize the hegemonic status quo, containing dissent and incorporating it into this ideological space. In Chapter 1, I lay out the theoretical framework upon which my analysis is based, examining the notion of the news media as a discursive battleground through the lenses of media studies, political economy, newsmaking theory, and Foucauldian theories of discourse and power. Chapter 2 begins with an exploration of the global justice movement--its origins, its analysis--as this context is imperative in conducting a critical discourse analysis. Drawing on print news media coverage of the movement, I then go on to explore how this movement is represented within mainstream Canadian newspapers, asking specifically how the 'war on terror' has impacted this movement's access to this discursive battleground. Chapter 3 addresses one of the most contentious questions within the movement--how does "symbolic violence" (acts against property not people) get covered within news media, and, what are the effects of this?--analyzing whether the price of entry to this sphere is the re-presentation of events in such a way that smashed windows and graffiti are the only images portrayed, or, whether activists benefit from the space created by symbolic violence. To conclude, I discuss possible interventions for both activists and researchers that, in light of this project, maybe useful in waging discursive resistance.