Journalism and the Debate Over Origins: Newspaper Coverage of Intelligent Design
Martin JD, Trammell KD, Landers D, Valois JM, Bailey T
Journal of Media and Religion, Vol. 5, No. 1. (January 2006), pp. 49-61.
http://www.leaonline.com/doi/abs/10.1207/s15328415jmr0501_3ABSTRACT: In light of increasing media coverage and national debate of a discipline called Intelligent Design (ID), this study content analyzed 575 articles from major newspapers on this topic. Researchers drew articles from the LexisNexis. database and coded them for the presence of certain portrayal, and scientifically certain versus uncertain portrayal, and these variables were analyzed across news type. Researchers also measured the presence of several frames and the dominant frame within each article. Results suggest that ID was largely portrayed as a religious – as opposed to a scientific – movement. Coverage also was largely skeptical of ID’s scientific legitimacy.