A Positive Spin on a Negative Narrative: How the Media Portrays Fraternities and What Fraternities Can Do About it
Taylor, Z.W., Zamora, J., McArdle, A., & Villa, M. (2018) Putting a positive spin on a negative narrative: How fraternities are portrayed in popular newspaper outlets. ORACLE: The Research Journal of the Association of Fraternity/Sorority Advisors, 13(1), 51-68.
18 Pages Posted: 6 Aug 2019
Date Written: Summer 2018
Abstract
As research on fraternity men largely focuses on misbehavior and criminal activity, no research examines the types of stories reported on by media outlets and whether these stories include fraternity voices or statements. Employing quantitative content analysis, this study examines 100 fraternity-related stories published by the ten newspaper websites most frequently visited by people in the United States. Findings suggest 12% of fraternity-related publications are positive in nature and tone, 36% of publications include official fraternity-issued statements, and 69% of all publications include official university-issued statements. Implications for practitioners and future research is addressed.
Keywords: fraternities, sororities, higher education, colleges, universities, Greek life, Greek organizations
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