Identifier
etd-04112015-223252
Degree
Master of Mass Communication (MMC)
Department
Mass Communication
Document Type
Thesis
Abstract
When Helis Oil & Gas Company announced it was interested in drilling for oil in Louisiana’s St. Tammany Parish, it ignited a firestorm. The proposed drilling project would use hydraulic fracturing – or “fracking” – causing some residents to voice their concerns for the parish’s wellbeing. My thesis looks to framing theory to analyze how local media covered the issue, as well as the effects those frames might have on public policy and the lawsuits that arose out of the proposed drilling operation. I performed quantitative and qualitative content analyses of local media coverage of this issue from April 2014 through December 2014. I found that the media focused the most on the “public backlash” frame. The media coverage showed that public opinion has already had an impact on public policy; it could also influence litigation in this matter.
Date
2015
Document Availability at the Time of Submission
Release the entire work immediately for access worldwide.
Recommended Citation
Rabalais, Lindsay Colleen, "Framing Theory and Its Application to the Fracking Controversy in St. Tammany Parish" (2015). LSU Master's Theses. 1224.
https://repository.lsu.edu/gradschool_theses/1224
Committee Chair
Reynolds, Amy
DOI
10.31390/gradschool_theses.1224