"Brides Are Not for Burning": A Content Analysis of Newspaper Coverage of Dowry in India, 1999-2004.

In India, the number of dowry-related deaths has been increasing exponentially. This study explores newspaper coverage over a period of five years to examine media content. The study also includes interviews with editors of the papers to observe the factors that led to this coverage. Using the hoopla hypothesis, the study employs a content analysis of 3,358 newspaper articles and interviews with a convenience sample of 23 editors from the same newspapers. Across all four newspapers studied, there were discernable pre-hoopla, hoopla, and post-hoopla stages. The hoopla period, characterized by the most number of stories, was ushered in by identifiable triggering events. A comparison of the national and regional newspapers’ coverage showed that the coverage was more intense in the national newspapers that produced longer and in-depth articles. The results also show that regardless of the scope of coverage (national vs. regional), coverage intensity is related to the prevalence of dowry within a sub-national region and the “newsworthiness” of dowry cases—a characteristic that is reiterated in the editor’s responses. ..PAT.-Conference Proceeding [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]