Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Ashley Craig

Date

2024

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts

Department

Journalism

Committee Chair

Matthew Haught

Committee Member

Jaquela Macklin

Committee Member

Robert Byrd

Abstract

Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, has been a key focal point of press coverage of the British Royal Family. Her decision, along with her husband, Prince Harry, to step down from duties with the royal family, deemed ‘Megxit’ in the British tabloids, and the Sussexes’ subsequent interview with American talk show host Oprah Winfrey highlighted a series of rifts between the couple and the family, which they say were exacerbated by the British press. This study seeks to understand how the British press covered the Sussexes during the Megxit period, including the interview, and compare that coverage to reporting in the American press. It uses framing theory and tests the frames set out in previous studies, namely Dales (2021), to understand the framing used about Markle and the Sussex family. It finds that the British press cast Markle as a threat to British tradition and identity, while the American press covered her purely as a celebrity. It supports the frames set out in Dales as a means to understand Markle, a complex figure caught between two countries.

Comments

Data is provided by the student.

Library Comment

Dissertation or thesis originally submitted to ProQuest.

Notes

Open Access

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