The Johnny Depp and Amber Heard case in news media: a critical discourse analysis

Harper, Elizabeth, Gibbons, Daniel and Bates, Elizabeth ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8694-8078 (2022) The Johnny Depp and Amber Heard case in news media: a critical discourse analysis. Partner Abuse . Item availability may be restricted.

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Abstract

This paper presents a Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) of the Johnny Depp and Amber Heard case in news media. The aim of the current research is to allow for an in-depth analysis of how a range of news media outlets used discourse to frame Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) in modern news media. A synthesis of previous literature revealed methodological limitations and a potential research bias in the existing body of research addressing news media discourse regarding IPV. The current study utilized a sample of 12 articles from three news media outlets of distinct political orientations, that were analyzed following guidelines on maintaining quality in CDA. Two discursive strategies are presented in this paper: 1) Predication and argumentation; 2) The construction of ingroups and outgroups. This paper argues that these strategies were used to discredit the experience of Depp and create perceived ingroups and outgroups throughout the discourse. It is also noted that this sample of articles only highlighted instances of physical violence. Future research should investigate the effect this representation of IPV may have on consumers of news media, as societal expectations may inform help-seeking.

Item Type:	Article
Journal / Publication Title:	Partner Abuse
Publisher:	Springer
ISSN:	1946-6579
Departments:	Institute of Health > Psychology and Psychological Therapies
Depositing User:	Elizabeth Bates
Date Deposited:	19 Dec 2022 10:54
Last Modified:	04 Sep 2023 08:00
URI:	https://insight.cumbria.ac.uk/id/eprint/6751