Press, A. L. (1991). Working-class women in a middle-class world: The impact of television on modes of reasoning about abortion. Critical Studies in Mass Communication. 8(4), 421-441. doi :10.1080/15295039109366807.
The author, an Assistant Professor of Communication at the University of Michigan and well known for her research studies addressing feminist media issues, investigates how small-scaled focus groups of working-class and middle-class women deliberate abortion- before and after viewing a television show that treats the issue, using qualitative research techniques in Social Sciences. The author also explored the differences between the discourse of the social classes on the issue. The differences or similarities in the influence of television on abortion discourse between the two groups was also investigated. Through this study, Press determined that the group of working-class women exhibited a clear analytical mode of speech compared to the middle-class women, when discussing abortion. Groups speeches were also shown to be skewed following the viewing of the 30 minutes version of a television show, Cagney and Lacey, where characters discussed several issues surrounding abortion. The limitation of this study was the small sample size used. Opinions expressed on abortion were also based on a 30 minutes clip of one television show. The author concludes by providing a frame of reference for other researchers to analyse if class differences cause similarities in response to other types of shows, such as documentary programming, television movies, or the new “docudrama” form. The framework developed in the article is useful in providing an understanding of the parallelled relationship between media and abortion, as a social taboo.
The author, a political reporter for ABC News who had previous experiences as a national political online reporter, validates the new TV advertisment released by Mitt Romney, a US Presidential hopeful. The article describes the advertisement as platform to portray Romney as an impartial on abortion and contraception, after being slammed for his opinions on women’s health issues. The author proposes that with the airing of the advertisement, it would improve Romney’s campaign by significantly narrowing the gap among women, after the first presidential debate against current office holder, Barrack Obama. Good carried on by analysing both, Romney’s advertisement and Obama’s advertisement “Dangerous”, which debuted in September. He argues that the claims presented in the ads, on both sides are convoluted, and provides further evidences for his statement. The author also used a subset of the Tampa Bay Times, Politifact.com, which reviews statements made by Congress, the White House and other prominent political individuals in the United States, as a reference to suggest misinterpretation of views. He suggest that the Democrats misconstrued Romney’s support for a constitutional amendment defining life as beginning at contraception as, support for a no-exception abortion ban. The author continues by highlighting the reason for Romney moderating his standpoint on abortion, by emphasizing his comment to the Des Moines Register regarding his retreat from the abortion legislation as president.
Piazza, J. (2011, November 2). Abortion No Longer Taboo Topic on Prime Time Television. Fox News. com- Entertainment. Retrieved from http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2011/11/01/abortion-no-longer-taboo-topic-on-prime-time-television/
Jo Piazza, a journalist for well-known commercial media platforms like CNN, Fox News, MSNBC and NPR- where the audiences are the consumers, covers the increasing trends of abortion being worked into storylines of popular prime time television series like Friday Night Lights and Grey’s Anatomy. The author begins the article by establishing that although plotlines involving abortion has become increasingly common- with some appreciating the erosion of stigmas surrounding abortion, there are a handful who are alarmed by this deviation. She supported the latter by quoting Dan Gainor, vice president for business and culture at the Media Research Center, who stated that the usage of television as a platform for liberal media to win the abortion issue is dangerous. However, the author also provided a contrasting view and argument made by Chole Angyal, a writer for the blog Feministing.com, who claimed that the increasing number of depictions of abortions in pop culture accurately outlines the experiences of real women. She further discusses the the context of abortion portrayed as a viable option, by referencing Jessica Wakeman, who blogs about women’s issues, who suggested that abortion should not only be brought up by TV writers as a “vehicle to make the woman have a miscarriage”.
Williams, D. and Conlan, T. (2012, 18 October). Judges condemn TV for censoring abortion film. Daily Mail. Retrieved from: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-105104/Judges-condemn-TV-censoring-abortion-film.html
Williams and Conlan’s article surrounds the ruling of Britain’s TV companies, namely BBC and independent channels ITV and Channel 4, after refusing to broadcast a party political advertisement featuring the products of abortion. As the world’s largest public service broadcaster, BBC was quoted by the authors, arguing that their decision was made on grounds of decency and good taste. The authors showed evidence supporting BBC’s decision by mentioning BBC’s chief political adviser Anne Sloman’s viewpoint, stating that the Parliament has entrusted TV companies with the obligation not to air materials that offends against good taste and decency, or likely to be offensive to public feelings. The article proceeds to claim that the requirement has been overridden by the Court of Appeal for the benefits of party election broadcasts. Reactions to the ruling was balanced by Willams and Conlan, as the ProLife leader Bruno Quintavallae was described as “hailing” the ruling an achievement for freedom of speech. The authors diverted their focus towards the ruling judge, Lord Justice Laws, and explored extensively into his reasons for passing the "guilty" verdict.Comparing this article with that written by Piazza (2011),it is evident that the media platforms, together with broadcasting laws, are moving towards a new era, with freedom of speech. This would significantly push the topic of abortion out of the "taboo" zone. As quoted by Williams and Conlan (2012), freedom of political speech has to be given to an accredited party at a general election, and interfering with the freedom of speech should not be based on "taste and decency alone".
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