Content Analysis: Claudia Flores-Jimenez criminal case

Content Analysis: Claudia Flores-Jimenez criminal case
Maxime Julien
Mount Saint Vincent University
March 16, 2015
























Introduction:

The media has always had an impact on public opinion when it comes to news coverage, often as a result of the fact that it has direct access to the information in question and can decide how to present the information to an audience. The role of the media in influencing public opinion was especially evident in the case of Claudia Flores-Jimenez who was accused of killing her 7-year-old daughter. In various reports regarding the trial, a number of multimedia institutions decided to divulge their own opinions about the case as opposed to relying on confirmed facts to provide the public with accurate coverage. This content analysis report will examine the connection between two theoretical constructs, the agenda setting theory and the uncertainty reduction theory both in relation to the various medias that decided to publish and broadcast the story. In this case the medias that were involved are; the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), the CTV Television Network, the Global Network, and the Montreal Gazette. This analysis will also seek to understand how the case was over a seven day time period. Additionally, different aspects of the manner in which each media station presented its coverage of the case will be compared and analyzed.

Summary of the Events:
On the night of February 12, 2015, Claudia Flores-Jimenez stabbed her 7-year-old daughter, Daniela Campo, multiple times in their Vaudreuil-Dorion home located on Leo-Gravelle Street. Following the stabbings, she attempted to commit suicide; however, failed in doing so successfully. The daughter's father, Roberto Cea Campo, called the paramedics upon his discovery of the crime scene. Three ambulances arrived on the scene to bring the mother, child, and father to the hospital. On route to the hospital, Daniela died as a result of her injuries. The Sûreté du Québec (SQ) is now investigating the case and on the day after the event took place, charged Claudia with the murder of her daughter. On February 16, 2015, Claudia underwent a psychiatric evaluation, the results of this evaluation were publicly divulged on February 20, 2015 within which Claudia was determined mentally fit to stand trial. The prosecutor, Pierre-Olivier Gagnon, asked Judge Pierre Belisle to order that the defendant has no contact with her husband during the trial since he is a witness to the murder and the order was granted. The court hearings will commence on March 23, 2015. As of right now, both the prosecutor and Claudia's defendant are awaiting the SQ's full report of the case.

The Public Opinion and the Agenda setting theory:
The Claudia Flores-Jimenez case triggered media frenzy, attracting the attention of both broadcast and printed medias. Any story in which a child is murdered by one of their parents is known to have a great impact on the society because it carries with it an emotional underlying message: Be aware of what is going on around you and to make sure that you protect your loved ones from possible threats. Consequently, it is no surprise that the major broadcasting networks reporting the news in the Montreal area such as; the CBC Network, the CTV Network, and the Global Network, were all present at the scene on the night of February 12, 2015. Broadcasting allowed the public access to perform live feeds of the contemporary situation. However, the Broadcasting agencies that were on the scene could choose how and when the information is disclosed to its public. As opposed to companies with the option of providing live broadcasts, The Montreal Gazette, which is a printed media, had to take a different approach because it could bring the story to its audience right away. The journalists had to verify their sources and they then print the newspaper afterwards to publish it the next day.

The involvement of the medias in a news story has a direct connection to the agenda setting theory since there is a link between the control of how the information is released and how the media has a power over what sources and stories are important to tell its public. In this case, the networks knew that the Claudia Flores-Jimenez would have a major impact over the Montreal city area due to the major players that are implicated, which are; the judge, the defense lawyer, the prosecution, psychiatrist, and the husband as a witness.
The publication headlines that followed the events used words such as; "mother", "mom", "daughter", "death", "accused", "charged", "killing", etc. By including such terms, the medias are dramatizing the event in order to attract the public's attention. The connotation of words such as these can ultimately dictate how the news is perceived. Different media companies likely want to differentiate themselves from one another. Through examining the CTV's, CBC's, Global's and the Montreal Gazette's headlines, a pattern can be seen that suggests that medias use similar words in their headlines. Following the agenda setting theory, this news has a clear connection with the orientation aspect of this theory. A good example of orientation resides in the fact that the medias use the headlines to evoke emotions within their audience. Thus, they can reach out to as many readers or viewers as they can. There are a few headlines in this case that can illustrate the similarity between the medias to use the same words in their title. For example, CTV Network's headline "Mother fit to stand trial for allegedly killing her child" has similarities with Global Network's headline "Vaudreuil Mother Accused of Murdering Daughter to Stand Trial".

Applying Uncertainty Reduction Theory to the news:
The public needs to gain as much information as possible before making their opinion about a subject. This is where the uncertainty reduction theory becomes an important factor because it can help to frame the news in a way that the public can be granted access to the relevant information. In the Claudia Flores-Jimenez case, this theory plays a primary role because the public will likely feel the need to understand why Claudia attempted to murder her daughter. In order for the public to come to such an understanding, they must interact in some way with the media; however, as we know, the media holds the power to decide how they want to disclose their information their public. The broadcasting medias allow for the public to visually experience the events and to hear others opinion on the subject. In this case people watching broadcasts about the event could witness testimonies from Claudia's family friends and neighbors who depicted Claudia's personality in regards to how they know her. The public can then analyze the gathered information and try to understand and predict how Claudia and the family members will respond to this tragedy. There is an association that can be made between the developmental stages of the theory and the thirteen frames that are useful to build a story. The developmental stages consist of the entry stage, personal stage and the exit stage. The entry stage consists of the general information about an individual, such as their age, sex, occupation, etc. The personal stage is about the attitude, beliefs and values of an individual. The final stage, exit, involves the decision to have future interactions. By analyzing how the medias can fit the different frames in each of the developmental stages will allow a better understanding of how the public reacts and responds to the news. The entry stage includes the straight news account frame, which exposes the main facts (Who: Claudia Flores-Jimenez, What: Claudia murders her 7-year-old daughter, When: February 12, 2015, Where: Leo-Gravelle St., Vaudreuil-Dorion, Why: Unknown, How: Stabbed daughter to death). The wrongdoing exposed frame is also involved in this stage because it revealed the crime that took place. The personal stage includes the personality profile frame because it describes Claudia's personality traits. The medias released the information that they gathered from the family and the friends. The personal information of the mother is now disclosed to the public. The public has now been informed that Mrs. Flores-Jimenez has a mental illness history background. The outlook frame is also part of this stage since it enables the Network's audience to understand how all of the current information about Claudia help to explain why she decided to murder her daughter. The last stage, Exit, is about the future interactions between the public and the news. The conjecture frame will be used to explore the possible outcomes of the current story and will try to intrigue the public. The ultimate goal for the medias is to use a story that attracts a vast audience and to keep them interested in the current events. What is relevant in the Claudia Flores-Jimenez case is that both the broadcasting networks and newspapers agree on the possible outcomes of the trial, such as the possibility that she will undergo a psychiatric evaluation to know what was her mental state at the time of the murder.

Conclusion:
This content analysis report showed that the two theoretical constructs, agenda setting theory and the uncertainty reduction theory, could be applied to understand how the medias process a story to its audience. It was discovered that the headlines choice of words had a direct impact on how the public perceives the news. Also, there was a correlation between the developmental stages of the uncertainty reduction theory (Entry, Personal, Exit) and the frames (straight news account, wrongdoing exposed, the personality profile, outlook, conjecture) that build a story. Each stage included frames that were relevant to the current news story about Claudia Flores-Jimenez killing her own daughter.












Appendix:
The Thirteen Frames for News Story
Straight news account: No dominant narrative frame other than outlining the basic who, what, when where, why and how
Conflict Story: A focus on conflict inherent to the situation or brewing among the players
Consensus Story: An emphasis on the points of agreement around an issue or event
Conjecture Story: A focus around conjecture or speculation of what is to come Process
Story: An explanation of the process of something or how something works Historical
Outlook: How the current news fits into history
Horse Race: Who is winning and who is losing
Trend Story: The news as an ongoing trend
Policy Explored: A focus on exploring policy and its impact
Reaction Story: A response or reaction from one of the major players
Reality Check: A close look into the veracity of a statement made or information given
Wrongdoing Exposed: The uncovering of wrongdoing or injustice
Personality Profile: A profile of the newsmaker
















References:
Academic References:
1- Abelson, D. (1996). Charlotte Ryan, Prime Time Activism: Media Strategies for Grassroots Organizing . Boston: South End Press, 1991. 295 pp. American Journalism, 13(3), 379–380. doi:10.1080/08821127.1996.10731852

2- Pew Research Center's Journalism Project Staff. (1998). Framing the News. Pew Research Center. Retrieved from http://www.journalism.org/1998/07/13/framing-the-news/

3- The World Outside and the Pictures in Our Heads. (1922). In W. Lippmann, Public Opinion. New-York: MacMillan Company. Retrieved from http://monoskop.org/images/b/bf/Lippman_Walter_Public_Opinion.pdf

Artifacts:
1- Montreal Gazette
Cherry, P. (2015, February 20). Woman facing murder charge in daughter's death able to follow court hearing. (The Montreal Gazette).
2- (1) CBC
Turnbull, J. (2015a, February 13). Claudia Beatriz Flores Jimenez charged in death of 7-year-old daughter.(Canadian Broadcast Corporation).


(2) CBC
Turnbull, J. (2015b, February 20). Claudia Flores Jimenez, Vaudreuil mom accused of killing daughter, fit to stand trial. (Canadian Broadcast Corporation).

3- (1) Global Television Network
Fazioli, D. (2015a, February 16). Vaudreuil-Dorion mother charged with killing daughter to undergo psychiatric evaluation. (Global Television Network).

(2) Global Television Network
Fazioli, D. (2015b, February 20). Vaudreuil mother accused of murdering daughter to stand trial. (Global Television Network).

4- (1) CTV Television Network
CTV news staff. (2015, February 13). Quebec woman suspected in 7-year-old daughter's death. (CTV Television Network).

(2) CTV Television Network
CTV news staff. (2015, February 20). Mother fit to stand trial for allegedly killing her child.




Content Analysis: Claudia Flores-Jimenez criminal case 1





Pew Research Center's Journalism Project Staff. (1998). Framing the News. Pew Research Center. Retrieved from http://www.journalism.org/1998/07/13/framing-the-news/