Abstract
In April 1991, three anencephalic babies were born in Brownsville, Texas during a t"-six hour period. Anencephaly is a neural tube defect prohibiting proper brain development, leaving the baby's skull partially open. The babies are usually stillborn or die shortly after birth. Such an unusual clustering of anencephalic births prompted many studies and much controversy. These events also attracted national and local news media attention. This thesis analyzes a sampling of that coverage--two national news shows and three news casts from the local Brownsville television station. By using narrative analysis, I argue that these news shows framed the events in Brownsville in various ways. This framing, I argue, limits the actions that the citizens can take and narrows the viewers' perceptions of the border area.
Groenendyk, Kathi Lynn (1994). Covering the story: a rhetorical analysis of Brownsville's television news coverage. Master's thesis, Texas A&M University. Available electronically from
https : / /hdl .handle .net /1969 .1 /ETD -TAMU -1994 -THESIS -G874.