Author ORCID Identifier

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6859-9206

Date Available

8-15-2022

Year of Publication

2022

Document Type

Doctoral Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

College

Arts and Sciences

Department/School/Program

Political Science

Advisor

Dr. Justin Wedeking

Abstract

In an increasingly diverse media landscape, how much of the ideological trends seen in current news reporting affect coverage of the U.S. Supreme Court? This work examines two different aspects of the Court's activities, their decisions and the confirmation hearings of Court nominees, analyzing what factors, if any, lead to differences in coverage language. Finally, through the use of a survey experiment, I analyze whether these differences in language, in combination with positive symbolic imagery, affect attitudes toward the institution. This work provides a novel consideration of whether the Court is subject to the same ideological slant found in coverage of other institutions, as well as the potential impact of such language on the Court's support.

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

https://doi.org/10.13023/etd.2022.346

Funding Information

This study was funded through Dr. Kenneth Coleman and the Coleman Summer Research Fellows program's Coleman Research Award in 2017 and 2018.

This study was funded by the Sidney Ulmer Award given by the S. Sidney Ulmer Summer Fellowship in honor of Dr. Sidney Ulmer. Sidney Ulmer Award in 2016 and 2018.

This study was funded by the University of Kentucky Department of Political Science's Political Science Department Summer Research Grant in 2015.

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