The National Archive of Grief Support Studies
The National Archive of Grief Support Studies(NAGSS) database provides bibliographical information and summaries of recent articles selected for their relevance to grief and bereavement service providers. The articles that are summarized are selected from scholarly, peer-reviewed journals and are intended to highlight key concepts as well as provide a brief statement of implications for service providers. Bibliographical information may be used to obtain the original article.
The Reporting of Grief by One Newspaper of Record for the U.S.: The New York Times
Authors:
Hilliker, Laurel
Source:
Omega: 2008. Volume 57, Number 3, pp. 261-278.
Summary
Utilizing a sociological perspective, the author explored how The New York Times has presented grief to the American public in 50 articles dating from 1980 to 2006. The author identified two key themes in the newspaper articles: grief management, or statements about what the bereaved should do internally to cope with their grief, and grief resolution, or statements about what the bereaved should do in their public lives to memorialize the loss. The author notes that news articles frequently endorsed seeking help in the form of support groups or individual counseling. Over time, little change was observed in how grief was written about or presented; articles often quoted experts on how to cope and assessed what stage of grief the bereaved individual was experiencing.
Key words: media, norm, theory
Service Provider Implications
Service providers can benefit from awareness that media portrayal of grief and the grieving process can influence how the bereaved feel they “ought” to react to their losses.
