Honors Thesis Archive

AuthorMackenzie Hill
TitleCollins, Murkowski, and the Impeachment of Donald Trump: Cable News Coverage and Self-Representation of Female Republican Senators
DepartmentCommunication
AdvisorsSheryl Cunningham, Kelly Dillon, and Edward Hasecke
Year2020
HonorsUniversity Honors
Full TextView Thesis (886 KB)
AbstractWomen in the political sector struggle to find their place. Though the number of female representatives has increased in recent years, it has been a slow climb often complicated by the socially prescribed importance of their image to the public eye as represented through media. In the impeachment of President Donald Trump, two female senators, Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski, were prominently featured on news coverage outlets. As it is not historically common for female politicians to be at the center of major debates, this case allowed for valuable analysis of how the media portrays women in politics. Through this work, three questions are explored: 1) How did cable news media frame Senators Susan Collins’ and Lisa Murkowski’s roles in the impeachment process of President Donald Trump? 2) How did Senators Collins and Murkowski frame themselves in their self-representations through the impeachment process? 3) How have Collins and Murkowski engaged in self-representation for their overall identities as senators?

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