traditional roles: a content analysis of reporting on the roles of the last three first ladies

Running head: traditional roles

Traditional Roles:

A Content Analysis of Reporting on the Roles of the Last Three First Ladies

Lyndsey R. Nuckols

Harding University

TRADITIONAL ROLES 2

Introduction

The purpose of this section is to introduce a research subject and propose a

purpose, a rationale, and research questions regarding the subject.

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to examine whether the last three First Ladies of the

United States (FLOTUS) were more often portrayed in politically active or non-

politically active roles. This was done by reading and coding 60 New York Times articles

(20 for each of the three first ladies), examining main roles and sub-type roles, examining

and coding positive and negative tones in articles, transcribing especially positive or

negative quotes, and observing gender of the journalists who wrote the articles.

Rationale

According to most studies, both female politicians and first ladies are seen as less

competent in handling political issues such as war, military, and economic issues. In

contrast, females are expected to stick to “compassion” roles in education and children’s

and women’s rights. Several studies examined the public view or media representation of

one particular FLOTUS, but there is a need for research comparing and contrasting first

ladies, especially the three most recent ones. The study will examine the FLOTUS roles

that media focus on and the impact certain roles can have on criticism or love directed at

first ladies.

TRADITIONAL ROLES 3

Research Questions

RQ1: In what roles did the New York Times portray Hillary Clinton, Laura Bush

and Michelle Obama during their times as First Lady?

RQ2: Were politically active roles portrayed as more positive or negative than

non-politically active roles?

TRADITIONAL ROLES 4

Literature Review

The purpose of this section is to review previous research about the subjects

similar to that of this study. Discussion will be organized by articles that address framing,

articles that address the roles of women in politics, articles that address research

regarding first ladies, and articles about the content analysis method of research.

Framing

A discussion of first ladies and the roles they perform and are perceived as filling

necessitates a discussion of journalistic framing. According to Jamieson and Waldman,

“the metaphor of a frame – a fixed border that includes some things and excludes others –

describes the way information is arranged and packaged in news stories” (Jamieson &

Waldman, 2003). The journalist has the power to choose the frame of the story, and thus,

exert some control over how the subject of the story (in this case, the FLOTUS) is

perceived by the public.

In the case of the FLOTUS, the frame usually focuses on her roles as escort,

entertainer, home decorator, fashion plate and charitable works advocate (Scharrer,

2002). When Hillary Clinton took office as First Lady, though, the press found that she

did not fit so neatly into one of these frames. Without the usual frames, journalists were

unsure how to cover Clinton, and resorted to the constrictive gendered frames of

“traditional” and “non-traditional” (Burns, 2008).

In one example, Winfield (1997) described the conflict between the style desk and

national desk at the Washington Post during Hillary Clinton’s time as First Lady. The

style desk always covered all stories regarding the FLOTUS – evidence of framing

TRADITIONAL ROLES 5

stories based on roles as hostess, trend-setter, and homemaker; however, when Clinton

went to Capitol Hill with her healthcare proposal, the national desk and style desk fought

over who would write the story. (The national desk won.)

Following Clinton’s time as First Lady, Clinton herself became a framing tool

(Burns, 2008). Clinton exemplified a “non-traditional” FLOTUS, so in the 2000 election,

journalists adopted a personification frame to compare and contrast Tipper Gore and

Laura Bush to Clinton (Burns, 2008). Gore and Bush were both framed as gentle and

gracious, more of an appendage to their husband rather than an equal (Winfield &

Friedman, 2003).

Three-fourths of the stories analyzed in Burns’ 2008 research about Bush and

Gore mentioned and offered contrast to Clinton in some regard. Some articles went as far

as calling Bush and Gore “anti-Hillaries” (Winfield & Friedman, 2003). Framing pits the

“traditional versus non-traditional and femininity versus feminism” (Burns, 2008), both

creating a system that ignores the diversity of the job first ladies do and allowing

journalists to define what it means to be a modern American woman (Winfield &

Friedman, 2003).

Roles

Women in politics. Very closely tied to the discussion of framing is that of the

roles female political leaders are expected to fill. The “traditional” and “non-traditional”

roles of first lady are influenced by the characteristics and personality traits that people

view as more masculine or feminine (Huddy & Terkildsen, 1993). Huddy and Terkildsen

(1993) found that women are typically seen as “warm, gentle, kind, and passive, whereas

TRADITIONAL ROLES 6

a typical man is viewed as tough, aggressive, and assertive” (Huddy & Terkildsen, 1993).

Additionally, females are seen as better equipped to handle “compassion” issues, such as

work with children, the elderly, and the poor. Men, on the other hand, are seen as better

equipped to handle military and police issues (Huddy & Terkildsen, 1993). Kahn (1991)

found that people evaluate female politicians more positively when the females are

framed with a focus on their femininity and female issues. For example, Scharrer’s

(2002) research examined news coverage during Hillary Clinton’s transition from first

lady to Senate candidate and found that, compared to candidate Rudy Giuliani, criticism

of Clinton often focused on gendered topics such as her personality, character, image,

ambition, and confidence (Scharrer, 2002). Additionally, when the story framed Clinton

as politically active, the tone was more negative.

First Lady’s role. Scharrer and Bissell studied media coverage of Nancy Reagan,

Barbara Bush and Hillary Clinton and found similar results to aforementioned research

on female politicians. When the FLOTUS was more politically active, media coverage

was more negative (Scharrer & Bissell, 2000). Winfield and Friedman (2003) conducted

a qualitative study of coverage of potential first ladies during the 2000 campaign. During

the 2000 campaign, media put special emphasis on framing the potential first ladies in a

more “traditional” role, in which they would reverse any changes to the office Hillary

Clinton had made. The women were initially introduced as “escorts” to their husbands,

and the media highlighted a need for the FLOTUS to “fulfill necessary roles in the

campaign, while remaining subordinate” (Winfield & Friedman, 2003). Winfield and

Friedman found that Laura Bush or Tipper Gore referring to herself as an “adviser” was

risky. “I don’t see myself as George’s adviser, I’m his wife,” Laura Bush said. During her

TRADITIONAL ROLES 7

time as FLOTUS, Laura Bush maintained this role and was even called “comforter-in-

chief” and the nation’s most prominent caretaker after September 11, 2001. Winfield and

Friedman concluded that despite the changing role of women within society, the

FLOTUS “assumed prescribed roles” (Winfield & Friedman, 2003). Shoop’s (2010)

research examined the primary focus of articles regarding the potential first lady in the

2008 campaign. Michelle Obama and Cindy McCain were often framed in “traditional”

FLOTUS roles but were also covered in a way to suggest that they were potential

liabilities to their husbands’ campaigns (Shoop, 2010). The “liability” associated with

both women was often based on “inherent and perhaps untraditional aspects of who the

women are,” including McCain’s personal wealth and Obama’s outgoingness and

outspokenness (Shoop, 2010).

Historian Gil Troy said, “We use the first lady not only as a role model but also as

a metaphor for what the modern American woman is all about.” Most of the research

looking particularly at the first lady’s role is centered on this concept: the first lady

reflects her society’s view of women. Gardetto (1997) studied Hillary Clinton’s role as a

woman and a wife and found that Clinton was controversial as First Lady primarily

because she was controversial as a wife. Clinton represented:

A contemporary new woman – a married, middle-class, career woman and

mother, neither the emotional core of her family nor the subordinate of her

husband – and, as such, she [was] potentially threatening to the social imaginary

family and the gender inequality upon which it rests. (Gardetto, 1997).

TRADITIONAL ROLES 8

Content Analysis

The researcher will use a quantitative content analysis of New York Times articles

about the last three first ladies: Hillary Clinton, Laura Bush, and Michelle Obama.

Content analysis “seeks to analyze data within a specific context in view of the meanings

someone – a group or culture – attributes to them” (Krippendorff, 1989). A quantitative

content analysis is used to test certain research questions or hypotheses and is focused on

quantity of countable data points. According to Krippendorff (1989), content analysis

usually includes six procedural steps that help to maintain the validity of the process:

design, unitizing, sampling, coding, drawing inferences and validation.

According to Krippendorff (1980), content analysis has experienced an increasing

level of technical sophistication and scientific rigor since its inception. Results from

content analyses have been used in court proceedings for issues such as plagiarism and

copyright infringement cases (Krippendorff, 1980).

Hypotheses

H1: Hillary Clinton will be portrayed in a politically active role; Laura Bush will

be portrayed in a non-politically active role; Michelle Obama will be portrayed in a

mixed role.

H2: Articles that portray the FLOTUS as politically active will be more negative

in tone than articles that portray the FLOTUS as non-politically active or in a mixed role.

TRADITIONAL ROLES 9

Methods

The purpose of this section is to present the process and methods in which this

research is to be completed. The section includes discussion of the research sample,

materials, and the procedure and design.

Much of the study design, including the basis for the coding sheet, is adopted

from Erica Scharrer’s 2002 research.

Sample

The samples were chosen from the New York Times website. In order to pick the

samples, the search terms “Hillary Clinton,” “Laura Bush,” and “Michelle Obama” were

used in the New York Times search feature. The search also narrowed results to the

specific dates the First Lady was in office: for Hillary Clinton, January 20, 1993 –

January 20, 2001; for Laura Bush, January 20, 2001 – January 20, 2009; for Michelle

Obama, January 20, 2009 – present. With each set of search results for each First Lady,

the top 20 results were selected as samples. These results included both news stories and

opinion-editorials. The sample is 20 articles per First Lady and 60 total articles. The New

York Times uses Google for search services, so the top 20 results indicate the most

popular results, in which popularity is measured in how many credible sources link back

to the material. The New York Times was chosen due to its role as a content leader to

many other smaller national newspapers.

TRADITIONAL ROLES 10

Materials

Materials include a digital copy of each of the 60 articles in addition to a coding

sheet. The coding sheet noted the following basics for each article: which First Lady the

article was about, the article title or headline, article date, number in article sequence, and

the journalist’s name and gender. The purpose of the coding sheet was to identify

whether the FLOTUS was portrayed as politically active or non-politically active, then

examine whether the tone of the article was more positive or negative. To accomplish

these purposes, the coding sheet included two lists – one of which described politically

active roles and the other of which described non-politically active roles. Coders placed a

check mark next to the roles in which the FLOTUS was portrayed. Coders also rated the

tone of the article on a scale from 1 (very negative) to 5 (very positive).

Procedure and Design

Coders read each of the 60 articles and noted the following about each article on a

printed coding sheet.

Coders noted that the FLOTUS was portrayed as politically active if the article

focused on issues/platforms, poll results, campaigning, or policy discussions. Coders

noted that the FLOTUS was portrayed as non-politically active if the article focused on

roles such as escort, entertainer, home decorator, fashion plate, or charitable works

advocate. Coders also noted when each of these specific roles was referenced, allowing

for a closer look at specific roles (such as escort or policy maker) within the larger

categories of “politically active” and “non-politically active.” A “mixed” label was


assigned to articles that gave equal weight to politically active and non-politically active

roles or activities.

A scale of 1 (very negative) to 5 (very positive) was used to identify the tone of

the story. This scaling system was adopted from Scharrer’s 2002 research. Coders rated

the article a 1 if the article was overtly negative and contained blatant words of

disapproval, disregard, accusation, or unflattering comments. Coders rated a 2 if the

article contained isolated examples of negativity, as defined above. Coders rated a 3 if

there was no indication of a positive or negative tone. Coders rated a 4 if the article

contained isolated examples of positivity, as defined below. Coders rated a 5 if the article

used clear words of praise, approval, or flattery.

Additionally, coders transcribed or made note of quotes that were extremely

positive or negative.


Results

The purpose of this chapter is to present and analyze the information and statistics

associated with research questions posed in the introduction. The analysis is organized as

follows: roles/sub-type roles and tone.

Roles and Sub-Type Roles

This section discusses the roles in which each of the last three first ladies was

portrayed. 60 articles were included in the study, and coders noted whether the FLOTUS

was portrayed in politically active, non-politically active, or mixed roles. Coders also

noted which sub-types of these roles were mentioned. Table 1 indicates the predominant

roles the New York Times portrayed each FLOTUS as filling. Articles presenting Hillary

Clinton as politically active represented 75% of the 20 articles analyzed for Clinton;

articles presenting Laura Bush as non-politically active represented 70% of the 20 articles

about Bush; and articles presenting Michelle Obama’s role as mixed represented 55% of

the 20 articles about Obama. These results align with and support H1.

Politically active Non-politically active Mixed0

5

10

15

20

Table 1Overall role portrayal

Hillary Clinton Laura Bush Michelle Obama

Predominant role

Num

ber

of a

rtic

les


Table 2 indicates the number of instances each FLOTUS was portrayed in one of

the sub-type roles that helped to determine the politically active, non-politically active, or

mixed labeling. Additionally, Table 2 provides the number of times each major role

(politically active, non-politically active) was mentioned for each FLOTUS. Each article

often portrayed the FLOTUS in multiple sub-type roles, which explains why Hillary

Clinton can be mentioned in a politically active role 21 times within only 20 coded

articles.

The section for “other” includes a number of different roles. For Hillary Clinton,

several articles referred to her business dealings in the Whitewater scandal, so these were

coded as politically active with at sub-type role of “business person.” For Michelle

Obama, several articles about the First Lady’s trip to China with her daughters and

mother were coded with sub-type roles of “mother” and “traveler,” both of which were

classified as non-politically active.

The majority of articles about Hillary Clinton focused on the sub-type roles of

issues/platform and policy discussions. Sub-type roles for Laura Bush were more evenly

split, but she was most often portrayed as an entertainer, closely followed by escort. A

majority of articles on Michelle Obama mentioned her in roles regarding issues/platform

and policy discussions. Obama, unlike Clinton, usually was portrayed in both politically

active and non-politically active roles in the same article. Obama is mentioned in a

politically active role 17 times and in a non-politically active role 25 times, while articles

about Bush and Clinton were more likely to only portray the FLOTUS in one major role.


Table 2

Hillary Clinton Laura Bush Michelle ObamaPolitically active roles total mentions

21 6 17

Issues/platform 7 5 8Poll results 0 0 1Campaigning 3 0 1Policy discussions

7 1 7

Other 4 (role as business person during Whitewater)

0 0

Non-politically active roles total mentions

8 22 25

Escort 2 7 1Entertainer 2 9 4Home decorator 1 0 1Fashion plate 2 2 5Charitable works advocate

1 4 3

Other 0 0 11 (roles as mother and tourist during China trip)

Tone

Coders also noted the tone of each article on a scale of 1 (very negative) to 5

(very positive). An article was coded as neutral (3) if the journalist was fair and accurate

in reporting, even if the overall subject presented inherent positivity or negativity. Table

3 charts out the tone of articles. Table 3 determines differences in tone between each of

the different roles and each of the different first ladies. Table 4 indicates the overall

average tone for all 20 articles for each FLOTUS. The tone was most positive for articles

about Laura Bush that described her in a non-politically active role. The average tone


overall was also highest for Bush. Articles that described politically active roles were,

overall, the most negative of the three groups of articles, which supports H2.

Politically active

Non-politically active

Mixed

0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4

Table 3,Tone of articles

Michelle Obama Laura Bush Hillary Clinton

Tone on scale from 1 (very negative) to 5 (very positive)

Rol

e in

art

icle

Hillary Clinton Laura Bush Michelle ObamaAverage tone overall

3.15 3.55 3.5

Table 4


Discussion

This section seeks to explain and analyze the results presented in the previous

section. Discussion is broken down into the following categories: implications,

limitations, and future research.

Implications

The main implication of the research is the increase in the prevalence of the

FLOTUS as fulfilling a “mixed” role, meaning she is portrayed as simultaneously

fulfilling different roles in both the political and non-political sector.

During Hillary Clinton’s time as FLOTUS, she was more often portrayed in a

politically active role. When she was portrayed as non-politically active, articles implied

Clinton was having some sort of identity crisis. Several articles set up a false dichotomy

in which Clinton could either be a tough politician or a compassionate mother and wife,

but never both.

In comparison, almost all of the articles about Michelle Obama readily embraced

a portrayal of Obama in both politically active and non-politically active roles. Instead of

being called two-faced and deceptive for her multiple jobs and roles, Obama was touted

as a modern woman who truly has it all.

An important difference to note, though, is the individual sub-types within the

politically-active roles. Issues such as women’s rights, education, health, and children’s

rights were coded as politically active. However, a politically active role within any of

these issues still represents a traditional FLOTUS role. Only 20% of Clinton’s politically

active roles regarded these traditional FLOTUS issues. However, 100% of Bush’s


politically active roles and 93% of Obama’s were focused on one of these politically

active roles that traditionally appears on a first lady’s agenda.

Additionally, articles about Clinton were mostly fair, which accounts for the

relative neutrality of tone averages, but most topics of articles about Clinton were

inherently negative. Despite the economic success and peacetime of the Bill Clinton

presidency, Hillary Clinton was still perceived much more negatively than Laura Bush,

who was FLOTUS for a very controversial and tumultuous presidency.

For example, 45% of the articles about Hillary Clinton presented criticism from

sources directed at the FLOTUS, while none of the articles about Bush or Obama did so.

One last interesting change to note is the progression of female journalists writing

about the FLOTUS over the 22 years these New York Times articles cover. 35% of the

articles about Hillary Clinton were written by a female journalist; 85% of the articles

about Michelle Obama were written by a female journalist.

Limitations

Frequently, roles discussed within articles were not as clear-cut as the ones laid

out on the coding sheet. Because the coding sheet was borrowed from Scharrer’s research

of Hillary Clinton and Rudy Giuliani during a Senate election, the roles were a little

different than some of the roles of a FLOTUS. For instance, several articles about

Michelle Obama mentioned her trip to China. While Obama was on the trip for some

foreign policy and political reasons, she was also fulfilling a typical FLOTUS role of

tourist.


Additionally, choosing the top 20 results from a search of each first lady’s name

on the New York Times did not seem to provide the best results. In the future, researchers

should choose articles randomly (such as choosing every fifth article). The top 20 results

were varied and were definitely not in chronological order, but another method would be

more random and, therefore, more representative of a broader swath.

Future research

Future research should seek to understand the difference between traditional

politically active roles, such as women’s and children’s rights, and non-traditional

politically active roles, such as Clinton’s role in healthcare policy. Research should seek

to explain why one category seems so much more acceptable than the other.

Additionally, future research should examine the effect a president’s popularity

has on the first lady’s popularity and the role she chooses to fulfill.

Lastly, research should continue to follow the trend for first ladies to be portrayed

as fulfilling both politically and non-politically active roles. Researchers should examine

how this trend affects the perception of what a modern woman is and does.


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traditional roles: a content analysis of reporting on the roles of the last three first ladies

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