January  2015 31
專輯論文Special Issue Articles
寫劇本或新聞?看熱鬧還是感同身受? 女性癌症病人的新聞建構
Dramas or News? The News Construction of Female Cancer Patients
  (3206)
作者 邱玉蟬
Author Yu-Chan CHIU
關鍵詞 癌症、癌症病人、女性角色、新聞分析、隱喻
Keywords cancer, cancer patient, female role, news analysis, metaphor
摘要 本研究目的為探討台灣報紙新聞報導如何建構癌症、病人與女性角色。新聞樣本為2010 與2011兩年四大報紙的女性癌症新聞,包括「乳癌」、「子宮頸癌」與「卵巢癌」,共277則新聞。本研究以質性研究分析發現,新聞報導以惡魔形容癌症,以戰爭隱喻治療癌症。新聞指責害怕、逃避的病人,讚揚積極樂觀的抗癌英雄。媒體主要再現醫療專業的觀點,成為醫療化機制的一環。新聞報導女性癌症,也再製了傳統女性母職照顧者的角色,缺乏現代女性多元角色的再現。
Abstract Many people rely heavily on the medical news to provide and update their health information. The news not only disseminates the newest medical information but also reinforces the values and beliefs regarding health and illness. Female cancer is often portrayed as one of the most feared diseases. Therefore, this study aims to analyze the construction of female cancer patients in medical news. Adopting a qualitative research approach, this study analyzes three female cancers, including breast, cervical and ovarian cancers, in 277 news articles, published in the top four Taiwanese newspapers from 2010 to 2011. The results show that the news used the metaphor of the devil to represent female cancers. Furthermore, the treatment was described as a war against cancer, which implied that its outcome would be either a success or failure, namely, either a cure or death.

In newspapers, female cancers were often framed in a dramatic plot, which the living conditions of underprivileged women were portrayed to be dire and female patients in general were represented to be ignorant, stupid, and conservative. The news coverage of female cancers implied that most women did not respond to the initial symptoms of cancer. Personal responsibility and victim blaming were significantly emphasized. However, once female cancer patients started to receive treatment, they were viewed as heroes who bravely fought the disease and strived to help other cancer patients after their recovery. The findings of this study indicate that the news coverage of female cancers reproduces the traditional female role as a caregiver and delivers the dominant biomedical perspectives on female cancers. Further research is needed to explore how news effects women’s perceptions of female cancers and patients’ experiences with the disease.



本文引用格式

邱玉蟬(2015)。〈寫劇本或新聞?看熱鬧還是感同身受?女性癌症病人的新聞建構〉。《傳播與社會學刊》,第31 期,頁65–94。



Citation of this article:

Chiu, Y.-C. (2015). Dramas or news? The news construction of female cancer patients. Communication & Society, 31, 65–94.


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