Invisible statements in the newspapers - A qualitative study of media's role and representation of Delhi gang rape

The cases of rape and other crimes committed against women are reported in media everyday. The fatal gang rape of a 23 year old woman on a moving bus in the National capital of India captured media headlines not only in India but across the world due to the horrific manner in which this crime was committed. The present master thesis attempts to understand the representation of crime against women in media to Delhi gang rape case and also how the people feels about of such incidences in media. The data is collected from three newspapers, BBC News, New York Times and Globalpost. All the news items were read carefully and analysed with a critical discourse analysis.The newspapers are each divided in the analysis, including a theoretical discussion afterwards. The theories that are being used in this master thesis are Victim precipitation theory, Moral panics and Labelling Theory. The final conclusion has been arrived with the help of deeply readings through the newspapers including the help of critical discourse analysis. It can be concluded that media needs to be more sensitive towards coverage of crime against women and general public needs to be more vocal and aware to deal with these cases in more effective manner