Secondary, security threat, and sage: eulogy effect and the framing of female politicians as political martyrs in the elite press of South Asia

Abstract

How do newspapers frame female politicians, and does this framing change after a female politician's death during an election campaign? Benazir Bhutto, who served two terms as prime minister of Pakistan, was assassinated in 2007 by a terrorist group. South Asian newspapers framed her as corrupt, inefficient, and a threat to national security before her death; however, the elite press characterized her as a martyr and sage posthumously. Using qualitative content analysis, this study examines the editorial coverage of two newspapers ( The Hindu and The Times of India) in India and two newspapers ( The News and The Dawn) in Pakistan to examine how these elite newspapers framed Benazir Bhutto before and after her tragic death. We found that the framing of the slain leader changed from negative to positive after her assassination. The study concludes that her assassination influenced the media coverage and produced a eulogy effect that helped her party stay in power after her assassination.