Harry Potter and the Exploitative Jackals: Media Framing and Credibility Attitudes in Young Readers
Daxton R. Stewart
Abstract
J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series has sold more than 400 million books worldwide, and more than half of children ages 9 to 17 have read a Harry Potter book. Rowling has exposed a generation of readers, mostly children, to exaggerated stereotypes of immoral, unprofessional and untrustworthy journalism. To what extent does the framing of journalists in the Potter books contribute to perceptions of media credibility in young readers? This article builds on the literature exploring the image of journalists in popular culture and uses a targeted survey of young readers to examine how Rowling’s portrayal of journalists may affect those readers’ perceptions of the press.
Full Text: PDF