ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the author describes the reasons for her choice of materials and considers some of the wider aspects of the materials. The raw data are introduced by way of content analysis which aims to supply the reader with a broad overview of the key themes in these data. The author addresses the issues raised by a content analytic method for handling the data and focuses upon some of the contemporary debates about media discourse which are relevant for her purposes, in particular addressing questions of objectivity in respect of media content. The words 'systematic' and 'objective' are cornerstones of the content analytic technique and the issue of reliability and validity is central to assessments of the success of this method. Content analysis is merely one approach to the analysis of mass media products and its specific purposes are intimately tied to the research question at hand.
