The Sweetie Campaign

This Master’s thesis offers an insight on the media representation of the Sweetie campaign by the non-governmental organization Terre des Hommes. The Sweetie campaign aims to generate awareness on the growing issue of web-cam sex tourism (WCST), advocating for changes in policies in order to fight this problem in the Philippines. The thesis examines how the message of the campaign has been represented in British and Australian media by uncovering the frames used by the media. Moreover, the thesis explores the media discourse of WCST and how this discourse shapes its changing definition. Employing a qualitative content analysis, the study explores the frames used in news reports that concern the Sweetie campaign. The results indicate four emerging frames. The most employed frame was the positive frame, followed by the negative frame, the responsibility frame and the collective frame. Additionally, the findings were discussed on the levels of social change and policy change. Finally, as the aim of the thesis is to reveal the frames used by the media, the findings contribute to the field of framing analysis in media studies, with special attention given to public will campaigns.