The hierarchy of humanization: A theory of victim visibility in news narratives

Journalism frames events and distributes human recognition in public discourse, yet little is known about how narrative attention is allocated among individuals within the same event. This study introduces Victim Visibility Theory (VVT), conceptualizing news stories as systems of narrative allocation in which victims receive unequal levels of humanization. Drawing on a content analysis of 433 articles from four U.S. elite newspapers covering 52 victims across four mass shootings, it examines how identity cues, symbolic capital, and structural narrative prominence shape representation. The findings show that humanization is allocated at two levels: first between events, where whole tragedies are humanized unequally, and then within events, where editorial placement provides a second-order layer of differentiation. Victims granted headline and lead placement consistently receive expanded interpretive development, while identity attributes and symbolic capital show limited, inconsistent effects. This two-level hierarchy of humanization repositions framing in a broader model of narrative visibility and informs more equitable journalistic practice.