Framing How News is Presented
Carol Kinney COM403BE California Baptist University January 23, 2014
What is Framing? • “The way information is put together (Fundamentals of Media Effects, Bryant, et al., 107).” • The media controls how a message is presented in order to control public interpretation, response and action.
Dominate Framing Theories Psychological approaches:
“Frames of Reference (Bryant, et al. 101)”- a set of ideas, thoughts, worldviews, or “judgments” in which individuals perceive the world and make decisions. “Prospect Theory”- “framing a message in different ways with result in different interpretations.”
Dominate Framing Theories continued Sociological approaches: “Attribution theory (Bryant, et al. 101)”- “simplified” reaction of individuals to media messages based upon “personal, social, or environmental factors.” “Frame analysis theory”- individuals “categorize” information into “schemas,” or “socially shared meanings” in order to process new information.
Effects of Framing • Individuals form the same opinions of the media message. or • Individuals change their own opinion based upon information given in the media message. And then • Individuals respond and act on the media message. c.f. Bryant, et al., 101-102
How the media accomplishes effects • Frame Building (Bryant, et al. 102-103)- the social “elite” and the general culture “influence” how media messages are presented to the public. • Frame Setting- the way that an issue is defined and presented influences individual reaction and response. • Types of Frames (Bryant, et al. 104)- media messages categorized in one of two opposing categories such as “gains vs. loss” in order to elicit a reaction and response, however this “limits framing research” and “ignores . . . master frames or frames the might . . . apply” to more than one category.
Lastly . . . The media uses framing to persuade the audience to think, respond and react the way that it wants. The media uses framing to control their own agenda[s]. How media messages are presented have as much effect on audiences as agenda setting and is often used to reveal the agenda c.f. Bryant, et al. 107
Current Media Comparisons: It’s a matter of framing
Global Warming
Click icon to add picture Gl
ob al W ar mi ng
Is there or isn’t there global warming? That is the question that the media debate.
Liberal news media outlets tend to support the global warming theories, while conservative media outlets do not.
Each frames the topic in ways to support their own agendas.
Additionally, the liberal media wants audiences to respond, while the conservative media’s framing requires no action on the audience’s part beyond accepting the agenda.
Google Images, Retrieved 23 Jan. 2014
The Global Warming Debate Liberal Media: MSNBC
Conservative Media: Fox News “Let’s chill out about global warming” by John Stossel
“Winter, climate, and what’s truly ‘laughable’” by Steve Baren
Defends global warming as a real theory Uses Frame Setting and Building to support agenda Takes the Sociological approach to framing
http://www.msnbc.com/rachelmaddow-show/winter-climate-andwhats-truly-laughable
01/07/14 08:30 AM—UPDATED 01/08/14 03:37 AM
Debunks global warming theory
Uses Frame Building and Types of Frames to support agenda
Takes the Psychological approach to framing
http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2014 /01/22/let-chill-out-about-globalwarming/ 1/22/2014
MSNBC’s framing of Global Warming How the reporter frames the topic:
Frame Setting: 1.
Defines the Issue: conservative elite politicians and media are wrong in their denial of global warming.
2.
Cause for Issue: commentary on Fox News reports and societal elites who deny global warming.
3.
Presents implications: Uses scientific data to support theory of global warming.
4.
Determines treatment: “Gently remind” Fox News of the “voluminous scientific data” on global warming.
Frame Building: Journalist’s own political attitudes or ideology, Societal norms and values, Values of news organIzation and cultural environment: “Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show,” blogger and an MSNBC political contributor.
Steve Benen: Google Images. Retrieved 23 Jan 2014
His background includes writing for the Washington Monthly's Political Animal blog, publishing The Carpetbagger Report, and contributing to Talking Points Memo, The American Prospect, the Huffington Post, Salon, and The Guardian. He has also appeared on broadcast media, including MSNBC, NPR, Current, Air America Radio, and XM Radio [all liberal media outlets]. Benen got his Master's at the George Washington University while interning at the Office of Speechwriting in Bill Clinton's White House. He has written direct mail for a major Democratic consulting firm, worked as a communications director for a congressional campaign, and for six years, was part of the communications department at Americans United for Separation of Church and State.” Huffington Post biography on Steve Benen: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/steve-benen. Retrieved 23 Jan. 2014. Underlining added for emphasis.
Sociological Approach to Framing: Benen uses both the attribution theory and the framing analysis theories to appeal to the audience. Attribution Theory: Benen simplifies his judgment of people with opposing view by criticizing their views in a snarky manner. Framing Analysis: Benen uses shared winter experience combined with data to support his own agenda and criticize those with opposing views.
“ . . . temperatures in the United States do not necessarily reflect temperatures on the entire planet. While many Americans had to bundle up in December 2013, preliminary data suggests last month “was tied for the 2ndhottest December on record since 1979, the beginning of satellite measurements,” and global average temperatures for all of 2013 “are expected to be among the 10 highest since 1850.” “You will no doubt receive an all-caps email soon from your wacky uncle who watches Fox News all day, perhaps with a picture of icicles attached, intended to serve as proof that climate change is a hoax. Gently remind him that winter weather in one country in January isn’t evidence of much, and if he’s interested in relying on evidence as part of the debate, there’s voluminous scientific data for him to check out that goes beyond looking out a window.” Steve Benen http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/winter-climate-and-whats-truly-laughable.
FOX News’s Framing of Global Warming How the reporter frames the topic:
Frame Building: John Stossel, reporter, libertarian (http://www.foxbusiness.com/watch/anchors-
John Stossel: Fox Business News. Retrieved 23 Jan. 2014
reporters/john-stossel-bio/:
“Prior to joining FBN, Stossel co-anchored ABC’s primetime newsmagazine show, "20/20." There, he contributed in-depth special reports and recurring segments on a variety of consumer topics, from pop culture to government and business. His "John Stossel specials" asked tough questions facing Americans today: "Sick in America" delved into the debate between private vs. government health care; "Stupid in America" exposed the government school monopoly; "John Stossel Goes to Washington" revealed government growth under both parties, while "Hype" exposed media distortions.”
“Stossel’s economic programs have been adapted into teaching kits by a non-profit organization, "Stossel in the Classroom." High school teachers in American public schools now use the videos to help educate their students on economics and economic freedom. They are seen by more than 12 million students every year. Stossel has received 19 Emmy Awards and has been honored five times for excellence in consumer reporting by the National Press Club. Other honors include the George Polk Award for Outstanding Local Reporting and the George Foster Peabody Award. The Dallas Morning News named him the "the most consistently thought- provoking TV reporter of our time" and the Orlando Sentinel said he "has the gift for entertaining while saying something profound.“
(Underlining for emphasis)
Stossel’s own political views, the values of Fox News, societal norms and values and the cultural environment build the frame for Stossel’s “Let’s chill out about global warming” story for the audience.
Libertarianism: People should be able to make decisions for themselves without government telling them what to think and do. The only laws and policy that should exist are against actions that physically harm others. http://www.theihs.org/what-libertarian.
“Primetime coverage of global warming at Fox News is overwhelmingly misleading, according to a new report that finds the same is true of climate change information in the Wall Street Journal op-ed pages. Both outlets are owned by Rupert Murdoch's media company News Corporation. The analysis by the science-policy nonprofit Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) finds that 93 percent of primetime program discussions of global warming on Fox News http://www.livescience.com/23448-fox-news-climate-coverage-wrong.html are inaccurate, as are 81 percent of Wall Street Journal editorials on the subject. Retrieved 23 Jan. 2014
"It's like they were writing and talking about some sort of bizarre world where climate change isn't happening," study author Aaron Huertas, a press secretary at UCS, told LiveScience.” by Stephanie Pappas
Frame Typing: Stossel uses “versus” sentences and words to frame his story: “Some computer models suggest big problems, but the models aren’t very accurate.” “Righteous” versus “shallow.” “United States” versus “China.” “Punish” versus “award.” “Love” versus “hate.” “Today” versus “the future.” “Real problems” versus “obsessing” “Global warming heretics” versus “free people.”
Psychological Approach to Framing Frames of Reference: Stossel’s perceptions of the world frame the global warming story in terms of economics.
“Industrialization allows people to use fewer resources. Instead of burning trees for power, we make electricity from natural gas. We figure out how to get more food from smaller pieces of land. And one day we'll probably even invent energy sources more efficient than oil and gas.” “We'll use them because they're cost-effective, not because government forces us to.” “So let's chill out about global warming. We don't need more micromanagement from government. We need less. Then free people -- and rapidly increasing prosperity -- will create a better world.” John Stossel: “Let’s Chill Out About Global Warming.” http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2014/01/22/let-chill-out-about-global-warming/
Prospect Theory of Framing: telling the story in different ways causes “different interpretations (Bryant, et al. 101) MSNBC
Fox News
• Wants the audience to agree that global warming is a threat to our planet and all humans. • Wants the audience to take actions against contributing to global warming. • Wants the audience to defend the global warming issue against people who do not see global warming as a threat or a real topic.
• Wants the audience to accept that global warming does not really exist. • Does not want the audience to change any environmental habits.
Political Candidate News Coverage  MSNBC, FOX News, and CNN
Opinion Matters All three cable news outlets present political stories and candidates in a biased manner with MSNBC leading the pack.
Image: Forbes.com 18 Mar. 2013. Retrieved 23 Jan 2014.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffbercovici/2013/03/18/
Framing Standards “By defining which viewpoints are acceptable for the network and which aren't, Fox News and MSNBC are drawing the lines that define the nationally recognized ‘conservative’ and ‘progressive’ viewpoints, even if there are plenty of conservatives who believe Fox is too far left, and liberals who believe MSNBC is too far right.” Dylan Byers, Politico
http://www.policymic.com/articles/5389/msnbc-and-fox-news-how-cable. Retrieved 23 Jan. 2014.
In a Framing research study, Emma Rachel Brown discovered that during 2010, “MSNBC, ABC, NBC, and CBS framed the [Supreme Court ruling on soft political contributions] decision negatively, Fox News portrayed it positively, and CNN was neutral to negative in coverage.” Brown, E.R. 30 June 2011. “Corporate Speech: A Frame Anaylsis of CNN, MSNBC, and Fox News Coverage of Citizens United v. FEC. University of South Florida Scholar Commons
http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=4212&context=e . Retrieved 23 Jan. 2014.
On coverage of women political candidates: “ . . . trends in the data suggest that conservative programs employ more gendered frames than liberal programs, and that those frames are particularly negative when referring to liberal candidates , and positive when referring to conservative candidates. Further, the gender of the pundits, the gender of the cable network production staff members, and the political party affiliations of executive staff/owners correspond to the frames employed by these programs in unique ways.” Cassidy, Kathryn M. May 2012. “Bringing the Frame Into Focus: How Cable News Pundits Protect the Glass Ceiling.” University of Massachusetts Amherst. http://scholarworks.umass.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1953&context=theses . Retrieved 23 Jan. 2013.
Chris Christie Scandal
Political agendas, views and ideologies of cable news stations of the Governor Chris Christie (Republican) George Washington Bridge “scandal�.
Google Images, Retrieved 23 Jan. 2014
Fox News tends to be conservative and in favor of Republican candidates, has the least amount of coverage of the scandal on 1/18/14. MSNBC tends to be liberal and in favor of Democratic candidates, has the most coverage of the scandal. The typically more politically neutral CNN has the second most coverage on the same day.
In Conclusion . . . Each cable news outlet framed the story about Chris Christie in ways that supported their own agendas, values and political views. Each cable news outlet framed the story in a way that reflected their audience’s societal values, political views and expectations. In this way, each of the three major cable news outlets used Frame Building. Additionally, each cable news outlet incorporated frame setting, typing, and the use of psychological and sociological theories of framing in a variety of stories presented by multiple journalists, elite pundits in the way that is dictated by the individual news organizations, the journalists and the expectations of the audience that watches each different station.