Framing responsibility for depression: how U.S. news media attribute causal and problem-solving responsibilities when covering a major public health problem

This paper analyzes how major U.S. print and broadcast news media framed depression causal and problem-solving responsibilities at individual and societal levels over the past three decades. Results from the content analysis showed that the media placed more causal and problem-solving responsibilities on individuals than the society. However, references to societal solutions increased moderately over time. Organizational differences emerged in news attribution of responsibilities, as print media presented more individual-level causes while broadcast media focused more on solutions at both individual and societal levels. Additionally, local newspapers put more problem-solving responsibilities on individuals than national newspapers, while a cable news channel allocated more time to the discussion of overall depression responsibilities than network TV. Findings are discussed in the context of cultural orientations, organizational constraints, changing practice and trends in health news reporting, and the broader political/social environment in which the news media operate. Practical implications for health journalism, mental health communication and advocacy, and public health policy-making are discussed.     

Attributes and Frames of the Aurora Shootings

The present study examined frames and second-level agenda-setting attributes used by national and local newspapers to cover the 2012 Aurora, Colorado shootings. Unlike research examining coverage of school shootings, this study examined a mass shooting that did not occur at a school. Both newspaper types published a similar number of articles—though national articles tended to be longer—and virtually stopped coverage after 18 days. While previous coverage tended to focus on shootings’ societal implications, Aurora coverage focused more on individuals involved in the time immediately surrounding the shootings. National papers focused on the gunman, while the local press tended to focus on victims. Mass shootings in general tend to be salient news items, but the present study further shows news outlets may now focus on incidents’ specifics instead of common characteristics they might share, perhaps because audiences have an existing understanding of them. The shootings were framed in terms of gun control; national newspapers used this frame more often than did local newspapers. Both newspaper types tended to discuss gun control as directly related to the Aurora shootings, rather than as a societal or continuing need. Results offer further evidence that second-level agenda-setting and framing are distinct concepts.     

Stages of a Crisis and Media Frames and Functions: U.S. Television Coverage of the 9/11 Incident During the First 24 Hours

This study examined how five U.S. television outlets framed the 9/11 incident during the first 24 hours and how stages of the crisis affected media frames and functions. The study found media frames were dynamic rather than static, especially when events changed rapidly. Television served primarily to inform rather than provide guidance and consolation, and its functions changed according to its priority in the coverage during the different stages of the crisis. Use of a wider range of sources led to a diminished role of government sources in the coverage of this rapidly changing crisis of national magnitude.     

Framing the crisis by one's seat: a comparative study of newspaper frames of the Asiana crash in the USA,Korea, and China

This study compared newspaper frames of the 2013 Asiana Airlines crash in the three countries involved: the USA, Korea, and China. The results revealed distinct patterns of news coverage under the particular influence of national interests. The responsibility frame was the most frequently used, but the attribution of responsibility varied across the three countries. US newspapers overwhelmingly attributed the causation to pilot error, Korean media framed the causation as being open to multiple explanations, and Chinese newspapers were less likely to speculate about causation before the final official conclusion was reached. US and Korean media maintained a negative tone toward each other, while Chinese newspapers took a similar standpoint as the US media but were slightly less negative toward Korea. Further, divergence of news frames used across countries was associated with the different use of sources by different newspapers across countries. In particular, Korean media indicated reluctance to use US officials and a preference to cite alternative sources which offered diverse opinions regarding the attribution of responsibility. Finally, emotions of the crash stories varied by attributions of causation in Korean but not in the other countries’ news reports.     

The Gender War in U.S. Sport: Winners and Losers in News Coverage of Title IX

Title IX, the 1972 federal law that guarantees girls and young women access to scholastic sporting opportunities, has been the catalyst for explosive growth in female athletics. Despite evidence that Title IX has opened doors for female athletes without closing them to boys, the law continues to be a source of controversy. This research explores the ways stories in U.S. regional and national newspapers framed Title IX issues between 2002 and 2005, critical years for the civil-rights legislation because of political and legal activity at the national level. Content analysis found that although most stories avoided negative framing devices, stories about the Title IX Commission during 2002 and 2003 more often used negative framing that could perpetuate misunderstanding about the law. Further, paper size, placement of stories and reporter gender were factors in the way stories framed and sourced Title IX coverage. This study points to the need of journalists for a better understanding of the law and its impact on high school and collegiate athletics. Journalists also need to better understand Title IX's relationship with the fiscal hierarchy of collegiate athletics in U.S. universities so “blame the victim” mythology is not reinforced. Journalists should reject patriarchal frames and report about Title IX in ways that benefit public discourse.     

Coverage of Methamphetamine in GLBT Newspapers

Research demonstrates that methamphetamine is a serious problem in gay communities. This study examined the framing of methamphetamine in nine gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (GLBT) newspapers. Results showed that methamphetamine was framed as a “gay problem,” that sexual health and solutions frames were prevalent, and that GLBT newspapers covered methamphetamine in a way that is similar to how they covered AIDS in the 1980s. Implications for health campaigns are discussed.     

Representation of China: An across time analysis of coverage in the New York Times and Los Angeles Times

This study examined the coverage of China in the New York Times and Los Angeles Times between 1992 and 2001. Across time comparison were made both within and between the two newspapers in terms of total number of stories, media frames used and favourability differences. Findings show that coverage of China has increased significantly over time, but the overall tone remained negative. Stories presented in political frames and ideological frames were more likely to be unfavourable. No significant differences were found between the two newspapers.     

News framing of the U.S. immigration debate during election years: Focus on generic frames

This study examined the frames used in the news coverage of the U.S. immigration debate during election years. Stories from four major U.S. newspapers, the Los Angeles Times, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the St. Petersburg Times, and The New York Times, were content analyzed. The analysis revealed that the conflict frame was the most dominant frame in the news coverage of the U.S. immigration debate whereas no significant changes in the framing of the U.S. immigration debate were found over time. The human interest frame was more likely to have a pro-immigration tone compared to other frames. The findings of immigrant characteristics showed that the “illegal” characteristic was the most frequently used to identify immigrants.     

Measuring Issue-specific and Generic Frames in the Media’s Coverage of the Steroids Issue in Baseball

This study explored frames in the coverage of the steroids issue in baseball through a content analysis of traditional and new media. Using issue-specific and generic frames, it proposed a hybrid measurement tool that combines both approaches. Findings of the principal component analysis indicate the media framed the steroids issue primarily in terms of conflict and policy. Significant differences emerged between traditional and new media, on the one hand, and between the news and sports media, on the other. Besides these frames, the media also presented the steroids story as a public opinion and morality issue, using organizational officials, the public, and the media to convey these frames.     

Visually Framing Press Freedom and Responsibility of a Massacre: Photographic and Graphic Images in Charlie Hebdo's Newspaper Front Pages Around the World

This research examines 441 front-page images published in 367 newspapers on the day following the shooting in Paris of 12 people at or near the Charlie Hebdo office. The aim of this study is to understand how mainstream media visually framed responsibility for the Charlie Hebdo massacre and how these visual frames coalesced to represent collective narratives about press freedom. Through a collaborative visual analysis, this study attempts to understand how the selected visual frames worked to communicate the causes, effects, and responses to the massacre and also to press freedom—an ideological construct that news media had a vested interest in advancing.     

TIME-LAG DIFFERENCES IN THE AGENDA-SETTING PROCESS: AN EXAMINATION OF FIVE NEWS MEDIA

Five news media in the U.S. were examined to determine the optimaltime-lag for agenda-setting effects to occur for each. Publicresponses to an open-ended question ‘What is the numberone problem facing our country today?’ were compared tomedia coverage from one to 26 weeks earlier. A number of differenceswere found across the five media. The results show that televisioncoverage had a shorter optimal time-lag than newspapers. Themore immediate effect of television news, however, quickly deteriorated,and newspapers had a stronger long-term agenda-setting effect.National and regional media also had a more immediate impactthan local media. All media, generally, had slightly shorteroptimal time-lags than previous research would suggest.     

From theft to racist brawl: the framing of Low Yat incident by Malaysian newspapers

This study aimed to conduct a framing analysis on the coverage of the Law Yat incident, whereby a theft case was escalated into racist brawl in Malaysia. The study compared the coverage of mainstream Malay-, English- and Chinese-language as well as alternative newspapers. The findings indicated that the newspapers reported the incident with different intensity, prominence, news sources, news frames and valence. It was found that the Law Yat incident has been highly racialized by irresponsible bloggers, social media users and politicians in the country. The findings also reflected that race and ethnicity issues remain highly politicized in Malaysia.     

Inter-media agenda setting in global news production: examining agenda attributes in newspaper coverage of the MH370 incident in the U.S., China,and Hong Kong

The disappearance of Malaysian Airline Flight MH370 attracted high media attention across countries. To explore how news media outlets influence each other in transnational settings, this study focuses on the coverage of MH370 by three major newspapers in the U.S., China, and Hong Kong, and examines the inter-media agenda-setting effect as an indicator of media’s mutual influence. A content analysis of 255 news articles revealed significant correlations among the issue agendas of the 3 newspapers, suggesting the existence of reciprocal, though asymmetrical, influence among the news media in the U.S., China, and Hong Kong. The findings also suggest that news media differ in power and that news media in high-power countries play a key role in shaping the global news agenda.     

Visual Framing of the Early Weeks of the U.S.-Led Invasion of Iraq: Applying the Master War Narrative to Electronic and Print Images

A content analysis of 1,822 images from U.S. mainstream media—network and cable television news outlets, news Web sites, newspapers, and news magazines—revealed that the visual framing of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003 shifted from conflict to human interest. During the campaign's first 5 weeks, 5 distinct scenarios—shock and awe, conquering troops, hero, victory, and control—often coalesced around iconic images and supported a “master war narrative” identified by other scholars. These visual frames reflected a government-promoted patriotic perspective seen in media content at the outset of previous U.S. wars, from the Civil War through the Gulf War.     

Culture and comparative media research: Narratives about Internet privacy policy in Chinese,U.S., and UK newspapers

This article compares American, British, and Chinese news coverage of Internet privacy policies. Specifically, we examine media discourse about the “real-name” policies established by Facebook and Weibo. We find that U.S. and UK news coverage of Internet privacy policy is broadly similar, when compared with the more authoritarian–corporatist media system in China. British and U.S. newspapers were much more independent from state control, and were able to maintain a more critical stance than the Chinese newspapers. But there were additional factors that shaped the patterns in news discourse in complicated ways, which are related to (a) the difference between domestic and international news genres, (b) specific narratives about national identity, and (c) more general discourses about civil society, democracy, and the public good. We suggest that the range of comparative media research can be extended by paying attention to how these cultural factors interact with media system dynamics.     

“媒介事件”:美国电视媒体如何报道恐怖主义

美国电视媒体对恐怖主义的报道具有媒介事件的典型特征:现场直播、预先策划、充满戏剧性、强制观看机制、高度人格化以及媒介扮演司仪角色等。这种报道方式一方面赋予了恐怖事件和恐怖分子在公众心目中的威望和重要性,放大了恐怖主义的传播效果;另一方面,它像其他媒介事件一样,强化了美国主流社会既有的社会秩序、价值观和通行的规则,提升了反恐在公众议程中的优先级和认同度。     

Marginalization Devices in U.S. Press Coverage of Iraq War Protest: A Content Analysis

Although a great deal of research has identified ways in which mass media can delegitimize social protest groups, little effort has been given to examining the relative prevalence of each of these mechanisms (labeled marginalization devices in this study) in media coverage of protest movements. By employing an innovative typology, the author examined the prominence of these devices in noneditorial coverage of Iraq War protest in 3 major U.S. newspapers over a 1-year period. In addition to gauging the prevalence of each device, the study also determined which specific devices were associated with either a positive or negative overall story tone toward the protesters. Although coverage in general was not more likely to be either negative or positive toward war-protest groups, stories containing the most commonly implemented devices were more likely to be negative in overall tone. Practical and scholarly implications are discussed in scrutinizing the mass media's role in shaping interpretations of sociopolitical issues.     

Framing Refuge: Media,Framing, and Sanctuary Cities

The refugee sanctuary movement in the United States has shifted to include undocumented immigrants fleeing violence and economic strife. Given the negative tenor of coverage of undocumented immigration, and ties between framing and policy views on immigration, how the media frames sanctuary cities is likely to impact public perceptions of these cities and their policies. To assess media coverage of sanctuary policies, we analyzed articles from five national newspapers from 1980 to 2017 with both human content analysis and dictionary-based computational analysis. We find that framing around religion/morality and conflict has decreased, while stories focusing on crime and partisanship have increased. We discuss implications for public opinion and the likelihood that the American public will take their cues from media framing and elite discourse when it comes to sanctuary policies.     

The Hostile Media Phenomenon: Testing the Effect of News Framing on Perceptions of Media Bias

Recent theorizing in hostile media perception (HMP) has focused on the impact of news content on perceptions of media bias. Using a 2 (an outcome frame versus a value frame) × 2 (a societal frame versus an individual frame) experimental design (N = 114), this study examined the differential effects of news frames on perceptions of media bias. The results showed that an outcome frame induced relatively less HMP than a value frame. Further, a societal frame was more likely to elicit HMP than an individual frame when the medical abortion controversy was framed in term of values (vs. outcomes). Directions for future research on the potential impact of news framing on HMP were discussed.