agenda-setting and framing theory metin ersoy faculty of communication and media studies jour 487...

AGENDA-SETTING AND FRAMING THEORY

METIN ERSOYFACULTY OF COMMUNİCATİON

AND MEDİA STUDİES

JOUR 487Conflict Reporting

Agenda-Setting & Framing

Have you ever thought about what you think and why you think?

Why we focus on some issues but not something else?

Is there any relationship between what you think and what media says to us?

If so, why? If not, then, what are the impacts of the media on our daily lives?

Metin ERSOY - Spring 2009


Walter Lipmann, American journalist and social commsentator, was the first who realised the importance of the media and our way of thinking.

In his book, Public Opinion (1922), Lipmann argued that “mass media, primarily newspapers and magazines… create our picture of the world” (McCombs & Bell, 94).



The BeginningsIn 1968, McCombs & Shaw, from the

University of North Carolina, conducted a research during the presidential elections.

Their research was the first research depending on Lipmann’s thesis.

The research conducted in Chapel Hill.Metin ERSOY - Spring 2009


The main issue in Chapel Hill study (1968) was salience.

What is salience?Salience means “whether or not something

is perceived as important or prominent” (McCombs & Bell, 95).

The question of “what do you think is the most important problem facing this country [the US] today?” has changed by McCombs & Shaw.


Lesson 3: Agenda-Setting & Framing

During the presidential election McCombs & Shaw asked to undecided voters as “what are you most concerned about these days?” (McCombs & Bell, 95).

When McCombs & Shaw ranked the answers of the respondents they realised that “[t]there was a strong relationship between the public’s and the media’s agenda of issues. McCombs and Shaw named this transfer of salience from the media agenda to the public agenda the agenda-setting influence of mass communication” (McCombs & Bell, 96).



The DefinitionBernard Cohen defines the agenda-setting

theory without giving its name in his book, The Press and Foreign Policy (1963). For him, the media “may not successful much of the time in telling people what to think, but it’s stunningly successful in telling its readers what to think about” (Quoted in Soronka, 2002, 265).

McCombs & Shaw theorised Lipmann’s thesis as “agenda-setting”.



Shaw & McCombs (1977) conducted a research about the relationship between politics and media.

Palmgreen & Clarke (1977) “examined the differences existed in the media’s agenda-setting role for local and national media” (McCombs & Shaw, 97).

Palmgreen & Clarke (1977) found that ‘media’s impact is weaker at the local level than national level’ (McCombs & Shaw, 97).

Other significant researches are, Salwen (1988), Winter & Eyal (1981), Smith (1987), Eaton (1989), Brosius & Kepplinger (1990) etc.



Framing the NewsAnother part of agenda-setting is framing.

Why understanding framing the news is important in agenda-setting research because “mass media have a strong impact by constructing social reality” (Dietram A. Scheufele, 1999, 105).

So framing can seen as a way of both understanding the society and the media.



According to McCombs, Shaw and Weaver (1997), “framing is… an extension of agenda-setting” (Scheufele, 103).

According to Scheufele, “within the realm of political communication, framing has to be defined and operationalized on the basis of this social constructivism. Mass media actively set the frames of reference that readers or viewers use to interpret and discuss public events” (105).



How can we define frames?

Before defining what the frames are, it is better to look at the frames in general.

According to Scheufele, there are two types of frames: media frames and individual frames.



Gamson and Modigliani (1987) define media frames “as a central organizing idea or story line that provides meaning to an unfolding strip of events… The fames suggests what the controversy is about, the essence of the issue” (Quoted in Scheufele, 106).



For Tuchman (1987) “the news frame organizes everday reality and the news frame is a part and parcel of everyday reality… [the frame] is an essential feature of news” (Quoted in Scheufele, 106).

Also for Gitlin, media frames serve as a working routine for the journalists “to quickly identify and classify information and ‘to package it for efficient relay to their audiences (Scheufele, 106).



For Entman (1993) frames are important because with framing, some aspects of ‘perceived reality’ is ‘making more salient in communication’ (Quoted in Scheufele, 107).

Hence, one can argue that media frames are re-constructing the ‘realities’ in our lives.

Thus, as McCombs, Shaw and Weaver argue, framing is a part of agenda-setting because by framing the news media workers (journalists and power elite) set the agenda.



According to Entman individual frames can be defined as “mentally stored clusters of ideas that guide individuals’ processing information” (Quoted in Scheufele, 107).



According to the study of Princeton Survey Research Associates, there are 13 types of frames are using in newspapers. These are:

Straight News Account, Conflict Story, Consensus Story, Conjecture Story, Process Story, Historical Outlook, Horse Race, Trend Story, Policy Explored, Reaction Story, Reality Check, Wrongdoing Exposed, and Personality Profile.



Straight News Account: No dominant narrative frame other than outlining the basic who, what, where, why, and how. In other words, straight news account can be defined as the 5Ws and H principle in journalism, which is known as inverted pyramid.

Conflict Story: A focus on conflict inherent to the situation or brewing among the players.

Consensus Story: An emphasis on the points of agreement around an issue or event.

Conjecture Story: A focus around conjecture or speculation of what is to come.



Process Story: An explanation of the process of something or how something works.

Historical Outlook: How the current news fits into history.

Horse Race: Who is winning and who is losing.Trend Story: The news as an ongoing trend.Policy Explored: A focus on exploring policy

and its impact.Reaction Story: A response or reaction from

one of the major players.Reality Check: A close look into the veracity of

a statement made or information is given.



Wrongdoing Exposed: The uncovering of wrongdoing or injustice.

Personality Profile: A profile of the newsmaker.

The most common frame in the news is the straight news account.



‘Frames are necessary way to organising the information to make it more coherent and interesting and to put it into perspective’.

‘Journalists may rely on certain frames too reflexively, especially for certain kinds of stories’.

‘News that is too formulaic and familiar becomes less interesting and less useful’.



Frames are important because:with frames agenda can be set.In all media (print, radio, TV, Internet etc.) space

is important, so journalists must frame the news and present it.

frames make journalists work easy. By having certain types of clichés journalists are writing their news easily.

Frames show how ideology works in the media.For Edelman (1993), “the choice of frames often

is ‘driven by ideology and prejudice’” (Quoted in Scheufele, 110)



So, by framing the news journalists contribute the supporting of the status quo.

By framing the news journalists eliminate some news but are they consciously choose some other news for setting the agenda?

Framing is not only a part of ‘agenda-setting’ but also gatekeeping.

According to Scheufele “how people think about an issue is influenced by the accessibility of frames” (116).



The Importance of ‘Agenda-Setting’‘Agenda-Setting’ theory is not only talk

about how people are influenced by the media but also how media plays a big part in the maintaining the status quo.

Wag the Dog, directed by Berry Levinson (1998), is a good example of how media can manipulate people.

it can be seen as both ‘mainstream’ and ‘critical’ at the same time.



With ‘agenda-setting’ people realise the power of the media, and how it works.

However, one of the main problem of ‘agenda-setting’ is depending the idea of ‘passive audience’.

That’s why, there are some theories in the ‘agenda-setting’ research that claims the activeness of audience and argue that media does not set people’s agenda but ‘people set the media’s agenda’. Is it possible?



Conclusions Agenda-setting research shows how the media

influence our way of thinking. Like in the film, Wag the Dog, agenda-setting is

very useful to give an idea about the manipulation of the mass media.

“Agenda-setting theory has opened many doors to reveal the power and ethical responsibility of the news media, and it continues to identify other intellectual doors” (McCombs & Bell, 108).



The term framing was introduced by Todd Gitlin in 1980 in his study of “how American television network trivialized a major student political movement during the 1960s” (McCombs & Bell, 106).

Frames can be very useful for journalists (media labours) to frame the issues.

It can also be useful for journalists because by having certain type of frames journalists can write their news stories easily.



Framing is also a part of ‘gatekeeping’ because by framing the news, some news are putting ‘on the agenda’ however some are not.

In other words, by framing the news, agenda can be set.



DISCUSSION TOPICS FOR THIS WEEK:Have you ever thought about what you

think and why you think?Why we focus on some issues but not

something else?Is there any relationship between what you

think and what media says to us?If so, why? If not, then, what are the

impacts of the media on our daily lives?


agenda-setting and framing theory metin ersoy faculty of communication and media studies jour 487...

Documents

media agenda

framing shaw mccombs

public agenda

national media mccombs

medias agenda of issues

metin ersoy spring

mass media

national level mccombs