Analysis of Media Framing of an Article Essay

Today’s media (news) plays an enormous role in the lives of people in directing a specific perception of the world around them. Most often media conduct's a subconscious effect upon its spectators in which the upshots are deliberately or illdeliberatly towards a particular topic.

Now I realise it seems a bit hypocritical of me to attack the media’s representation of a news event when I myself am a part of the hype-generating circus we call mass media. However, the voice of my wise, high-school English teacher echoes in my subconscious that we should always be critical of the texts we consume and conscious of the

Historically there has been conflict between the american police force and members of minority groups. In recent years this conflict has moved into the eye of the public, through the media attention given to events like Ferguson. Outrage and unrest ensued and the backlash from these events were felt all over the US if not internationally. The result of these events lead to politicians and the police pledging reforms to improve the relations between law enforcement and members of minority groups. However many still believe that nothing has changed and that law enforcement is still more likely to use excessive force when dealing with members of those minority groups. Research has started to be conducted on this issue and many try to find solutions. This paper will provide a literary review of the current literature regarding this topic and will further provide some ways in which the relationship between law enforcement and the public can be improved.

After the recent deaths to these three African American men (Eric, Michael, and Trayvon), the media has scrutinized law enforcement numerous times for being too harsh on their ethnicity. In the article “A Return to Violent Times?” there has been a lot of speculation that police officers are being treated in a cruel way. The media has labeled Brown, Garner, and Martin as “metaphors”. Those metaphors being "Hands Up Don't Shoot!”, “I can’t breathe” and even the grey hoodie with the Arizona tea and Skittles. These metaphors that were used in the article symbolize the deaths that happen to those three African American men and they will forever be labeled by the words or the action used in the incidents that took place. The fatally tragic incidents involving these three men will continue to create a foundation for future incidents involving racial

Framing as defined by Robert Entman is “to frame a communicating text or message is to promote certain facets of a ‘perceived reality’ and make them more salient in such a way that endorses a specific problem definition, casual interpretation, moral evaluation, and/or a treatment recommendation (Cissel 68).” Framing is an extension of agenda-setting, which is when the media tells us what to think about (Sparks 228).

Over the years the rate of police brutality has increased in America. It has become one of the biggest headline in today’s news. Many African-Americans have become victims of police brutality. From young teenagers to mothers and daughters, even babies; whether the encounter was direct or indirect, all of which has encountered a form of police brutality. It’s not that the African-American community hates the police it’s their actions that we are upset and frustrated with. It’s their actions of beating, injustice shooting and killing of our brothers and sisters that have us protesting and rioting. How many more of our family members and loved ones must become a new hashtag or headline before the act of police brutality is a problem? Charles Dent argues that not all cops are bad and that we should support the police and not bash them. I agree with the point that not all cops are bad, but it’s not the police that are being bashed it’s the act of police brutality which they partake in that we don’t like and are protesting.

The issue of police brutality in America has produced a series of moments where the individual motives and individual protests take a front seat in our conscious, but there is a lack of awareness of this crippling embodiment of fear among people all over the nation. We can no longer afford to buy into the misconception that these instances of civil disorder and un-readiness are about discrete cases. Nor is it merely about their detailed nature as prescribed by the law. The system of justice, in and of itself, is under intense examination. The ethnic devices are produced speak to the fact that our nation’s current system is currently under questioning. America as a whole is under an intense phase of cross-examination. We are in a new period

Most studies focused on the impact of the news but Americans today receive a lot of their information from entertainment sites and social media. The media can affect the public’s understanding of events in numerous ways it frames how people think about a particular issue or event..As Kinder and Sanders (1996) explain, “frames lead a double life . . . frames are interpretive structures embedded in political discourse. . . . At the same time, frames also live inside the mind; they are cognitive structures that help individual citizens make sense of the issues” (p. 164). When frames in political discourse

Upon the inception of the LAPD, the police force was utilized to serve the interests of the local political machines. They served as a counter-attack to the rising growth of unions and picketing. Escobar explains that, “From the very beginning the department adopted a militaristic structure and character.” (Ecobar, p. 27). After the LAPD succeeded in breaking down the unions of Los Angeles, there was a shift in focus to combating in the, “war on crime”, which pointed to racialized ideals since crime was associated with race.

Agenda Setting Theory describes how the mass media affect the public salience of issues, especially those of political importance, through the prominence and style of reporting on those issues (McCombs & Shaw, 1972, p. 177; Shaw et al., 1999, p. 14).  The degree to which a person is vulnerable to the agenda-setting function of the mass media is related to need for orientation, or the degree to which one feels compelled to have an opinion on a subject.  If one is uninformed on an issue of great interest, there is a greater vulnerability (Shaw et al., p. 10).  An individual’s assessment of salience appears to be influenced by the degree of emotional reaction to a subject, with strong negative emotions indicating that an issue is of great importance (Miller, 2007, p. 712).  Agenda Setting Theory maintains that the media provides an imperfect reflection of societal issues, often incorporating bias (McCombs & Shaw, p. 184).  For complex

In our democratic society, mass media is the driving force of public opinion. Media sources such as Internet, newspaper, news-broadcasts, etc, play significant roles in shaping a person’s understanding and perception about the events occurred in our daily lives. As long as the newspapers, internet, network television, etc, continued to be easily accessible to the public, the media will continue to have an influence in shaping its opinions. Factors such as agenda-setting, framing and priming help shape the public opinions. Agenda-setting is when the media focuses their attention on selected issues on which the public will form opinion on, whereas framing allows the media to select certain aspects about the problem and then

The way the media frame issues has a subtle yet significant effect on the general public. Studies have shown that frames can help determine which procedures we find medically necessary (Edwards, Elwyn, Covey, Matthews, & Pill, 2001), can influence our ability to recall critical details of a news story (Valkenburg, 2000), and can even subtly influence elections (Shah, Domke, & Wackman, 1996). Given the impact frames can have on the general public, it is important to have a clear way to conceptualize and measure their effects.

Another way media frames political issues is inserting media’s own position on the issue. The media’s position tends to be more liberal and promotes more democratic policies and issues. This bias coverage stems from a long growing relationship between the media and liberal forces (Ginsberg, Lowi & Weir, 1999). However, any bias can distort new coverage and influence audiences in that direction.

Throughout society, the mass media constantly changes over time. The mass media play a prominent role in informing the public about what occurs within the world, especially in areas which audiences do not acquire direct experience and knowledge. This essay will argue that the propaganda model is no longer valid as it has become outdated. This essay will also discuss the model in relation to the five filters and draw on Rampton's critique of the propaganda model in contemporary society.

The research for this article was conducted within a framework of Framing theory. The theory was first put forward by a Canadian-American sociologist Erving Goffman. Media framing, to put it bluntly, is a term that points to a presence of a certain bias in any media outlets’ output. All choices made in a newsroom collectively form the frame through which media decides to show the world to the audiences. Everything matters: Covering one event and ignoring another, covering one event more than the other, deciding what words to use to cover an event, what photographs or video clips to include, whom to give a voice, etc. At the same time, framing theory goes far beyond newsroom policies. Framing is not necessarily a delibirate choice. Journalists themselves look at the world through frames: their education, upbringing, gender, ethnical background, knowledge of the issue, and so on. Audience members apply their own frames as well, not just to media content, but to everything they hear and see.