Framing The Truth Analysis

THESIS: Political framing, as used by presidential candidates in the 2016 election, may determine the outcome of an election rather than the actual qualifications or stance on issues of the candidates themselves.

In a general sense society derives much of their beliefs and indifferences from stories that are covered in the media. If the stories are being reported biased, how can we, as a society, see the whole picture? The author's purpose is to inform readers about the different biases that news and media sway by and to provide evidence that proves instances when these biases have weakened the validity of the reporter's story. "Journalist are like dogs-whenever anything moves, they begin to bark." (Gladstone, 2011/2013, P.25)

Mass media is an ever-growing field where millions of people are connected at a constant basis. With that being said opinions and viewpoints are established on a daily basis through the media society reads. Many of these news media sources can be persuasive and have an influence on individual’s opinions. This concept is called framing. While it is related to the concept of agenda setting, framing focuses more on the issue at hand rather than on a particular topic. Framing is an important topic because of its major influence over the choices people make and how they process information. “Goffman stated that there are two distinctions within primary frameworks which are natural and social. Both play the role of helping individuals interpret

The discourse community of broadcast journalists is a broad community, but can be narrowed down to smaller groups. As a discourse community journalist come in as novices, but carry the opportunity to ascend in their profession, to become an anchor for a national news network. The fundamental goal of journalists is to educate the public with events that take place daily, both domestically and internationally. With this fundamental goal at hand, news networks run astray, to where they begin to host biased opinions, with means to draw in a certain audience. These biases are presented by the networks reflect a political bias, religious bias, and social bias that can impact the facts of the story

An important yet under-discussed issue for our time is the media bias. Everyday free speech is broadcasted across the world but with underlying agendas of communication companies. Many broadcasts engage in the assaulting of political candidates or display of tragedies to prompt viewers to believe the media states the exact truth. However, a majority of people do not decipher the tone and mood of the channels and papers which secretly distribute the opinions of the news company rather than solely the news.

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.

In “Taking Sides in Ferguson” Noah C. Rothman elaborates on why the media was excessively involved throughout the riots in Ferguson. After the killing of Michael Brown in August of 2014, many angry citizens began protesting the unjust authorities as well as the judicial system. The media’s biased views were trying to mete the social justice system and authorities. This was used to correct many of the things done wrong during the racial past throughout America. The news media used the incidents in Ferguson to inflate their opinions by excessively throwing themselves into the action, along with Ferguson’s local authorities causing more violence throughout Ferguson. Many readers would agree that Rothman does well elaborating the media’s biased views; while also describing the media’s over-involvement with examples of other journalist’s, however, he contradicts his argument on whether or not the media or the authorities were instigating the violence.

The pathos of the article does not make the audience feel a certain emotion, but overall to decide for themselves, and how they feel upon the situation, which is what a news article should do. It is a neutral piece that gives information from key officials tied to the case like John Kerry, the homeland security secretary, the American civil union’s leader, the Immigration’s leaders, and more people that are involved with the order. It does mention words like “Muslim Ban”, but conveys those words in a way that it is not trying to play on emotions just informing of the controversy of the order. In addition, the big idea of the article is to tell of what happened, who was involved and short opinions that are brief among the people who pertain to the situation, and then the article ends not trying to tie other loose knots from speculation. These ideas help the article because with the other articles from CNN and NBC News inserted the opinions as the big ideas instead of the event at hand. It is the exact opposite in this article, which makes it more objectivity because the ideas that are voiced matter to the order. The logos is basic reporting at its finest. Easy to understand, logical, and seemingly neutral towards its readers. Not trying to embellish the situation in either way of what is wrong or right similar to the other articles. The ethos is similar to the other articles with a known author at the helm that gives credit to the officials tied to the article, but does not state a political affiliation, which can be bad or good depending on how you look at it. This seems to add to the article because it does not take a stance, as the other articles did with leaning towards the left-wing perspective. Rhetorically, each of these articles are genuinely good for an audience to read, but some may add pieces to

”The world is not responding to events in this country, but rather to the description of these events by news organizations. The key to understanding the strange nature of the response is thus to be found in the practice of journalism….” (Friedman, 2014)

BBC published this article that talks about the issues that over a million migrants in Germany face. The article sets the tone with a brief summary of the events leading up to this problem. Doing this is an efficient way to remind readers what the situation is. After the recap the article’s first paragraph reminds readers of the incidents in Cologne, Germany on New Year’s Eve. It is interesting why they do this because it sets a negative message at the very start of the article, almost as if they want to imply that

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).

As an academic, one becomes increasingly aware of the biases in others’ writing. It becomes engrained - to dissect the author’s worldview and biases in order to best determine how those things are affecting their writing. This dissection is all the more important when it comes to journalism. In current times, it is not just the academics that are concerned about biases. The average populous has become increasingly aware that the information that mass media attempts to feed them can be biased beyond belief. The coverage of the Battle of Vimy Ridge in the Toronto Star and The Globe and Mail showcases the differences in how a singular event can be reported in very different ways beautifully.

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.

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

News organizations that report on stories in a fair, balanced and ethical manner are essential to the functionality of this nation. A citizen’s ability to make well-informed decisions hinges on a news organization’s ability to relay the most accurate information regarding the state of the nation, the changing condition of communities, and adjustments in the government. Journalism is no longer a one-sided conversation. Journalism is an interactive process that allows for readers and viewers to create a dialogue with journalists by utilizing mediums such as social networking sites and comment sections. Audiences have a say in what stories get reported and how news stories are presented to the masses. When news organizations fail to cover all