(Mis)representing terrorist threats: Media framing of Bill C-51

On Friday, 30 January 2015, Steven Blaney, Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, introduced Bill C-51, also known as the Anti-Terrorism Act in Canada’s House of Commons. This article delineates research into the media coverage of Bill C-51 in the month after its introduction, prior to its legislation. A qualitative content analysis of 23 articles from five Canadian news sources ( National Post, The Globe and Mail, The Toronto Star, The Tyee, and rabble.ca) was conducted. Data were coded and analysed using the qualitative research software NVivo 10. Themes that arose from the data include: terrorism and our need for protection; production and reinforcement of fear; oversight, accountability, and abuses of power; and dystopic future and ‘big’ government. Findings show that the differences between alternative and commercial news sources were not as evident as much of the literature regarding the differences between the types of media would hypothesize.

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De-contextualisation fuels controversy: the double-edged sword of humour in a hybrid media environment

European Journal of Humour Research ◽

10.7592/ejhr2021.9.3.523 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 9 (3) ◽

pp. 49-64

Author(s):

Sara Ödmark

Keyword(s):

Content Analysis ◽

Young Women ◽

News Media ◽

Media Coverage ◽

Qualitative Content Analysis ◽

Media Framing ◽

Social Boundaries ◽

Media Environment ◽

Political Landscape ◽

The Media

Humour has a unique way of delineating social boundaries, and comedy can function as a double-edged sword; it can strengthen bonds and bring people together, or divide through provocation and violation of social norms. As a consequence, humour controversies are telling events that contain the possibility of highlighting cultural and political sensibilities – even more in the current political landscape, with increasing media fragmentation. This study analysed four humour functions through the theoretical lens of media framing, via three cases of humorous content that caused controversies in the Swedish news media. These cases were one divisive radio roast of a politician, one TV satire segment that was received as racist, and one audio podcast with young women who challenged a Swedish political consensus climate. Framing is the power of media to select and highlight certain aspects of issues, and by extension, shape public opinion. By subjecting the media coverage of these three controversies to a qualitative content analysis, the framing was examined and discussed in the light of four humour functions: identification, clarification, enforcement, and differentiation (Meyer 2000). Furthermore, the study examined the media context and the role it played in the framing of the controversies. One main finding was that the most uniting humour function of identification could be transformed into the most dividing humour function of differentiation through a shift in media context.

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Nigeria media framing of coronavirus pandemic and audience response

Health Promotion Perspectives ◽

10.34172/hpp.2020.32 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 10 (3) ◽

pp. 192-199 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Ekwutosi Sanita Nwakpu ◽

Valentine Okwudilichukwu Ezema ◽

Jude Nwakpoke Ogbodo

Keyword(s):

Content Analysis ◽

Media Coverage ◽

Media Framing ◽

Audience Response ◽

The Sun ◽

News Reports ◽

The Media ◽

Precautionary Measures ◽

The Masses ◽

The Guardian

Background: Part of the role of the media is to report any issue affecting the society to the masses. Coronavirus has become an issue of transnational concern. The importance of the media in the coverage of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Nigeria and its implications among Nigerian populace cannot be overestimated. This study evaluates how Nigerian media depict the coronavirus pandemic and how the depictions shape people’s perception and response to the pandemic. Methods: The study employed a quantitative design (newspaper content analysis and questionnaire). The content analysis examines the nature of media coverage of coronavirus in Nigeria and China using four major national newspapers (The Sun, The Vanguard, The Guardian and The Punch). The period of study ranged from January 2020 to March 2020. A total of 1070newspaper items on coronavirus outbreak were identified across the four newspapers and content-analysed. Results: The finding shows that the coverage of the pandemic was dominated by straight news reports accounting for 763 or (71.3%) of all analysed items. This was followed by opinions 169(15.8%), features 120 (11.2%) and editorials 18 (1.7%) respectively. The Punch 309 (28.9%)reported the outbreak more frequently than The Sun 266 (24.9%), The Guardian 258 (24.1%), and Vanguard 237 (22.1%). Finding further suggests that the framing pattern adopted by the newspapers helped Nigerians to take precautionary measures. Conclusion: Continuous reportage of COVID-19 has proved effective in creating awareness about safety and preventive measures thereby helping to ‘flatten the curve’ and contain the spread of the virus. However, the newspapers should avoid creating fear/panic in reporting the pandemic.

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Media framing of immigrants in Central Europe in the period surrounding the refugee crisis: Security, negativity, and political sources

Communications ◽

10.1515/commun-2020-0087 ◽

2022 ◽

Vol 0 (0) ◽

Author(s):

Jan Kovář

Keyword(s):

Content Analysis ◽

Media Coverage ◽

Media Framing ◽

Refugee Crisis ◽

Political Actors ◽

Quantitative Content ◽

Political Sources ◽

The Media ◽

The Eu ◽

Cultural Frames

Abstract This article investigates how all the main quality and tabloid newspapers and the television newscasts of the main broadcasters in Czechia and Slovakia framed immigrants, what the tone of the employed frames was, and who the main framing actors were before and during the EU refugee crisis (2013–2016). Using quantitative content analysis (N = 7,910), we show that security and cultural frames are most commonly employed while the victimization frame is much less common. Whereas tabloids use the security and cultural frames more often, the victimization, economic and administrative frames are more often invoked in quality media. We also show that the framing of immigrants is predominantly negative, and that the security and cultural are the most negatively valenced frames. Finally, we document a dominance of political actors and the practical invisibility of immigrants and refugees in the media coverage.

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#Notallcops: Exploring ‘Rotten Apple’ Narratives In Media Reporting of Lush’s 2018 ‘Spycops’ Undercover Policing Campaign

International Journal for Crime Justice and Social Democracy ◽

10.5204/ijcjsd.v9i4.1518 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 9 (4) ◽

pp. 177-194

Author(s):

Nathan Stephens Griffin

Keyword(s):

Content Analysis ◽

United Kingdom ◽

Qualitative Content Analysis ◽

Media Framing ◽

Media Reporting ◽

Institutional Accountability ◽

The United Kingdom ◽

High Street ◽

Viral Nature ◽

The Media

This article examines the media framing of the 2018 ‘paid to lie’ campaign of Lush, a high-street ethical cosmetics firm. The viral nature of Lush’s intervention into the undercover policing of activism in the United Kingdom highlights the significance of media reporting in the construction of narratives surrounding policing and activism. A qualitative content analysis was undertaken of articles published online in the immediate aftermath of the campaign launch. Based on this analysis, this article argues that the intensely polarised debate following Lush’s ‘paid to lie’ campaign is representative of a wider discursive framing battle that continues to persist today. Within this battle, the state and police establishment promote ‘rotten apple’ explanations of the undercover policing scandal that seek to individualise blame and shirk institutional accountability (Punch 2003). This is significant, as identifying systemic dimensions of the ‘spycops’ scandal is a key focus for activists involved in the ongoing Undercover Policing Inquiry (Schlembach 2016).

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Media framing of democratisation conflicts in Egypt, Kenya, Serbia and South Africa

Sociologija ◽

10.2298/soc1704518v ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 59 (4) ◽

pp. 518-537

Author(s):

Nebojsa Vladisavljevic ◽

Katrin Voltmer

Keyword(s):

South Africa ◽

Content Analysis ◽

Transitional Justice ◽

Media Coverage ◽

Media Framing ◽

Sub Saharan Africa ◽

News Stories ◽

The Media ◽

Sub Saharan ◽

Distribution Of Power

This paper presents an overview of the main findings from a quantitative content analysis covering different types of democratisation conflicts (i.e., conflicts over citizenship, elections, transitional justice and distribution of power) in Egypt, Kenya, Serbia and South Africa. The key findings from the content analysis are organised around several themes: causes of democratisation conflicts, portrayal of conflict parties, preferred solutions to conflicts, perceptions of democracy, role of the media, authoritarian past, and tone of reporting and polarisation. The main finding is that cross-national variations depend on several factors: specific country contexts (and contexts of broader regions from which they come from, including the Arab Middle East, sub-Saharan Africa and post-communist Europe); regime type and the stage of democratisation; and type of democratisation conflict (which reflects the main arenas of political contestation). Across all countries, the quality of media coverage is limited by bias, emotionalisation and - most importantly - polarisation. In particular, conflicts over the distribution of power trigger sharp polarisation, whereas elections - contrary to existing literature - seem to force media towards a more restrained style of reporting. The sample involves 5162 newspaper articles and news stories from the four countries.

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Framing in Russian TV News: How to Shape Reality?

SHS Web of Conferences ◽

10.1051/shsconf/20185001098 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 50 ◽

pp. 01098

Author(s):

Galina Lukyanova

Keyword(s):

Content Analysis ◽

Political Power ◽

Qualitative Content Analysis ◽

Media Framing ◽

Great Power ◽

Political Event ◽

International Intervention ◽

Tv News ◽

The Media ◽

Points Of View

In a democratic society, the mass media play an enormous role, as they broadcast various points of view that exist in the society. By using various media effects, authors of information messages influence the formation of certain attitude to a particular political event reflected in the media, thus contributing to the legitimation or de-legitimation of political power. The purpose of this study is to examine the news on Russian federal television channels in order to identify frames that play a role in the process of political power legitimation. Qualitative content analysis shows that media framing is actively used by leading state TV channels as a technology for legitimizing the power. The most frequently used frames are “the Great Power,” “Ineptitude of Other Countries,” “Confrontation / Opposition,” “International Intervention,” and “the Strong Leader.”

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Tehrik e Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Militancy in Pakistan

Journal of Business and Social Review in Emerging Economies ◽

10.26710/jbsee.v7i3.1817 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 7 (3) ◽

Author(s):

Surriya Shahab ◽

Muhammad Idrees ◽

Shaida Rasool ◽

Samana Mehreen

Keyword(s):

Content Analysis ◽

Media Coverage ◽

Design Methodology ◽

English Language ◽

Qualitative Content Analysis ◽

Editorial Policy ◽

Analysis Method ◽

Content Analysis Method ◽

The Media ◽

Peace Negotiation

Purpose: Negotiations between two parties always have newsworthiness. Results of the negotiations can be strongly influenced by the media coverage. Pakistan’s government was also involved in peace negotiation with Tahrik e Taliban Pakistan (TTP) during January and February 2014. It was the most discussing issue in Pakistani media at that time. The aim of this research is to analyze the editorial policy of three Pakistani English language newspapers; Dawn, Nation and The News to check their favorable or unfavorable behavior regarding peace talks during January and February 2014. Design/Methodology/Approach: Agenda setting, priming and farming theories were used in this study. Qualitative content analysis method was used in this study to analyze the editorial policy of these three newspapers. Findings: The results revealed that all these three newspapers gave significant coverage to the peace talks issue but Nation gave more coverage to the issue. Findings also revealed that Dawn and The News, most of the time showed neutral behavior but tilted towards unfavorable position regarding peace talks. Nation showed strongly unfavorable behavior regarding peace talks. Implications/Originality/Value: So it is concluded that all these three newspapers were mostly against the peace talks and government and media were not on the same page on the issue of peace talks.

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Communicating health crisis: a content analysis of global media framing of COVID-19

Health Promotion Perspectives ◽

10.34172/hpp.2020.40 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 10 (3) ◽

pp. 257-269 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Jude Nwakpoke Ogbodo ◽

Emmanuel Chike Onwe ◽

Joseph Chukwu ◽

Chinedu Jude Nwasum ◽

Ekwutosi Sanita Nwakpu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Content Analysis ◽

Media Coverage ◽

Public Perception ◽

Media Framing ◽

Analysis Data ◽

Audience Response ◽

Global Media ◽

Health Crisis ◽

Breaking News ◽

The Media

Background: This study examines the global media framing of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) to understand the dominant frames and how choice of words compares in the media. Periods of health crisis such as the outbreak of coronavirus pandemic add to the enormous burden of the media in keeping people constantly informed. Extant literature suggests that when a message is released through the media, what matters most is not what is said but how it is said. As such, the media could either mitigate or accentuate the crisis depending on the major frames adopted for the coverage. Methods: The study utilises content analysis. Data were sourced from LexisNexis database and two websites that yielded 6145 items used for the analysis. Nine predetermined frames were used for the coding. Results: Human Interest and fear/scaremongering frames dominated the global media coverage of the pandemic. We align our finding with the constructionist frame perspective which assumes that the media as information processor creates ‘interpretative packages’ in order to both reflect and add to the ‘issue culture’ because frames that paradigmatically dominate event coverage also dominate audience response. The language of the coverage of COVID-19 combines gloom, hope, precaution and frustration at varied proportions. Conclusion: We conclude that global media coverage of COVID-19 was high, but the framing lacks coherence and sufficient self-efficacy and this can be associated with media’s obsession for breaking news. The preponderance of these frames not only shapes public perception and attitudes towards the pandemic but also risks causing more problems for those with existing health conditions due to fear or panic attack.

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Portrayal of Immigrants in Danish Media—A Qualitative Content Analysis

Societies ◽

10.3390/soc11020045 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (2) ◽

pp. 45

Author(s):

Paula-Manuela Cengiz ◽

Leena Eklund Karlsson

Keyword(s):

Public Policy ◽

Content Analysis ◽

Racial Discrimination ◽

Media Coverage ◽

Qualitative Content Analysis ◽

Security Threats ◽

Major Barrier ◽

The Media ◽

Policy Agendas ◽

Negative Stereotyping

Media coverage can affect audiences’ perceptions of immigrants, and can play a role in determining the content of public policy agendas, the formation of prejudices, and the prevalence of negative stereotyping. This study investigated the way in which immigrants are represented in the Danish media, which terms are used, what issues related to immigrants and immigration are discussed and how they are described, and whose voices are heard. The data consisted of media articles published in the two most widely read Danish newspapers in 2019. Inductive qualitative content analysis was conducted. The portrayal of immigrants was generally negative. Overall, immigrants were portrayed as economic, cultural and security threats to the country. The most salient immigrant groups mentioned in the media were non-Westerners, Muslims, and people ‘on tolerated stay’. Integration, xenophobia and racial discrimination were the three immigrant-related issues most frequently presented by the media. The media gave voice mainly to politicians and immigrant women. The material showed that Danes have a strong affinity for ‘Danishness’, which the papers explained as a major barrier to the integration and acceptance of immigrants in Denmark.

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Framing Femicide

10.4018/978-1-7998-9187-1.ch004 ◽

2022 ◽

pp. 72-94

Author(s):

Simona Rodat

Keyword(s):

Content Analysis ◽

Media Coverage ◽

Public Awareness ◽

Media Framing ◽

Framing Analysis ◽

Media Report ◽

Thematic Content Analysis ◽

German Press ◽

The Media ◽

Crimes Against Women

Femicides are topics frequently covered by the media, and journalists use different frames when reporting on such lethal acts of violence against women. This chapter addresses the media coverage and framing in German online press articles of two femicides with victims of Romanian ethnicity. The research presented used as methodology thematic content analysis, along with media framing analysis. In the chapter, the results of this study are discussed, that is, the characteristics of media coverage and content related to the killings of the two Romanian women in the German press are analysed, the main frames used by the media in their reporting on the femicides are pointed out, and the extent to which journalists use in their narratives techniques of blaming the victims is examined. Moreover, the chapter investigates whether the media report the crimes against women as singular facts or address them in the broader context of social problems, and contribute, in this way, to the increase of public awareness and social responsibility towards them.

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