Framing socio-political controversy: The 2012 Spanish labor reform as a case study of cascading activation

In February 2012, the Spanish Government approved an aggressive labor reform. Many political agents committed to emphasis framing, highlighting certain aspects of the topic to persuade their publics with their definitions of the situation. Some generic frames suggested an individualistic approach to the labor market, while some others called for collective action. Following the cascading activation model, this research attempted to identify the flows of frames from the elites to the media outfits. A content analysis was conducted with the materials disseminated in February 2012 by the government, the two main Spanish unions, the confederation of employers, and four print media. Differences and similarities were found through bivariate analyses between the categories of the codebook. Although clear cascades emerged from the unions to the online daily Público.es, and from the government to Larazón.es, generally the media frame building processes did not limit to just depicting the frames of an elite.

Barack Obama

This chapter analyzes Barack Obama’s administration in relation to the components of the ubiquitous presidency, especially how Obama adapted to the changing contexts of accessibility, personalization, and pluralism. It first tracks Twitter attention to Obama across seven years of his presidency, showing how attention spiked in relation to both traditional major addresses and newer approaches (e.g., his own tweets emphasizing elements of the ubiquitous presidency). The chapter then analyzes West Wing Week, a web series pioneered by the first official White House videographer, which takes the form of reality television and reveals the “backstage” of the presidency. Finally, the chapter uses semantic network analysis to track the relationship between the president, the press, and the public on Twitter in the context of the Affordable Care Act (commonly known as Obamacare). These relationships conform to the cascading activation model, in which presidential communication influences the terms used by the press and the public.

Donald Trump

This chapter analyzes Donald Trump’s administration in relation to the components of the ubiquitous presidency, especially how Trump sought visibility and control amid the contexts of accessibility, personalization, and pluralism. It first tracks Trump’s use of MAGA rallies to narrowcast messages to partisans, and then how he commanded attention via Twitter. On Twitter, Trump’s own tweets—as opposed to traditional major addresses, which were more influential in the Obama presidency—were the primary drivers of attention. Paralleling the analysis in Chapter 4, the chapter then uses semantic network analysis to track the relationship between the president, press, and public on Twitter in the context of the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare). These relationships reveal that Trump’s limited communication about the ACA contributed to an inversion of the traditional cascading activation model. Finally, the chapter explores how Trump’s attacks on pluralism promoted anti-social forms of democratic participation and may have even incited violence.