Media Framing: Understanding the Role of Agenda Setting and Framing in Mass Media

Media Framing

Table of Contents
Literature review........................................................................................................................3
Critical reflection.......................................................................................................................4
Research scope...........................................................................................................................6
Bibliography...............................................................................................................................8

Literature review
In the field of mass media agenda setting and framing plays a very important role. Framing is
considered to be an extended version of agenda setting. Agenda setting in simple words can
be understood as the agenda that has been set by the media agencies for the public opinion
that revolves around certain key issue. The agenda setting theory states that the level of
importance of an issue is decided by the rate at which the media is covering that particular
issue. Hence, it is believed that what the people are thinking is a by-product of media. In the
modern world of media the framing theory is taking over the agenda setting theory. Framing
theory revolves around shaping the content of media, in which the media decides on
representing a certain issue on the basis of the frame analysis. Like for example, instead of
writing as “the less you smoke, the easier it will be to quit” the media decides to convey this
message as “the more you smoke, the harder it will be to quit”. Hence, it can be said that the
media chooses the way to represent the same message in their own way and this is called as
frames in the field of media. The article has established a link between the frames in news
production and frames in news consumption. At the time of constructing social reality it is
important that the media analyse the issue and then frame it as different issues are interpreted
in different ways by the media and the public. This is so because frames have the ability to
influence the reactions of the public after receiving the news. It has been stated that frames
should be developed on individual basis and not as a connection to the culture as frames are
present everywhere and are institutionalized by everyone in different manner. The frame
works on the basis of the cognitive process used by the media as well as the individual. The
frame package results in the development of number of logical conclusions on the basis of
their cognitive ability (Gorp, 2007). According to Dietram, framing is different from agenda
setting as it is based on the characterization of news in a manner that can influence the
conclusions of audiences. He has argued that the choices of individual are influenced by the