Agenda Setting, Framing, & Advocacy

Transcription

1 Agenda Setting, Framing, & Advocacy

2 The news has the power to set public agendas, direct attention to particular issues, and, ultimately, influence how we think about those issues... In short, [the news] is an important link between citizens and their government. media scholar Franklin D. Gilliam, Jr.

3 The media sets the public agenda, which, in turn, sets the policy agenda. In short, by structuring public discourse, the media determine our social priorities.

4 It is not merely the volume of news that determines an issue s ascension onto the policy agenda, but also the composition of that news. The way that a problem is presented, its news composition, determines how the public will view that issue. This is what is referred to as framing.

5 The frame is the central organizing principle that structures meaning. It determines the boundaries of the story what gets left in, and what gets left out. As such, it conveys what is relevant to any given issue, and what is not.

6 The frame is a construct of messages and messengers, of soundbites and symbols, of pictures and narratives. These elements add up to a powerful message that connects to people s values and reasoning.

7 To practice media advocacy, it is important to understand three effects of framing: 1. Frames evoke conceptual models. 2. Frames determine whether policy solutions will be accepted or rejected. 3. Frames signal responsibility.

8 First, frames connect, through language and symbol, to bigger models we hold about how the world works and to our core beliefs. As cognitive linguist George Lakoff has explained, People understand almost everything by applying conceptual frames...and the conclusions one draws depends on the frame one uses. People reason metaphorically.

9 In speculating on the impact of any given news frame, it is useful to understand the larger model that is being called into play by the way the news is presented to the public.

10 Similarly, in reframing, or considering one s options for taking an issue into the public dialogue, the entailments of the model must be considered if one is to avoid conjuring models that impede policy solutions rather than advance them.

11 The second important effect of framing: the frame determines whether the policy solution presented will be deemed relevant.

12 Finally, framing affects the way an issue is defined and its identity as a public or private issue, with built-in signals about the role of government, if any, in fixing the problem. As media scholar Charlotte Ryan has observed, Every frame carries within it the notion of who made the problem and who gets to fix it.

13 While a news barrage may succeed in getting an issue before the public, the news frame itself may erode that issue s identification as a public issue in favor of a more individualistic, consumer-oriented approach.

14 Stanford Professor Shanto Iyengar identifies two basic types of frames: the episodic and the thematic.

15 The episodic reduces life to a series of disconnected episodes, isolated events or case studies. Betty Jones and her family of four are braving the elements tonight because the homeless shelter was full, begins an episodic news frame on the homeless. Such a news story might go on to describe vividly how the children miss their toys, how cold it is, when they last ate, etc. What it will not describe is how many people are homeless in this city, whether the numbers are increasing or decreasing, or any of the root causes of homelessness.

16 By contrast the thematic news frame takes the form of a takeout or backgrounder, it is linked to the conditions that cause the particular instance, and it explores context. This time the announcer interviews a prominent homeless advocate who uses her soundbite strategically to contextualize breaking news... The number of homeless in our city is growing every day. Prominent members of our community tell us that if we are to avoid the pitfalls of larger cities in dealing with the homeless population, we need to organize our resources now.

17 It is interesting to note that Iyengar s research also found that the vividness of the story tends to erode its salience as a public issue. That is, the more specific and dramatic the case study and the more attention paid to describing the details of the episode, the more likely it is that the viewing public will remember the issue as that subject of the story s problem, not as a public issue. Advocates who expend energy on supplying media with dramatic case studies of particular situations, or who focus on worst case examples to dramatize broader social issues would do well to reconsider the value of this practice.

18 Here is a simple chart that traces the impacts of the two types of frames:

19 Media Effects at a Glance Episodic individuals events psychological private appeal to consumers better information responsibility (fix the person) Thematic issues trends political, environmental public appeal to citizens better policies/treatment causal responsibility (fix the condition)

20 The vast majority of all news accounts of social issues is episodic. The challenge therefore is to build a frame that avoids these pitfalls and gets as much theme and context into the story as possible, while still respective basic tenets of journalism.

21 Advocates must constantly work from a simple equation, ensuring that their news releases, news conferences, and soundbites reinforce a thematic frame: The frame must tell us what is at stake. (We can t decide to ignore it). The frame must tell us the problem is acute. (It deserves/ requires our attention). The frame must tell us that we know how to solve this problem. (It is not intractable). The frame must tell us the solution is political. (We can t just blame individuals).

22 By incorporating into any communications strategy an understanding of framing and its consequences, advocates will avoid the five most common mistakes associated with public interest campaigns:

23 1. The policy is the message Remember that the policy is the outcome, but a narrative must be invented to lead us to this conclusion. The policy must be the inescapable conclusion our values lead us to consider and, hopefully, support. 2. The public opinion is the message Remember that the public s understanding of an issue is often what you are up against, not where you want to end up; while you need to connect to public opinion, you do not need to repeat faulty models and further reinforce them. 3. The message is a slogan or silver bullet While it s always useful to have a good strong soundbite, you still have to have a story to tell. Remember that language is a system that directs reasoning. 4. All people need are the facts, or more facts Remember that, until you change the frame, the facts will not add up to a change in attitude or policy preference. 5. All we need to do is think like journalists It s easy to figure out how to mimic current news coverage. It s a lot harder to rethink your issue and reframe it as a public issue. One is called framing for access, the other framing for content. You will need to control the story if you want to change the way the public views an issue.

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