Decoding U.S. media through framing theory: examining the coverage of Hugo Chavez in the New York Times and the Washington Times
Date
2013
Authors
Richardson, Heather, author
Kodrich, Kris, advisor
Kim, Jangyul, committee member
Stallones, Lorann, committee member
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Abstract
The U.S. media frame news stories with certain keywords, sources, themes, tones, and concepts that influence what media consumers think about and how they think about certain issues or public figures, particularly international issues and leaders. In order to examine media framing of the late Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, this qualitative content analysis compares media coverage in the liberal The New York Times and the conservative The Washington Times during the last year of the Bush administration and the first year of the Obama administration. By utilizing framing theory and Robert Entman's definition of political framing, this study explores how article themes, tones, and sources may differ among newspapers and may differ during different U.S. presidential administrations. This study suggests that U.S media often reflect the views of the American president and government, that a change in presidential administrations did affect how Chavez is portrayed in the U.S. newspapers, and that different newspapers framed the Venezuelan president differently.
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Subject
framing theory
Venezuela
United States media
Hugo Chavez