Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
as to promote a particular problem definition, causal interpretation,
moral evaluation, and/or treatment recommendation for the item
described.
(Entman, 1993: 56)
A decade later, he added that 'The two most important of these are
...
problem definition - since [this] virtually predetermines the rest
of the frame - and the remedy' (Entman, 2003: 418). In other words,
frames (like those around a photograph) draw our attention to particu-
lar things in certain ways and place limits on understanding and future
action. Research has suggested that newsmakers are not always entirely
aware of the frames they create and use.
In part, this is because journalists and editors reach for 'cultural
packages' that pervade the intellectual atmosphere of the societies to
which they belong. These packages are nestled within what I termed
wider 'repertoires of meaning' in
Chapters 1
and
3.
They comprise
sets of beliefs, norms and metaphors that aid understanding and help
to identify issues of contention or concern. For instance, in their
influential study of how debates about nuclear power were framed in
the American news media, William Gamson and Andre Modigliani
(1989) identified a myriad of often rival packages. These included a
progress package
('technical innovation and economic growth are good'),
an
energy independence and security package
,a
devil's bargain package
(e.g.
'nuclear energy is risky but what choice do we have now oil supplies
are insecure?'), a
public accountability package
(e.g. 'we need to ensure the
nuclear industry is tightly regulated if we're to allow its further develop-
ment') and a
not cost-effective package
('it's too expensive compared with
other options'). Not all news providers will utilise all packages for any
given issue all, or even most, of the time. Like framing (to which it's
closely related), packaging practices vary according to the stories and
the particular news media outlets reporting them.
A key point about frames and packages is that they condition how
'events', 'facts' and 'evidence' are communicated in news stories. They
insinuate values into the heart of all news reporting, not just because
news sources have their own 'agendas' but also because newsmakers
can't avoid introducing their own value judgements into reporting.
This is why they matter and why news sources seek to actively shape
them. Packages and frames for 'big issues' can vary over time, in
part because of changing power dynamics among news sources. For
instance, after the 1989
Exxon Valdez
oil tanker spill off the Alaskan
coast, a 'disaster' representation ('it was a terrible accident') gave way
to a criminal narrative in the US news media ('the ship's captain was at
fault') which,
in turn, gave way to an environmentalist narrative
