Framing in New Media

            In today’s world, the media’s ability to ‘frame’ issues leads to the provision of biased information to an unknowing audience.

            Framing is the act of shaping the way people think about an issue or person. New media uses this technique to virtually control public opinion. We are subtly supplied with films, television shows, newspaper articles, and other forms of media all with their own opinion and agenda. This opinion is unsuspectingly transferred to its audience—practically changing how the audience thinks. Competing opinions generally produce competing media, both of which have the intention of influencing its viewers’ perspectives.

                       

            American politics provides us with countless examples of framing. In 2008, leading up to the presidential elections, Barack Obama made a considerable speech about race. Using the responses made by just two media sources, we can see exactly how framing works. The New York Times—a typically liberal media source—published an editorial the next day that compared Obama’s speech to Abraham Lincoln’s inaugural address. After talking about the pressures on Obama leading up to the speech, the article said, “It is hard to imagine how he could have handled it better.” On the other hand, just hours later, Fox News aired a reaction to the speech saying, “This cannot be good for the presidential campaign, and it cannot be good for his own campaign.” These are two tremendously different reactions to the same speech. Why? Because they both have an agenda of trying to frame their viewers into thinking the same way they do—the way their either conservative or liberal benefactors want them to.  

Here's a link to a transcript of the original speech: http://obamaspeeches.com/E05-Barack-Obama-A-More-Perfect-Union-the-Race-Speech-Philadelphia-PA-March-18-2008.htm

Here's a link to the NY times reaction: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/19/opinion/19wed1.html?_r=1&ref=opinion&oref=slogin

Here's a link to Fox News' reaction: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,339250,00.html

Here's a link to a great video that touches on the same issues "Killing us Softy" did: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hibyAJOSW8U&feature=related