Doctoral Dissertations

Date of Award

5-1996

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

Major

Communication

Major Professor

M. Mark Miller

Committee Members

Doroth Bowles, James Crook, David Schumann

Abstract

This dissertation focuses on the substantive domains of (1) how public policy issues are framed, or selectively defined and represented, by different stakeholders and (2) representation of competing issue frames in news media coverage. A computer-assisted content analysis is conducted on discussion of wetlands in news releases by different advocacy groups and on news media coverage related to wetlands. Methodologically, the dissertation introduces and elaborates the Frame Mapping Method, a unique application of Concept Mapping, for identifying frames in natural language text and investigating the relative prominence of competing issue frames in news media coverage. Frame Mapping employs the VBPro and VBMap computer programs for analyzing verbatim text and multidimensional scaling of concepts. Concept Mapping and Frame Mapping are based mathematically on the frequency and co-occurrence of key terms in text. Frame Mapping identifies the words and phrases used most frequently, and relatively exclusively, by each source or stakeholder in a set of frame makers. The method also allows for the graphical representation of the frame terms. This study identifies and compares policy issue definitions by two diverse stakeholder groups—conservationists and property-owners—in the U.S. policy debates related to wetlands. Multidimensional maps are derived from the term co-occurrence data structure of the wetlands issue discussion by conservation and property-owner advocacy or interest groups. The relative representation over time of competing issue frames in news media coverage of wetlands also is investigated. Specifically, this study compares the prominence of the conservation and property-owner frames in the news media over time. Additionally, the influence of sources on news media content is examined; the relative prominence of stakeholder frames, relative to the use of particular stakeholders as news sources, is compared. A sample of 1,226 news releases that mentioned wetlands, originating from various organizations, was obtained from the PR Newswire database through the DIALOG online information service. Frame Mapping is used to analyze some 102 of these news releases that originated from conservation and property-owner advocacy groups (such as the National Audubon Society and the American Farm Bureau Federation, respectively). The Frame Mapping procedures specify the sets of substantive key terms that represent the unique issue frame by each of these sources or stakeholders. Significant differences in occurrence of the specified frame terms are demonstrated between the news releases from the two types of stakeholders. News media coverage relating to wetlands is investigated with respect to (1) relationship between news source and relative representation of stakeholder frame and (2) relative prominence over time of the contrasting frames. News articles that mentioned wetlands and that were distributed by Associated Press from July 1984 - June 1995 (n = 1,688) were obtained for the analysis, from the AP Newswire database, through the DIALOG online information service. Some 1,465 of these Associated Press articles relating to U.S. wetlands are examined for the relative prominence over the 11-year period of the conservationists’ and property-owners’ wetlands issue frames. Specifically addressed are the relationships among the use of different stakeholder advocacy groups as news sources and the prominence of the particular stakeholder frame in the news media. Comparisons of stakeholder frame prominence are made under three conditions of representation as news sources; in articles in which stakeholder groups are mentioned, in articles in which stakeholder representatives are quoted either indirectly or directly, and in articles in which stakeholder representatives are the first directly-quoted news source in the article. Significant relationships are found among the use of specific stakeholders as news sources and the relative prominence of their particular issue frame in the news articles. These findings provide quantitative evidence that diverse stakeholders in complex policy issues will tend to frame, or selectively define and represent, an issue differentially. Furthermore, these findings suggest that the use of particular stakeholders as news sources—and the type of attribution given to the news sources in news articles—significantly affects the representation of competing issue frames in news media coverage. Additionally, the analyses reveal that the competing conservation and property-owner frames changed systematically over time. In the period of 11 years covered by the study, from 1984 to 1995, the conservation frame initially was more prominent that the property-owner frame. However, in 1990-91 the conservation frame declined in relative prominence while the property-owner frame received increasing relative prominence in news coverage. The study contributes to understanding of the substantive phenomena of advocacy group and news media framing of public policy issues. Moreover, it holds implications for building theories of news content, media agenda building, and policy agenda building. Perhaps most notably, the study illustrates the usefulness of the Concept Mapping procedures, and specifically the Frame Mapping Method, in precisely detecting, specifying, and comparing different issue frames and in analyzing content in news media coverage of complex issues. This study thus addresses the current critical need for improved methods for conducting frame analysis and investigating media content.

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