Research Question
The goal of the study is to get a better understanding of how media debunk misinformation, quickly alter frames and assign responsibility for the provocation of the confrontation between teenager wearing MAGA hat and Native American protestor.
RQ1: How does each media outlet portray the groups and do these portrayals form particular frames? RQ2: In what ways did portrayal and frames evolve in stories published by each outlet?
Method
Purposive Sampling: 90 articles; 5 media outlets spanning ideologies (Fox News, Breitbart, CNN, NBC/MSNBC, NYT) Time Span: Jan 18, 2019 - Feb. 18, 2019 Unit of Analysis: Full article Quantitative Content Analysis: w/ chi-Square test Coders: 2 independent coders for final analysis/coding, intercoder reliability .71
Findings
Media outlets arrived at different interpretations as to what happened and framed stories based on ideological lines
Media outlets who leaned left, generally portrayed the Kentucky students in a negative light While right leaning media outlets portrayed a positive tone towards the Kentucky students
Tones provided clear indicators of how the groups were framed in terms of the attribution of responsibility. Attribution of responsibility cut along media ideological lines
Implications
This project has challenge the definition of media frames. It found media frames are not static. It rapidly shifts, forms, dissolutes over time. Overall, time was a significant factor in frame shifts as outlets rushed to redefine reality along ideological lines once more information became known.
