Framing Analysis - INFO COM Chapter 3 PDF

Framing analysis Framing, as a theory of mass communication, refers to how the media packages and presents information to the public. “According to the theory, the media highlights certain events and then places them within a particular context to encourage or discourage certain interpretations....

Framing analysis Framing, as a theory of mass communication, refers to how the media packages and presents information to the public. “According to the theory, the media highlights certain events and then places them within a particular context to encourage or discourage certain interpretations. Def : limited picture of reality We talk about framing often with fake news, manipulation, politics debate. We used it everyday and we do it all the time. We are in uence by culture, people, etc… Ex : climate change : rise of the sea level, Framing as an everyday theory : related to media Ex : Di erents content depending on the media F as a social-scienti c theory : we analyze reality Multiply of frame are possible in reality and we can interpret them in di erent way The essence of framing is sizing-magnifying or shrinking elements of the depicted reality to make them more or less salient ( important ). Natural frame : how a bomb explose, natural law, physical reaction Social frame : what is the political context ? Reality is transformed into information and these pieces of information is what we analyze with frame. We make a selection of cut or slice of reality. We need frames to understand the world, always a rule of context Ex : picture from di erent angles, di erent protagonists Framing : an in nite number of realities Besides reality itself nothing limits how a situation can be framed This implies that many di erent meanings can be ascribed to the same reality Ex : abattage sans étourdissement Agency and structure Agency : look at human action, how social reality get structure Ex : Palestine and Israel The mentions of dead Palestine is way less than the palestinians death toll Videos of politician Israel and one man from Palestine : di erent way of communicating. Ex : two poster articles on media tragedy Korea vs USA ff fi ff fi ff ff fl ff ff  The Korea one is more tragic with the title « murder in the air » vs the American one is here to explain why it happened Reality limits framing : Actors who give meaning to reality by framing it, do not have complete and total agency, their freedom of actions is limited by the materials constraints of reality. Ex : politician have to be convincing when they do a speech they can’t just go like that and say what they have in mind Meaning depending on context : The meanings generated by a frame are tied to the frame’s context Frame that shows the same elements can have di meaning : ⁃ when & where the frame was produced ⁃ when & where the frame is shown ⁃ where the observers of the frame nd themselves Culture : the stock of schemas commonly found in the minds of a society’s individuals, and the stock of frames present in the system’s communications, including literature, entertainment, news, conversations and other political discourse. As viewers we don’t need a lot of stu to have the reference of certain frame Frames matters, they have general power, the way we see the world. It’s very powerful what sense we make of things. ⁃ Cultivation theory : if smt is often framed the same way, people will accept this one frame as true, they will deem other framing to be a lie ⁃ Agenda-setting theory : if smt is framed as important it will become important in society and be the object of intervention ⁃ Spiral of silence theory : if smt is framed as normal, people who agree will feel reinforced in their beliefs while people who disagree will shut up Power resides in meanings, messages and informations. Com is often one of the most e ective way to exercise power. 18/10/24 Poststructuralism : discourse as a theory of content and meaning What things mean in society, general, we create reality through language Theory of meanings : framing vs (post)structuralism Framing —> frames Structuralism —> discourse What is a discourse ? It depends on theories used ff fi ff ff  Howarth and Stravrakakis : systems of meaningful practices (we used it everyday) A discourse is a way of talking and acting that : ⁃ Engages in social construction ( the way how we give the world a meaning to others ) ⁃ Constitutes, reproduces or challenge a hegemony ( v. Def) ⁃ Is an expression of power We can’t constitute meaning by ourselves, we have to use discourse, research We give meaning to thing with language but reality exist without language It’s a representation of the world that re ect a speci c reality. Language as a code : Language as a discourse : ⁃ Constructs reality by naming ⁃ Constructs reality by giving meaning to smt ⁃ Is instrumental and symbolic Ex : table There is nothing on this table that you have to do or can’t do, but we learn at a very young age what is a table for, it’s not natural of our way of doing. Social construction : posits that ideas about reality arise from human interaction and consensus. Social construct is a concept that needs human interaction to exist. It exist because of human imagination and their agreement together. Ex : traditions Social construction : Marriage : stability, religion Gender ( behavior/roles ) Religion Time : summer/winter time It’s about structures of meaning and interpretation. Poststructuralism analyses this process : how does the world around us come into being as a product of human action, interaction, understanding, and interpretation Philosophy : Ideas : ⁃ The signi er ( we what we see ) and the signi ed ( what evokes in our mind ) ⁃ La parole ( how we speak ) versus la langue ( rules in your language ) ⁃ of semiology = the study of signs as they are used socially A given signi er has a limited number of literal, de ned meanings (denotation), but an endless range of signi eds can attach themselves to it depending on the context in which it is used (connotation) Cores ideas : « death of the author » For an audience to exist the author has to died. fi fi fi fl fi fi fi  An audience can interpret in many way, so it become more important ( revoir les 2 slides ) -HEGEMONY - Intersubjective process : it’s a structure produced through collective interaction, dialogue, consensus and agreement. The meanings that we have collectively accepted as true and real are said to have “hegemony”, they are “hegemonic”. Hegemony is the power mechanism by which social constructs reproduce themselves and constitute themselves as a dominant meaning in society. When you repot an idea, everyday, in media, it will become even natural and the more natural they become the more di cult it is to implant another thing. Antonio Gramsci : hegemony and political ideas today With Marx there is no essential principles, its constantly negotiations. Ideological structure more important that the economic base. ( revoir slide ) What is accepted as true and real, what is hegemonic, depends on the context. What I, as an individual, deem to be true, real, and convincing, depends on the extant hegemony. Since hegemonies are the product of agreement and interaction between humans, they can change if humans agree on something di erent or interact in a di erent fashion People can collectively “socially construct” something di erent E.g. the changing hegemony with regards to gay marriage, smoking inside,... ( voir slides ) Di erent hegemonies can exist parallel to each-other, demarcating di erent ‘subcultures’ This can lead to misunderstanding, tension, and con ict This is why certain segments of the population are vulnerable to ‘disinformation’ and ‘fake news’: they are part of a sub-culture that is dominated by a hegemony that di ers from the mainstream one POWER : Something being a social construct does not mean it isn’t real or that it doesn’t have tangible e ects. Social construction is not a game, it is amongst the most powerful forces known to mankind Hegemony, discourse, language, and communication are not neutral, they have real-life consequences Researchers using poststructuralism and discourse analysis therefore tend to not be neutral either They engage in critical, politically motivated research Poststructuralism as a « cultural theory », part of the critical paradigm ff ff ff ff ffi fl ff ff ff