Tuesday, May 12, 2015

The United States News Media’s Utilization of Oversimplification and Overemphasis, Known as Framing, Alters Individuals’ Perceptions by Shaping Views

One of the most imperative issues in news media today is framing.  Framing relies on the notion that we classify, organize, and interpret things into certain schema, or frameworks, in order to simplify our complex lives.  In some cases, framing oversimplifies stories; and because of a bereft of depth, framing shapes our perception of people, places, issues, and events.

The focus and/or angle of an event may display framing
Framing in News Media:
  • Oversimplifies information
  • Makes us vulnerable to bias
  • Shapes our perceptions

Framing, although it is often used to benefit news organizations in maximizing brevity, or even in
political debates and speeches as a form of rhetoric to appeal to the views of the public, it is nonetheless detrimental to all individuals in society whom feed off news media; and in turn, construct their own notions through the influence of framing. 

Further, these beliefs, stemming from potentially framed news media outlets, can be seamlessly passed on through face-to-face interactions or through the vessel of social networking; and ultimately, initiate a similar effect to the domino theory, in which, an event or story may be oversimplified, factually inconsistent, or even biased.

In a study of causes and solutions to poverty within the United States, an assortment of balanced news television stations, have provided evidence that substantiates how framing is utilized to skew particular events and notions

The concept of framing has long been a condemnation of news media in all forms—television, newspapers, social media, etc.  In light of this issue, a group of professors specializing in journalism and mass communication investigated framing in the news media; and particularly, focused on television organizations, and how they differentiate in emphasis of causes and solutions to poverty in the United States.

In order to maintain a fair examination of this view of causes and solutions to poverty, this study encompassed both liberal and conservative news organizations; as well as, those of both broadcast networks (ABC, NBC, CBS) and one cable news channel (CNN). 

The empirical data presented that overall the news coverage of poverty focused largely on societal-level causes and solutions.  In a sense, this suggests that the majority of individuals within society agree that poverty is prominent because of the flawed structure of the system; and thus, the government is responsible for both its causes and solutions.

Further, the study displays that the amount of television news was positively associated with perceived government responsibility, indicating that heavy viewers are more likely than light viewers to perceive the government to be responsible.  It was also found that the greater the amount television news viewing, the more favorable attitudes toward the poor and the greater support for government spending on welfare and other aid programs.  Television’s unbalanced emphasis on societal responsibility seems to generate the perception that the government or society as a whole, not necessarily the poor themselves, is largely responsible for poverty, which in turn is related to greater sympathy toward the poor (Kim, Shanahan, Choi, page 9).

Study emphasizes TV news media has tendency to promote an unequal balance of causes of solutions to poverty--favoring societal-level causes and solutions

Overall, this examination substantiates that framing does in fact play a pivotal role in our news—and is almost ordinary.  Regardless of the medium, whether it is television or newspapers, or any other source of news, framing takes a toll on the news media. 

If an individual looks at this matter from a macro-perspective, accounting for all of the news organizations that were affiliated with this study, it would be impossible for him/her to decide to what it is that they should take away from this information because the entirety of the news media does not have a uniform opinion as to whom is to bear responsibility for the causes and solutions. 

At the macro-level, the effect of framing, in this case, leaves responsibility ambiguous—there are essentially two extreme causes and solutions, at opposite ends of the spectrum, meaning this is solely a matter of personal preference in understanding what the true causes and solutions to poverty are.

In contrast, at the micro-level, everything changes.  If you put your trust into one source of news, maybe a particular local newspaper, then you are prone to being a victim of framing to the greatest extent.

In a brief street interview, a young individual shares her view of obtaining news from solely one source.



One of the primary components of framing is oversimplification.  The idea of editing a segment of a news report to be concise is often imperative in the news media; as harmless as it sounds, in some cases, details are left out and the audience is dished a story that is potentially narrow-minded or factually inconsistent.

In another street interview, a young lady expresses her opinion of whether or not she sees oversimplification of reports in the news media as being a problem.



Survey exposes that individuals are skeptical and distrusting of the issues the news media suggests as utmost importance to society

In light of the effects of framing in the news media, I conducted a survey consisting of 29 University of Maryland (UMD) students and their opinions of news prioritization.  Based on the results, there was not one single individual whom believed that all of the events that the news media displays are important to society.  In fact, the data supports the idea that nearly half of the UMD students surveyed (14 students), believe only "sometimes" are the issues that news media emphasizes can be deemed as important.  Overall, it seems that students of the university, and quite possibly on a larger scale, are not only skeptical about the events the news media prioritizes, but nonetheless certain that many of the issues covered do not hold any merit of importance to society.

Framing in the news media has a profound effect on stories or events that generate the most public interest.  For instance, a foreign event that may be significantly political, social, and emotional--such as a bombing in Syria, may not draw as much attention and be emphasized by the news as something as trifling as entertainment news in the United States; thus, by virtue of framing, issues that we may think are more important are not necessarily the ones that the news media presents as being important--as this individual claims (below):



In the most basic form, framing may be the product of such over-simplification; and in a sense, it may not elicit any unfavorable influence to individuals’ notions.  However, framing is becoming more vigorous in news media, especially with the development of social networking; and because of this, society is being shaped into accepting and complying to certain beliefs and facts, which may be intentionally and unintentionally skewed by the news media.

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