Article,
Parsing Framing Processes: The Interplay Between Online Public Opinion and Media Coverage
Journal of Communication, 57 (1): 79--98 (2007)
DOI: 10.1111/j.1460-2466.2006.00330.x
Abstract
To what extent do frame-building and frame-setting processes manifest
themselves in the interplay between online public discourse and traditional
(offline) media discourse? Employing a content analysis of 206 online
posts and 114 news reports regarding a sociopolitical incident in
China, we test the associations and causal relationships between
the salience of opinion frames and media frames. Online public opinion
plays an important role in transforming the original local event
into a nationally prominent issue. It also exerts a significant frame-building
impact on subsequent media reports but only in the early stage of
coverage. However, the media are not passive in this two-way process
and adapt online frames as necessary. Although media coverage is
the primary source of information for netizens, it does not set frames
for online discourse. Noticeably, significant associations between
concurrent opinion frames and media frames lend strong support to
frame-interacting effects. Discussion focuses on governmental influences
in the frame-building process and the potential of netizen autonomy
to attenuate frame-setting effects.
