Frame Contestation in the News: National Identity, Cultural Resonance, and U.S. Drone Policy

Authors

  • Charles M. Rowling University of Nebraska Kearney
  • Penelope Sheets University of Amsterdam
  • Timothy M. Jones Bellevue College

Keywords:

cascading activation, frame contestation, cultural resonance, national identity, U.S. drone policy

Abstract

Scholarship suggests that disagreement among political officials significantly impacts how the press covers a particular policy issue and how the public perceives and comes to understand it. An unexplored area of research in the framing effects literature asks to what extent frame contestation impacts public opinion in moments of national transgressions—specifically, when the U.S. military has been accused of acts that potentially threaten the image of the nation. We, therefore, conducted an experiment in which U.S. adults were exposed to a news story about a U.S. drone strike that killed 23 Afghan civilians. We found that respondents were significantly more critical of the incident and the military more broadly when presented with frame contestation.

Author Biographies

Charles M. Rowling, University of Nebraska Kearney

Assistant ProfessorDepartment of Political Science308-865-8171

Penelope Sheets, University of Amsterdam

Assistant ProfessorAmsterdam School of Communication Research, Department of Communication Science

Timothy M. Jones, Bellevue College

Assistant ProfessorDepartment of Political Science425-564-2010

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Published

2013-10-15

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Section

Articles