Choosing a Method

Following the methodology in framing literature, I found qualitative content analysis to be the ideal method for my addressing my research questions. This approach is designed to capture both the overt and subtle ways protest events are framed in news coverage. Inductive and deductive coding strategies are informed by existing literature and emergent themes in the texts. A key component of the methodology involves analyzing demographics and journalistic voice—specifically who is quoted, how often, and in what ways.

Applying Frames to Content

Van Gorp’s definition is helpful to distinguish between framing devices as “manifest components of a text that can activate the frame as an abstract idea in the heads of receivers” and reasoning devices as “implicit or explicit reasoning connected to the issue being reported on. Additionally, organizing themes, or the overarching frames, serve as the “internally consistent entity” that integrates these elements.

Coding can be further broken down into structural dimensions:

Syntactic elements, such as headlines or captions, which signal how the story should be read;

Scripture, referring to how narrative structure guides the reader’s understanding;

Rhetorical devices like metaphors, anecdotes, or visuals that introduce persuasive cues;

Thematic markers that define the topic and perspective;

Intertextual cues, which situate the article within broader discourses or prior coverage.

Frames such as episodic, thematic, conflict, social responsibility, First Amendment, and disruption/crime are identified using inductive reasoning. These frames highlight how coverage may slant the presentation of information—for instance, emphasizing isolated events (episodic) versus systemic issues (thematic), or positioning protestors as threats (conflict/disruption) versus civic actors (social responsibility/First Amendment).

Example of Reasoning Devices

Each frame is operationalized through reasoning devices. For example, within a conflict frame:

Problem definition might portray activists as exaggerating an issue (Protest Paradigm),

Context may suggest protests are unfair disruptions to learning (Campus-Centric),

Source of the problem may be permissive institutions,

Responsibility placed on school administration, and

Solution offered as creating alternate forms of expression.

These interpretations emerge after a close reading of the articles, flagged in PDFs using tools like Adobe Acrobat. Qualitative coding can also track whose voices are amplified across sources and events. This ties back into selection. Salience can be observed with how these statements are weighted in the text.

Further indicators of a journalistic frame include whether the article references other protest events (on-campus, local, or national), whether protestor demands are directly addressed, and how responsibility for the event and its resolution is assigned. The overall tone of an article can be coded as positive (democracy in action), neutral (disseminator role), or negative (focus on disruption) to offer a comprehensive understanding of how protests are constructed in media narratives.

Application

I found myself limited in fully developing a code to use at a larger scale, but went through some initial sources to test out my ideas. I hope to pursue this method in future research endeavors.