The media is tasked with the job of presenting the news
daily to its consumers. The way the media covers certain topics and events is
key, especially during the time of the presidential election. The four frames
that media outlets typically rely on during the elections is: horse race,
conflict, issues, and candidate attributes. By going to news site such as CNN,
Fox, MSNBC, and even Politico it is clear to see how different stations cover
different events.
Horse Race: On CNN’s website they dedicate a certain domain to strictly
politics. Within this domain is an area titled 2016 Election Center. Within
this space the delegates are shown in a graph in a horse race type
stance. They are listed
with the delegate count they have at this moment, and are displayed in order
from greatest number of delegates to. This page displays a perfect example of
Horse Race Journalism and how if someone were to stumble across this page they
would instantly see that Trump and Clinton are in the lead. This kind of visual
could lead them to voting for these two candidates since it appears neither of
the other candidates have a chance. http://www.cnn.com/election
Conflict: On Fox News website one of the first
article’s posted talks about the conflict between Donald Trump and Ted Cruz.
The article goes on to discuss how both candidates made stabs at the other ones
wife. This article is a perfect example of how news organizations buy into the
candidate conflict and make it news worthy information. Someone coming to this
website would see this article and read it thinking that both of these
candidates are ridiculous for what they are doing. http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2016/03/23/trump-lashes-out-over-hostile-ad-featuring-his-wife-vows-to-spill-beans-on-cruz-spouse.html
Issues: In
an article on MSNBC an article posted talks about how Ted Cruz wants to handle
the Terrorist attacks. The article
continues on to discuss how Cruz wants to propose the idea that law enforcement
should patrol Muslim neighborhoods. This article is a perfect example of an
issues frame on a news website. This article talks specifically of an issue
that has been very present in the news lately and how Cruz plans on handling
it. http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/cruz-proposes-law-enforcement-patrol-secure-muslim-neighborhoods-n543616
Candidate Attributes: In an article posted on Politico, the writer pays
close attention to the candidate attribute of Ted Cruz. After Jeb Bush
announced his backing of Cruz, it ran the perfect opportunity for a story aligning
with this frame. The first quote and top line of the story is a catching quote
from Bush stating, “Ted is a consistent, principled conservative who has
demonstrated the ability to appeal to voters and win primary contests.” This article catches the attention of people
looking for candidate attributes.
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