All the findings

fit to print
Framing The New Soldier:
How American newspapers frame the post-9/11 service member
vol xxx.No. 101 @2013 Laura Fong Kent, OH Friday April 19, 2013 $2.50

Introduction
By Laura Fong POSITIVE OR NEGATIVE? Research Questions

News coverage of the post-9/11 service member RQ1: What are the existing news frames surrounding post-9/11 service
members?

News media, film, non-fiction, and pop culture have labeled post-9/11
military service members as different from those who have served in wars RQ2: How are these frames constructed? What sources are used when con-
past, however there is no research to either support or deny the framing of this structing the news frames of post-9/11 service members? Is there a
particular group of individuals. Although much research has been done on how dominant source that emerges in the construction of these frames?
the media frames events, ideology, and politics, the news framing of individuals

Methodology
has rarely been studied.

This project applies Robert Entmans cascading activation model to the

news framing of U.S. servicemen and women. JMC graduate student Laura *FACTIVA SEARCH - soldier OR veteran AND Iraq OR Afghanistan NOT Vietnam with the filter
Fong coded a 10% sample of articles randomly selected from a 12-month armed forces applied retrieved a total of 2,086 articles from The New York Times, The Washington
period to discover the most common themes about these service members. Post, and The Wall Street Journal over the twelve months prior to the sample date 02/19/2013
The news articles were selected from The Wall Street Journal, The New York *10% SAMPLE - 208 articles randomly selected (Haar, 2012) The New York Times (57) The Wash-
Times, and The Washington Post. ington Post (69) The Wall Street Journal (64) Not Useable (18)
*QUALITATIVE CONTENT ANALYSIS - to investigate the framing of post-9/11 soldiers because it
Below you will find a summary of the dominant frames, that were identified. has previously been applied to the news framing of individuals by Miller & Ross (2004). Content
Other findings of note will be presented, including positive/negative coverage analysis is an open-coding technique for analyzing elements of text and gathering valid infer-
of the post-9/11 service member, common sources of the frames, the different ences within the context of that text (Krippendorf, 2012).
story forms (feature, news, editorial, blog or web news) and other notable *PRE-STUDY ANALYSIS - selected 12 articles from each newspaper and did a coding test using
differences in the dominant frames in each of the three newspapers included in a priori codes, added the positive/negative assessment to each code in addition to noting the
the study. sources of the codes, highlighting repeated words and phrases and identifying the story form
of each article for member-checking

Findings
*INTER-CODER RELIABILITY - developed a data language and list of themes that had emerged,
*Each code was given a positive or negative evaluation. Articles were coded, and the codes were counted to reveal whether an article was deemed postitive or negative overall by the number
of positive or negative codes that were identified. and trained a second coder once I had reached redundancy after coding about 60% of my sample.

1. BULLY 2. HERO 3. VICTIM

Sailors and Marines aboard a warship forged with 7.5 tons of steel salvaged But those who perished at Fort Hood deserve something more as well-the He went to each bed, shook the soldiers hand, made a speech and presented
from the World Trade Center held a remembrance ceremony and pledged to recognition that they gave their lives in service to our country ( Theissen, M. the medal, Mr. Wade recalled to the Dallas Morning News in 1998. When
do all in their power to prevent another attack (Temple-Raston, 2012). 2012). Re: awarding Purple Hearts to vicitims of the Fort Hood shooting. he reached my bed, he took a medal from the cart and threw it on my bed
without saying a word to me (Schudel, 2012).
1) This is the most common frame. U.S. service members are a collective and unfaltering 1) This is the second most common frame. The U.S. service member as a patriot, a properly 1) The U.S. service member is framed as a victim for many reasons. The service member
force, capable of preventing a terrorist attack. U.S. service members are stronger, better, honored member of the U.S. military, a courageous citizen, a warrior. may have a dishonorable discharge, he/she may have been charged with a crime, maybe
more armed, more powerful, better trained, and superior in the world. The Presidents disabled no matter what the case, this U.S. service member is cast aside, no longer a
messages about the service member are rarely questioned or challenged, they are simply 2) In the news we read about ceremonies that honor service members both alive and passed, part of the U.S. military and its legacy. U.S. service members with a non-combat Military
reported as such. the anniversary of a fatal mission, or event. We automatically respect those with a higher rank or Occupational Specialty (MOS) are consistently reported about as less-than those with at
decorated military career. combat MOS.
2) U.S service member is glamorized, he/she can even operate outside of the Standard
Operating Procedure to get the job done, and act without transparency simply because he/ 3) Sources: military sources are always high-ranking officials, with mention of their decorations, 2) The U.S. service member will never experience anything like what they experienced in
she is a member of the service. awards and medals, and a list of their combat deployments. These things define the service their military training, and experiences while active duty, including the combat experience.
member and give them credibility that the reader doesnt question. Often the U.S. service member is talked about as a displaced, disrespected civilian who cant
3) Sources: U.S. officials said... is enough to carry the story with no attribution, no names, no find his/her place in the world after his/her service.
reference to a specific report that the information was extracted from (even though a report 4) Common words and phrases: patriot, hero, elite (Army Rangers, Navy Seals), ceremony, military
may be in the public domain), with the message that when it comes to the military service funeral/burial 3) Sources: The source of this frame is almost always the Administration. Not one journalist in
member, the sources of the news need no attribution. any of the articles I coded criticized a U.S. service member.
4) Common words and phrases: eradicating Al Qaeda, killing machine,
4) Common words and phrases: suicidal, as mentally ill, physically disabled, neglected, not
properly honored by the military or the community. The U.S. service member is also
referred to in the media as expendable, as an expense to taxpayers, and an interference to
the culture of the opposition.

4. MEMBER OF THE MILITARY INSTITUTION

..adherence to core values that include discipline and respect(Crary, 2012).
5. THE NEW SOLDIER
But another, more important kind of recognition is also necessary. It is
not just our old concepts of medals that must shift but also our traditional
1) In this frame, we see the U.S. service member as belonging to the institution of the American military. Readers dont question a U.S. service members ethics or actions, because we trust in the
institution of the military. The more decorated, or the more times a service member has deployed, or the higher their rank-the higher the trust--the militarys assessment of thse individuals is
notions of war (Singer, 2013). On honoring drone pilots or remote-control heroes
like any other soldier.
sufficient that we do not question. A career service member is more respected than someone who enlisted for 4 years and then returned to civilian life.
1) This frame is about the changing face of the military, or the New Soldier. The U.S. service
2) U.S. service members are held to a higher standard than civilians, and in the media the enemy or those who criticize U.S. service members are barely mentioned, diminished or discredited. News member used to be referred to as a Christian Republican, but that is changing. The New
stories attack the culture, the religion, and the actions of the opposition without doing the same evaluation of the U.S. service member. Also in this frame are those service members who dont Soldier can now be a woman in combat, an openly gay male or female, a Democrat, an anti-
ask for helpbecause its not part of military culture to admit weaknesswomen in the military/in combat, gays in the military, the family legacy of military service, the core values of U.S. service war activist, a Buddhist, and a product of this new generation of technology.
members, and the superior training and advantage over other countries military.
2) Sources: The sources of this frame are often journalists who writing opinion or editorial
3) Sources: sources of this frame are all kinds. The military institution is a frame that plays to the publics schemata or pre-conceived ideas and is therefore accepted without question often. Sources pieces, and sometime features that include in-depth interviews with the individual service
for the opposition are often unnamed, of low rank, referred to as villagers, or something that is culturally below most Americans. members. These news stories are told by the service members themselves, not others
speaking about the service members.
4) Common words and phrases: uneducated (opposition), women dont belong in combat, dont ask dont tell, retired Soldier/Marine, rank, family legacy, training, core values, indoctrination, basic
training, discipline, respect 3) Common words and phrases: openly gay, post-9/11 soldiers, dont ask dont tell, agnostic,
drones, energy drinks

Literature Review
1) Framing theory began with Goffman (1983) and was adapted by Dr. Robert Entmans (1993) to his study
Discussion
ASSUMPTIONS
Conclusion
1) In my sample of 208 articles, the newspaper coverage of post-9/11 service members was mostly
of news framing. Entman defines news framing as a way to construct reality through complex, reciprocal I began this study with the following assumptions: negative (68%)
interactions among other individuals, social groups, and cultural products such as newspapers, that frames
are constructed that define issues, situations and how we view individuals. 2) The five frames I identified were 1. The Bully, 2. The Victim, 3. The Hero, 4. The Member of the
1) That no one person or thing can eradicate terrorism Military Institution, and 5. The New Soldier
2) Miller and Rosss (2004) study on the framing of Native Americans in the Boston Globe applied content
analysis to the framing of individuals. 2) That the U.S. Military is the sum of all of its service members: a machine by which each service member is 3) The Overwhelmingly most common frame was 1. The Bully which is defined by references to the
essential to its proper function U.S. service member being invincible and superior.
3) News framing has not been thoroughly applied to the framing of individuals, though Entman is
mentioned in Miller & Rosss (2004) study. 4) Generally when it comes to the U.S. Military, little attribution is needed or pursued when generating
FINDINGS OF NOTE news stories.
4) Entmans Cascading Activation (2003) model suggested that frames originated at the Administrative
or government level are rarely challenged in news, and sometimes challenged in opinion/editorial news FURTHER RESEARCH
stories. 1) A priori codes were not the most commonly found in the coding of my sample ie) The Hero was most
5) This study identifies that the Administrative level of frame construction has a significant influence
common a priori, but 3rd overall in the study. on the frames that exist about post-9/11 service members. In this case, the Administrative level includes
5) Lembckes social constuctivist theory suggests that the words and phrases in the news about Vietnam the Department of Defense, the White House, President Barack Obama, high-ranking military officials,
veterans shaped how the public understood and defined Vietnam veterans, and Post-traumatic stress 2) There is, in fact, a new soldier as discovered in the 5th frame. official military reports, etc.
disorder.
3) With a successful training in my data language, my second coder was easily able to code the same 6) This research can serve as a springboard for further study on the relationship between members of
6) Dietram Scheufeles (1999) idea of the three different news frames (group, content, and individual) common themes I had found in the first 65% of my sample. the U.S. military and the media, specifically the exploration of technology and social media and the U.S.
compliment Entmans ideas, combined with DAngelos response to Entman regarding frame dominance and service member, and also the effect of the embedded journalist on the publics understanding of the U.S.
his suggestion that news framing can be an effective media strategy which created the lens through which service member.
we look at how American newspapers frame the post-9/11 service member.

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