Lesson 1

Making Sense of Media-

Making:
Frames of A Story
Members:
Ahmad Marwad
Arthur Cabeje
Hussein Ashrafi
Mohamed Jacbang
 What is Media Framing?

Media framing can simply be described as the angle or perspective from which a news
story is told. While news is often thought to be objective and value free this is rarely if ever
the case.  In fact most news stories are value laden in both their production and content.
News is not an exact representation of reality but rather a reconstruction from various
angles of a small section of reality. This is not to say journalists necessarily lie or
consciously distort the truth,  but that journalists by covering particular stories, using
particular sources from a particular news angle are constructing reality through a selective
process.  Moreover they are constrained both by the work practices, constraints of
resources and their relationship to shareholders and/or managers.
 Media and the status quo

Status quo came from the Latin term meaning “existing state of affairs.”

Status quo refers to the prevailing state of affairs in society-the social institutions and the
relationships that exist between institutions and social classes.

Most existing state of affairs is always powerful relationships that are favored to a small
segment of society which holds economic and political power
 Values and Attitudes
Values are commonly held beliefs, views, and attitudes about what is important and what is
right.

Values are the principles that we use to judge the worth of an idea or a practice.

Personal values are those that guide or drive our individual behavior.

Spiritual values direct your actions and decisions with regards to a higher power.

Value systems are a coherent and harmoniously aligned set of values from where you
derive your sense of identity and integrity.

Attitudes are the expressions of our response to particular ideas, events, circumstances, or
people.
 Lifestyles

Lifestyles are ways of living and denote the interests, hobbies, behavior, opinions of an
individual, family, group, or even a community.

Both tangible and intangible elements combined to render the kind of lifestyle that an
individual is predisposed to lead.

Tangible elements could be the social class, largely determined by income and other
material possessions, as well as the spaces inhabited.

Intangible elements could come with the values and attitudes a person or a group is
predisposed to.
 Propaganda and Persuasion
Propaganda was first in the national consciousness when a group of ilustrados launched
the Propaganda Movement in Europe in 1868.

Propaganda means to disseminate or promote particular ideas. In Latin, it means “to

propagate” or “to sow.” It is about communicating ideas designed to persuade people to
think and behave in a desired way.

Jowett and O’Donnell (2012, 6) offer a more elaborate and comprehensive definition of
propaganda that focuses on the communication process:”Propaganda is the deliberate,
systematic attempt to shape perceptions, manipulate cognitions, and direct behavior that
furthers the desire of the propagandist. The definition carries move weight than the earlier
definition stated since this one underscores the willful and strategized move to “shape
perceptions” and even, “manipulate”, with the sole intention of furthering the objective of
the propagandist”.
 Propaganda and Persuasion
Terms that are associated with propaganda are spin, news management and public
relations.

Spin is often used with reference to manipulating information so it can be angled to

generate positive images; the ones who are assigned to do this are called “Spin doctors”

News management Manipulation of the media, especially by press agents or publicists, to

ensure favourable news coverage.

Public relations firms are usually very adept in handling crisis situations and generating
spins to alter public perception.
 The End
Thank You