 |
News Coverage about the Bosnian War
| |
| | Unformatted Document Text:
1
News Coverage about the Bosnian War in Dutch Newspapers
Introduction In April 1992 war in Bosnia breaks out and media coverage is initially modest about the fighting between Serbs and Muslims. Eventually the war gets full media attention after the discovery of detention camps in Bosnia. Images of emaciated men behind barbed wire shown worldwide on television provoke memories of pictures from the death camps of the second world war and a public outcry ‘to do something’ follows. Nevertheless only in August 1995 does the international community decide to intervene militarily in order to end the war, resulting in the Dayton peace accords of 14 December 1995. In this research we look at the media coverage of the Bosnian war in four major Dutch newspapers, during the year 1993 and the period of January-July 1995. We examine the question: how did Dutch newspapers frame the Bosnian war? To answer this question we combine earlier framing research, according to which framing can best be summarised as all factors used to determine what events are reported and how they are presented. Tuchman (1978, 209) wrote that news frames “both produce and limit meaning,”. Like window frames, “characteristics of the window, its size and composition, limit what may be seen. So does its placement, that is, what aspect of the unfolding scene it makes accessible”. From this perspective framing starts with the selection process. In our research we perceive this selection process as the most general level of framing, while the actual presentation of the story can be seen as a more refined level of framing (see table 1). Table 1. Relation between Framing and Agenda-setting theory
Our research
Recent research
1
st
Level
Framing; What is selected Agenda-setting
theory
2
nd
Level
Framing; How is it presented
Framing or second-level agenda-setting
The general level of framing shows its similarity with the agenda-setting theory coined by Maxwell McCombs and Donald Shaw in 1972. The essence of the agenda-setting theory is that by selecting and reporting the news the press influences not so much what we think, but it tells us what to think about. Through their daily selection and coverage of news, media exert an influence on public attention to the issues, problems and opportunities in society. The second, more refined, level of framing can be seen as an extension of the agenda-setting theory. Framing analysis “expands beyond agenda-setting research into what people talk or think about by examining how they think and talk about issues in the news.” (Pan & Kosicki, 1993, 70). The relationship between framing and the agenda-setting theory is also recognised by Mc Combs, Shaw and Weaver (1997). They use the term second-level agenda-setting to describe the effects of the framing process on audiences’ interpretations of the news stories produced. Recent framing research ignores the most general level of framing and focuses on the second level dealing with factors influencing the production of the news by journalists, the presentation of the news and its impact on the consumers. The factors involved giving an event or story a certain meaning depend on the point of view researchers choose: the sender, the message or the
|
| | Authors: Ruigrok, Nel., Scholten, Otto. and De Ridder, J.. |
|
| |
|
|
1
News Coverage about the Bosnian War in Dutch Newspapers
Introduction
In April 1992 war in Bosnia breaks out and media coverage is initially modest about the fighting
between Serbs and Muslims. Eventually the war gets full media attention after the discovery of
detention camps in Bosnia. Images of emaciated men behind barbed wire shown worldwide on
television provoke memories of pictures from the death camps of the second world war and a
public outcry ‘to do something’ follows. Nevertheless only in August 1995 does the international
community decide to intervene militarily in order to end the war, resulting in the Dayton peace
accords of 14 December 1995.
In this research we look at the media coverage of the Bosnian war in four major Dutch
newspapers, during the year 1993 and the period of January-July 1995. We examine the question:
how did Dutch newspapers frame the Bosnian war?
To answer this question we combine earlier framing research, according to which framing can
best be summarised as all factors used to determine what events are reported and how they are
presented. Tuchman (1978, 209) wrote that news frames “both produce and limit meaning,”. Like
window frames, “characteristics of the window, its size and composition, limit what may be seen.
So does its placement, that is, what aspect of the unfolding scene it makes accessible”. From this
perspective framing starts with the selection process. In our research we perceive this selection
process as the most general level of framing, while the actual presentation of the story can be
seen as a more refined level of framing (see table 1).
Table 1. Relation between Framing and Agenda-setting theory
Our research
Recent research
1
st
Level
Framing; What is selected Agenda-setting
theory
2
nd
Level
Framing; How is it presented
Framing or second-level agenda-setting
The general level of framing shows its similarity with the agenda-setting theory coined by
Maxwell McCombs and Donald Shaw in 1972. The essence of the agenda-setting theory is that
by selecting and reporting the news the press influences not so much what we think, but it tells us
what to think about. Through their daily selection and coverage of news, media exert an influence
on public attention to the issues, problems and opportunities in society. The second, more refined,
level of framing can be seen as an extension of the agenda-setting theory. Framing analysis
“expands beyond agenda-setting research into what people talk or think about by examining how
they think and talk about issues in the news.” (Pan & Kosicki, 1993, 70). The relationship
between framing and the agenda-setting theory is also recognised by Mc Combs, Shaw and
Weaver (1997). They use the term second-level agenda-setting to describe the effects of the
framing process on audiences’ interpretations of the news stories produced.
Recent framing research ignores the most general level of framing and focuses on the second
level dealing with factors influencing the production of the news by journalists, the presentation
of the news and its impact on the consumers. The factors involved giving an event or story a
certain meaning depend on the point of view researchers choose: the sender, the message or the
|
|
 Convention | | Convention is an application service for managing large or small academic conferences, annual meetings, and other types of events! | | Submission - Custom fields, multiple submission types, tracks, audio visual, multiple upload formats, automatic conversion to pdf. | | Review - Peer Review, Bulk reviewer assignment, bulk emails, ranking, z-score statistics, and multiple worksheets! | | Reports - Many standard and custom reports generated while you wait. Print programs with participant indexes, event grids, and more! | | Scheduling - Flexible and convenient grid scheduling within rooms and buildings. Conflict checking and advanced filtering. | | Communication - Bulk email tools to help your administrators send reminders and responses. Use form letters, a message center, and much more! | | Management - Search tools, duplicate people management, editing tools, submission transfers, many tools to manage a variety of conference management headaches! | | Click here for more information. |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
Page 1 of 28 
