Xiao Wei - Epistemology of News Frame

Frame analysis has long been an active field in journalism and communication, but there are many chaotic, ambiguous definitions and duplicated studies.

This book combines subjective philosophy with empirical research to fully explore what news framing is and how a media organizations news frame is constructed. Topics discussed include connotation and composition, facts and sources, functions and effects, construction and updates, competition and negotiation, presenting as a whole a clear and systematic epistemological framework and providing inspiration for news frame researchers, media practitioners and the public to understand the role of the news media.

In addition, the book also examines and analyses empirical cases from different countries and regions, including particular emphasis on frame analysis in China, which can help foreign readers better understand Chinese media reports.

Xiao Wei is an associate professor of School of Journalism & Communication, Jinan University, China. She has been devoted to the research on news conception and development of journalism for many years.

The China Perspectives series focuses on translating and publishing works by leading Chinese scholars, writing about both global topics and China-related themes. It covers Humanities & Social Sciences, Education, Media and Psychology, as well as many interdisciplinary themes.

This is the first time any of these books have been published in English for international readers. The series aims to put forward a Chinese perspective, give insights into cutting-edge academic thinking in China, and inspire researchers globally.

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The communication paradigm of the third media age

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Xiao Wei

First published in English 2020

by Routledge

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2020 Xiao Wei

The right of Xiao Wei to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

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English Version by permission of China Renmin University Press.

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ISBN: 978-0-367-43534-9 (hbk)

ISBN: 978-1-003-00392-2 (ebk)

Typeset in Times New Roman

by codeMantra

Starting from Goffmans (1974) Frame Analysis: An Essay on the Organization of Experience, the frame concept has been embedded into various disciplines for more than 40 years. If we count the time from Tuchmans (1978) Making News: A Study in the Construction of Reality and Gitlins (1980) The Whole World Is Watching: Mass Media in the Making & Unmaking of the New Left, it has been exactly 40 years since the concept of frame entered the field of journalism and communication research. At this point in time and facing the new context of the post-journalism era heralded by Internet technology, it is indeed necessary to make systematic and deep epistemological reflections on the news frame.

Framing analysis has long been a field with active research in journalism and communication. In recent years, relevant research keeps progressing more than ever before. Each year, a considerable number of papers on the news frame theme are published in SSCI journals, and related monographs have been continuously published. The topics of these studies cover more areas than before. From the frame perspective, there have been many in-depth case studies on various topics in the fields of political communication, gender/feminism, science communication, health communication, environmental communication, as well as anti-terrorism, refugee/immigration, racial issues and social development. Some studies show obvious cross-border characteristics. For example, some frame analyses of health communication are provided by psychologists or medical practitioners. As far as text is concerned, apart from their continuous focus on the text frame, researchers are paying more attention to the characteristics and traits of image text and visual frame. Research on the frame mechanisms of new Internet media is increasing. Researchers from different countries and regions have provided framing research on multiple localization or internationalization topics.

Therefore, it can be roughly concluded that news frame is still a very important research area both at present and in the future. However, there is no denying that chaotic definitions, ambiguous ideas and duplication of some studies have always existed in this field. Some basic theoretical issues of the frame have long remained unsolved, which has caused much trouble to researchers. In-depth and systematic theoretical research is indispensable for the news frame itself or the role and relationship of various subjects in the construction of frame.

In this respect, Epistemology of News Frame represents a valuable effort of research on basic theory. The book explores the construction mechanism of news frame from the five major aspects of connotation and composition, fact and source, function and effect, construction and update, and competition and deliberation, and contributes a clear and systematic epistemological framework for the news frame. Most existing literature on the basic issues of news frame is for the purpose of empirical research, hoping that the definition of frame can be clearly conceptualized and operationalized, or better distinguish between the framing effect and other communication effect models. By contrast, this book is based on the proposition of frame as social fact, following an approach of theoretical research, and focusing on literature sorting and logical analysis. Different research approaches can help look into the same issue. In the course of its argument, this book offers some new ideas on the analysis and explanation of many basic issues, such as the definition, characteristics, sources and functions of news frame.