The Construction of News: Energy Crises,Advocacy Messages,and Frames toward Conservation

Abstract

Much of what people learn about politics comes from the mass media. How media outlets construct their reports have direct consequences for what people think about politics. Scholars and pundits have long debated about the factors that shape media choices. Yet there have been few direct investigations into how three major determinants shape political news: world events, advocacy groups, and the government. This article examines the relative impact of these factors by focusing on the construction of news related to energy conservation in the United States. Specifically, it looks at how events, messages crafted by interest groups, and government-sponsored public service announcements (PSAs) affect news frames and attributions of responsibility for the extant energy situation. It finds that events are the most important factor driving news coverage; advocacy groups are second, followed by PSAs. This suggests that news about conservation is driven more by events than messages supplied by agents seeking to influence public discourse. Thus, groups with specific agendas such as government and advocacy organizations can, at least at times, be limited in terms of their capacity to shape news coverage—which has implications for theories of media choice.