This study examines news framing of partisan media during uprisings. Through mixed methods, it studies the framing of Lebanon’s October 2019 protests, compares frames across political divides, and interprets story themes based on associations between multiple frames. First, the qualitative media framing analysis (MFA) inductively interprets issue-specific frames. Then, the quantitative content analysis deductively examines the developed issue-specific frames and the generic frames across five partisan news channels and tests the relationship between them and across the pro- and anti-protests media. Finally, multiple associated frames are grouped together into news story themes. Results from the MFA reveal six frames: solidarity, head-to-head, individualization, acknowledgment, disruption, and peace through violence frames. The study detected the frequent deployment of the solidarity, conflict, and acknowledgment frames and a significant framing difference between pro- and anti-protest channels. Pro-protest channels more often deployed the solidarity frame, while anti-protest channels more frequently used the conflict, acknowledgment, disruption, and economic consequence frames. Finally, the study developed four story themes based on associations between frames: Blame the protestors or the politicians; protestor violence begets government violence; divided they suffer; and politicians may not only be the culprits but also the solution. The resulting multiframe news themes offer nuanced meaning to generic frames that frequently appear with issue-specific frames and highlight the different roles a singular news frame can play when combined with other frames.
Abdul-NabiZ.2015. “Based on the Peace Journalism Model: Analysis of Al-Jazeera’s Coverage of Bahrain’s Uprising and Syria’s Chemical Attack.”Global Media and Communication11(3):271–302.
2.
AdamsS.2018. “Framing Effects in a Competitive Environment: Black Lives Matter versus President Trump.” Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. https://scholar.utc.edu/honors-theses/152
3.
AhmedS.ChoJ.JaidkaK.2019. “Framing Social Conflicts in News Coverage and Social Media: A Multicountry Comparative Study.”International Communication Gazette81(4):346–71. doi:10.1177/1748048518775000.
4.
Al-RawiA. K.2015. “Sectarianism and the Arab Spring: Framing the Popular Protests in Bahrain.”Global Media and Communication11(1):25–42. doi:10.1177/1742766515573550.
5.
AminH.2002. “Freedom as a Value in Arab Media: Perceptions and Attitudes Among Journalists.”Political Communication19: 125–35. doi:10.1080/10584600252907407.
6.
AskaniusT.Møller HartleyJ.2019. “Framing Gender Justice: A Comparative Analysis of the Media Coverage of #metoo in Denmark and Sweden.”Nordicom Review40(2):19–36. doi:10.2478/nor-2019-0022.
7.
BadranY.SmetsK.2018. “Heterogeneity in Alternative Media Spheres: Oppositional Media and the Framing of Sectarianism in the Syrian Conflict.”International Journal of Communication12:4229–47.
8.
Ben MoussaM. 2013. “Online Mobilization in Times of Conflict: A Framing-Analysis Perspective.”Arab Media and Society17:1–24.
9.
BonettD. G.WrightT. A.2015. “Cronbach’s Alpha Reliability: Interval Estimation, Hypothesis Testing, and Sample Size Planning.”Journal of Organizational Behavior36: 3–15.
10.
BorahP.2011“Conceptual Issues in Framing Theory: A Systematic Examination of a Decade’s Literature.”Journal of Communication61(2):246–63. doi:10.1111/j.1460-2466.2011.01539.x.
11.
BoydstunA. E.GlazierR. A.2013. “A Two-Tiered Method for Identifying Trends in Media Framing of Policy Issues: The Case of the War on Terror.”Policy Studies Journal41(4):706–35. doi:10.1111/psj.12038.
12.
BoyleM. P.McLeodD. M.ArmstrongC. L.2012. “Adherence to the Protest Paradigm: The Influence of Protest Goals and Tactics on News Coverage in U.S. and International Newspapers.”The International Journal of Press/Politics17(2):127–44. doi:10.1177/1940161211433837.
13.
BrownD. K.HarlowS.2019. “Protests, Media Coverage, and a Hierarchy of Social Struggle.”The International Journal of Press/Politics24(4):508–30. doi:10.1177/1940161219853517.
14.
BrownD. K.MourãoR. R.2021. “Protest coverage matters: How media framing and visual communication affects support for black civil rights protests.”Mass Communication and Society24(4):576–96. doi:10.1080/15205436.2021.1884724.
15.
BrüggemannM.2014. “Between Frame Setting and Frame Sending: How Journalists Contribute to News Frames.”Communication Theory24:61–82. doi:10.1111/comt.12027.
16.
BrüggemannM.D’AngeloP.2018. “Defragmenting News Framing Research: Reconciling Generic and Issue-Specific Frames.” In Doing News Framing Analysis II. Empirical and Theoretical Perspectives, ed. D’AngeloP.New York: Routledge.
17.
CarpenterS.2007. “U.S. Elite and Non-Elite Newspapers’ Portrayal of the Iraq War: A Comparison of Frames and Source Use.”Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly84(4):761–76. doi:10.1177/107769900708400407.
18.
ChanC. K.2022. “Shifting Journalistic Paradigm in Post-2019 Hong Kong: The State–Society Relationship and the Press.”Chinese Journal of Communication15(3):463–80. doi:10.1080/17544750.2022.2039256.
19.
ChongD.DruckmanJ. N.2007. “Framing Theory”. Annual Review of Political Science10:103–26. doi:10.1146/annurev.polisci.10.072805.103054
CreswellJ. W.2003. Research Design. Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches. 2nd Edition.Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.
22.
CronbachL. J.1951. “Coefficient Alpha and the Internal Structure of Tests.”Psychometrika16(3):297–334. doi:10.1007/BF02310555.
23.
D’AngeloP.2002. “News Framing as a Multiparadigmatic Research Program: A Response to Entman.”Journal of Communication52(4):870–88. doi:10.1111/j.1460-2466.2002.tb02578.x.
24.
D’AngeloP.2018. Doing News Framing Analysis II: Empirical and Theoretical Perspectives. New York, NY: Routledge.
25.
DabbousD. T.2010. “Media With a Mission: Why Fairness and Balance are Not Priorities in Lebanon’s Journalistic Codes.”International Journal of Communication4:719–37.
26.
DavisonS.2015. “An Exploratory Study of Risk and Social Media: What Role Did Social Media Play in the Arab Spring Revolutions?”Journal of Middle East Media11:1–33. doi:10.12816/0023480.
27.
de VreeseC. H. 2005. “News Framing: Theory and Typology.”Information Design Journal13(1):51–62. doi:10.1075/idjdd.13.1.06vre.
28.
DenisovaA.2017. “Democracy, Protest and Public Sphere in Russia After the 2011–2012 Anti-Government Protests: Digital Media at Stake.”Media, Culture & Society39(7):976–94. doi:10.1177/0163443716682075.
29.
DíezA. I.2021. “Language and Revolution: Arabic in Lebanon After the October Revolution as a Case Study.”Journal of Arabic and Islamic Studies21:5–37. doi:10.5617/jais.8635.
30.
El-RichaniS.2021. “Lebanon: A Faltering Mesh of Political and Commercial Interests.” In Arab Media Systems, eds. RichterC.KozmanC., 1–18. London, UK: Open Book Publishers.
31.
EmmerichL.2020. The Media and “Riot Frames”: Shaping the 2020 Protest Narrative, 2-4, New York, NY: Rep. Carnegie Council.
32.
EntmanR. M.1993. “Framing: Toward Clarification of a Fractured Paradigm.”Journal of Communication43(4):51–8. doi:10.1111/j.1460-2466.1993.tb01304.x.
GamsonW. A.ModiglianiA.1989. “Media Discourse and Public Opinion on Nuclear Power: A Constructionist Approach.”American Journal of Sociology95(1):1–37.
35.
GilesD. C.ShawR. L.2009. “The Psychology of News Influence and Development of Media Framing Analysis.”Social and Personality Psychology Compass3(4):375–93. doi:10.1111/j.1751-9004.2009.00180.x.
36.
GoffmanE.1974. Frame Analysis: An Essay on the Organization of Experience. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
37.
GreenwoodK.JenkinsJ.2015. “Visual Framing of the Syrian Conflict in News and Public Affairs Magazines.”Journalism Studies16(2):207–27. doi:10.1080/1461670X.2013.865969.
38.
HarlowS.JohnsonT. J.2011. “Overthrowing the Protest Paradigm? How The New York Times, Global Voices and Twitter Covered the Egyptian Revolution.”International Journal of Communication5:1359–74.
HertogJ. K.McLeodD. M.1995. “Anarchists Wreak Havoc in Downtown Minneapolis: A Multi-Level Study of Media Coverage of Radical Protest.”Journalism & Mass Communication Monographs151:29.
41.
HertogJ. K.McLeodD. M.2001. “A Multiperspectival Approach to Framing Analysis: A Field Guide.” In Framing Public Life, eds. ReeseS. D.GandyO. H.GrantA. E. 139–62. New York: Routledge.
42.
HutchesonJ.DomkeD.BilleaudeauxA.GarlandP.2004. “U.S. National Identity, Political Elites, and a Patriotic Press Following September 11.”Political Communication21(1):27–50. doi:10.1080/10584600490273254.
43.
KaryotakisM.PanagiotouN.AntonopoulosN.KiourexidouM.2017. “Digital Media Framing of the Egyptian Arab Spring: Comparing Al-Jazeera, BBC and China Daily.”Studies in Media and Communication5(2):66–75. doi:10.11114/smc.v5i2.2664.
44.
KilgoD.HarlowS.2019. “Protests, Media Coverage, and a Hierarchy of Social Struggle.”The International Journal of Press/Politics24(4):508–30. doi:10.1177/1940161219853517.
45.
KozmanC.MelkiJ.2018. “News Media Uses During War.”Journalism Studies19(10):1466–88. doi:10.1080/1461670X.2017.1279564.
46.
KozmanC.MelkiJ.2022. “Selection Bias of News On Social Media: The Role of Selective Sharing and Avoidance During the Lebanon Uprising.”International Journal of Communication16:2864–84.
47.
LindR. A.SaloC.2002. “The Framing of Feminists and Feminism in News and Public Affairs Programs in U.S. Electronic Media.”Journal of Communication52(1):211–228. doi:10.1111/j.1460-2466.2002.tb02540.x.
48.
MatthesJ.2009. “What’s in a Frame? A Content Analysis of Media Framing Studies in the World’s Leading Communication Journals, 1990-2005.”Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly86(2):349–367. doi:10.1177/107769900908600206.
49.
McLeodD. M.HertogJ. K.1999. “Social Control, Social Change and the Mass Media’s Role in the Regulation of Protest Groups.” In Mass Media, Social Control and Social Change: A Macrosocial Perspective, eds. DemersD.ViswanathK., 305–335. Ames: Iowa State University Press.
50.
MelkiJ.2014. “The Interplay of Politics, Economics and Culture in News Framing of Middle East Wars.”Media, War & Conflict7(2):165–86. doi:10.1177/1750635214537405.
51.
MelkiJ.KozmanC.2021a. “Media Dependency, Selective Exposure and Trust During War: Media Sources and Information Needs of Displaced and Non-Displaced Syrians.”Media War and Conflict14(1):93–113. doi:10.1177/1750635219861907.
52.
MelkiJ.KozmanC.2021b. “Selective Exposure During Uprisings: Examining the Public’s News Consumption and Sharing Tendencies During the 2019 Lebanon Protests.”The International Journal of Press/Politics26(4):907–28. doi:10.1177/1940161220972892.
53.
MillerM.ReichertB. P.2001. “The Spiral of Opportunity and Frame Resonance: Mapping the Issue Cycle in News and Public Discourse.” In Framing Public Life: Perspectives on Media and Our Understanding of the Social World, eds. ReeseS. D.GandyO. H.GrantA. E., 106–120. New York: Routledge.
54.
NorrisP.KernM.JustM.2003. Framing Terrorism: The News Media, The Government, and the Public. New York, NY: Routledge.
55.
PutnamL. L.ShoemakerM.2007. “Changes in Conflict Framing in the News Coverage of an Environmental Conflict.”Journal of Dispute Revolution2007(1):1–10.
56.
RuchtD.2010. “Global Justice Movements and the Mass Media: Conceptual Reflections and Empirical Findings.” In Power and Transnational Activism, ed. OlesenT.1st Edition, pp. 190–213. London:Routledge.
57.
SadakaG.MikhaelT.Al-SharifH.ShabanH.YassinB.RahalL.2021. Media Trends in Time of Change. Beirut, Lebanon: Maharat.
SchwalbeC. B.DoughertyS. M.2015. “Visual Coverage of the 2006 Lebanon War: Framing Conflict in three US News Magazines.”Media, War & Conflict8(1):141–62. doi:10.1177/1750635215571204.
60.
SemetkoH. A.ValkenburgP. M.2000. “Framing European Politics: A Content Analysis of Press and Television News.”Journal of Communication50(2):93–109. doi:10.1111/j.1460-2466.2000.tb02843.x.
61.
ShawR. L.GilesD. C.2009. “Motherhood On Ice? A Media Framing Analysis of Older Mothers in the UK News.”Psychology & Health24(2):221–36.
62.
SheppentalA. I.2021. “A mixed-methods framing analysis of Belarusian and Ukrainian protests.”Ukrainian Society2(77):79–94. doi:10.15407/socium2021.02.079.
63.
TaberK. S.2018. “The Use of Cronbach’s Alpha When Developing and Reporting Research Instruments in Science Education.”Research in Science Education48:1273–96. doi:10.1007/s11165-016-9602-2.
64.
TavakolM.DennickR.2011. “Making Sense of Cronbach’s Alpha.”International Journal of Medical Education2:53–5.
65.
TavakolM.WetzelA.2020. “Factor Analysis: A Means for Theory and Instrument Development in Support of Construct Validity.”International Journal of Medical Education11:245–7. doi:10.5116/ijme.5f96.0f4a.
66.
TraboulsiF.2012. A history of Modern Lebanon. London, UK: Pluto Press.
WhitneyC.SumpterR.McQuailD.2004. “News media production: Individuals, organizations, and institutions.” In The SAGE Handbook of Media Studies, eds. McQuailD.SchlesingerP.WartellaE., 393–410. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Supplementary Material
Please find the following supplemental material available below.
For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.
For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.
