From Political to Personal: Tracking the Use of Exemplars in Newspaper Coverage of the Affordable Care Act

Abstract

A content analysis (N = 520) of Affordable Care Act (ACA) coverage in The New York Times (NYT) examined the use of frames and exemplars to understand how the ACA was covered from passage through repeal attempts in 2017. Results show an increase in episodic frames as the law took effect and citizens faced health coverage decisions. There was also a change in NYT use of exemplars over the years. In the earlier stage of the ACA, the exemplars featured elites such as politicians, but later focusing more on citizen experiences and the benefits of the ACA. Findings suggest the change in how the NYT framed the ACA increasingly involved personal stories about the law’s benefits as well as the public’s experiences.