News framing of the Ukraine crisis in the Russian and British media

Abstract

This pilot study uses quantitative content analysis following the framework of generic frames, diagnostic and prognostic frames (Godefroidt et al. 2016) to compare the news framing of the Ukraine crisis in Russia and the UK from 30 November 2013 to 26 February 2014. The Moscow Times and The Guardian were chosen as examples of quality print media with online editions that are comparable in terms of quality, circulation rate, political stance, and more importantly – global targeting. The study argues that firstly, the media in both countries were more likely to report through conflict lens, followed by responsibility frame. Secondly, the difference between the Eastern and Western media was tracked. While the Russian media relatively preferred economic consequence frame reflecting the country’s geopolitical interests, the British media tended to use human-interest frame highlighting unfairness and non-proportionality.