Frame and blame: An analysis of how national and local newspapers framed the jena six controversy

Abstract

This study analyzed local and national newspapers to determine how each framed the Jena Six controversy and to determine if either broke from traditional episodic coverage in framing crime and African Americans. Local papers more frequently put a human face on the issue, while national papers more frequently framed it as a moral wrong. However, unlike previous studies, this analysis found that both local and national papers used more thematic than episodic coverage, suggesting that sometimes the circumstances surrounding a crime can be so egregious that societal factors must be included in coverage. ©2010 AEJMC.