Watchdog or Cheerleader: The Role of American News Media in Covering Political Leader's Speech

Abstract

News media studies, especially in the field of the political economy of media, have traditionally been looking at frames used by news media. Structures are usually examined as follows: the words or phrases emphasized; the images excluded or trivialized; and what these frames suggest about the mediated image of public issues. Recent studies in the field of media framing have also looked at how framing is evident in media messages, which have been shown to exert some influence on the formation of attitudes, opinions, and understanding of public issues. The present study theorizes that American news media are adopting and using their government’s preferred versions of foreign issues when they frame the international issues. Based on looking at the frames used by two newspapers, The New York Times and The Washington Post, this study examines news media coverage of President George W Bush’s 2002 State of the Union address.