The Art of Reframing Political Debates

Abstract

Activists cannot build political power simply by framing their message in ways that resonate with broader cultural values. To succeed, framing strategies must be integrated with broader movement-building efforts.

Politicization Beyond Politics

“…In other words, for Iraq War veterans, activism is like a picture frame, marking off a part of the world and holding their experiences together (Goffman, 1974). Political activism through social movement organizations such as IVAW and VFF provides a way to organize an array of civilian and military symbols, images, and arguments, linking veterans' underlying views of the world with their experiences and interpretations of warfare (Ryan & Gamson, 2006). Deploying their identity as veterans legitimizes their articulation of ''facts'' and helps their political views to resonate with both the military and the American public.…”

Woman vs. Fetus: Frame Transformation and Intramovement Dynamics in the Pro-Life Movement

“…Framing occurs when movement actors "actively engage in the construction of meaning, the portrayal of injustice and the definition of pathways to change" (Zald 1996:269). Through framing, people choose how to convey a message in order to make sense of grievances and identify how to act or what to say in order to bring about effective change (Ryan and Gamson 2005). Framing is a strategic activity; it involves talking, persuading, arguing, and marketing (Noakes and Johnston 2005).…”

Agenda and frames in the websites of the People’s Party (PP) and the Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party (PSOE) in the 2011 cyber campaign

“…Identification and quantification of frame terms in strategic text devices: headlines, subheadings, kickers and pull quotes (Tankard, 2001). Frame terms are the repeated key words whose presence helps to detect frames (Entman, 1993), because they reveal the existence of the perspectives and points of view that underlie the discussions and interpretation of public affairs (Miller & Riechert, 2001), privileging specific forms of definition, exclusion and problematisation (Ryan and Gamson 2006). An advantage of this method is that frame terms can be subsequently used as variables to observe the media assimilation of the partisan frames (Miller & Riechert, 2001) [2].…”