Recent Gallup polls show that only about 32% of Americans have “fair amount” or “great deal” of trust in the news media. This points to only one thing. And that’s the effect of media framing on public perception.

Agenda Setting Theory and Framing Theory are the best theories that Media Studies scholars could use to describe this situation. Media houses repeat specific narratives, select certain facts, and focus on particular angles to shape public perception. 

Power of Framing

Framing theory suggests that information or an event is presented in such a way that it influences how the audience interprets it. Erving Goffman was the first person to introduce the framing concept in social analysis. 

Media researchers later elaborated on it to explain how journalists organize stories and information to shape readers’ understanding. 

Framing is clearly achieved through the choice of words, the angle from which it is viewed, and even the sources selected.

Some examples of framing in the media:

Economic News

Framing plays an essential role in economic news, as it determines the angle from which people view the situation. 

For example, there are different economic news narratives when the government announces a hike in fuel prices. Some media houses would report the situation neutrally or positively, saying it is a result of global events and would normalize over time. 

Whereas, some outlets would frame it in a way that would stir social unrest, saying the hike in fuel prices is outrageous, and it would lead to insane inflation, hardship, and burden for the citizens. 

Both angles carried the same news but different perspectives to the readers.

Political News

Knowing that the government controls the media, political campaigns, and news coverage could also be used to frame one candidate as better than the other. The media could focus on a party’s candidate and frame its policies as achievable, innovative, and overall progressive in favour of the people. The same media could label another’s policies as something impractical.

News like this is out with an agenda: to place a positive focus on one politician and take the spotlight off another. This, in subtle ways, influences how the candidates are perceived and shapes the outcome of how their views are shaped.

Historical Media Narratives 

Media narratives have been shaping public opinions since the beginning of time. Whether it was through how the story was shaped, the angle from which it was told, the matters it focused on, and much more. Some historical narratives put out by the media were 

Mobilization for War

During the Second World War, the government would influence the media to portray those in the military as heroic and to portray fighting for the country as an honourable thing to do. They made posters and newsreels to support this claim, which changed how people saw things.

The way the media painted the narrative made the government send most men to join the military and fight in the war. Since the perspective is no longer the same, many people cared less about the risk. They didn’t care if they would come back. They saw it as a duty and didn’t shy away from it. 

The Movement for Civil Rights of Citizens

In the 1960s, the Americans got televised information via the media on how peaceful the police were in killing protesters. This sparked coverage and outrage among citizens, and then an entire movement began. This movement didn’t stop at citizens fighting for their rights; it also influenced the need for a change of government at the time.

Coverage of events like the Selma to Montgomery marches made the public see how demonstrators were brutalized, which generated national and international outrage. 

If the media had not put out that information about how the citizens were killed for protesting peacefully, there would never have been a movement for their rights.

It was even what led to the passage of major legislation, including the Civil Rights Acts of 1964.

Scientific Awareness 

In 1962, a media publication titled ‘Silent Spring’ was published. This publication covered the harmful environmental effects of pesticides. What this did was shape how people perceived nature and ultimately how they acted towards it.

After the narrative was put out about the disaster, people stopped seeing nature as a resource they could continually take from without giving anything back. Their perspective changed, and they began to see nature as a resource that needed protection.

Roles of Headlines and Visuals 

How captivating the headlines and visuals are determines whether a receiver will sit through the rest of the news. Here are some of the ways that shape public perception.

Roles of Headlines in Shaping Public Perception 

First Line of Information: Headlines act as the first line of information for people who are mostly time-constrained. A headline could actually be read, and that’s all the news they listen to, so every piece of information passed is the knowledge they run with.

Since the headline summarises extensive data, a capture of it can influence later decisions or how a particular situation is perceived.

Framing: A headline can also put an audience in a chokehold. When headlines are framed with the right words and taken from a certain angle, they still want to know what the rest of the news holds.

If a headline that covers a presidential debate frames it from an intriguing angle, it can make the audience want more while keeping them focused on a particular candidate throughout the debate.

Emotionally Activating: From the words and language used in a headline, certain emotions can be felt, and opinions can be quickly formed about the information presented in the media. Headlines go the extra mile in sparking debates, though the selected stories displayed.

Roles of Visuals in Public Perception

Research by the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism shows that over 60% of news consumers all over the world now access news mainly through digital platforms, where visual elements like images, videos, and graphics get more engagement than mere written reporting. 

It Leaves a Lasting Impression

One short video clip, even without accompanying sound, could directly shape a person’s influence before a text could. Visuals tend to leave a lasting impression on viewers. Because people are more drawn to what they see than to what they hear, visuals play a significant role in shifting their perspective.

Simplifies Data

Sometimes, a headline or text, no matter how much it has been summarised, can still be hard to understand. So, the role of visuals in the media as a tool for influencing public perception is to simplify complex data.

Data visualization is more effective at shaping one’s perception than complex text. This is why most media consumption is mostly visual-based.

Consequences of Bias

Bias influences people’s perceptions and takes the form of information that confirms preexisting beliefs, a report that follows a specific media agenda, or information that reflects societal happenings.

Whichever room a bias falls into, it still has consequences when used excessively or taken out of context. Some of those consequences include:

Knowledge Gap: When the media continually perpetuates biases, it creates a knowledge gap among citizens. Citizens are no longer fully informed due to a lack of information. When information is one-sided, views tend to be one-sided and distorted too. Thereby creating an uninformed society.

Poor Decisions are Made: When the media frames information for a purpose other than its intended one, individuals are more likely to make poor decisions. For example, in the media, a political party is discussed all the time, while the others are alienated. 

Citizens end up going for who sees the most, who they hear about the most, who they have information about the most, rather than for who has the interests of society at large.

Media Trust is Eroded: Trust is supposed to be the bedrock of the media. That is the only way the people can believe in what they are presented with. When the media is continually biased, it erodes citizens’ trust and can lead to polarization.

Polarization results from media shaping public perception. This polarization, on its own, further divides people, and that, in general, is not healthy for a society. Divide could lead to decisions made out of fear, and that could, in turn, fuel chaos in society.

How Readers Can Evaluate Narratives 

It is crucial that readers can evaluate media narratives to spot biases and framings in favour of a sector, industry, or individual. This can be done through different techniques, including checking the who, why, what, and how of the message to assess its credibility.

Who Passed the Message: The first thing to look out for in a media message and to evaluate the narrative behind it is to know the ‘Who’. Who the author is to know if they are qualified to pass that sort of information, who the publisher is to know if it’s linked with a reputable source, and to know even who funds the message that’s being passed.

How the Message was Passed: The how of a message passed on the media is just as important as the who. The credibility of a short tweet made on social media can not be measured up to the release of a ten-thousand-word publication made by a researcher. One is undoubtedly a surface opinion, and the other is a well-verified fact.

Why the Message was Passed: To evaluate media information, it is essential to examine why the message was passed. Readers should be able to take a look to know if it requires anything of them. In a political setting, check if the message was created to make the viewers vote for a particular candidate, or whether it was created to share with friends and family to shape their own perspective further.

How the Message Affects the Reader: Another critical angle for readers to evaluate from is the ‘how’. How did the message make them feel after consuming it? Did the message make them see a particular group, race, age, or sex of people look good or bad? While the media may have influenced the Reader’s perspective in this case, the interpretation of this message remains solely on the Reader.

Why Awareness Matters 

While awareness might not be the only option, it still goes a long way toward shaping perceptions, making informed decisions, and even affecting change in policies and society at large. Some ways awareness in the media does this are by:

It Calls for Action: When the media raises awareness of a particular issue, it isn’t just for passing information. It is also a call to action. With awareness created in the media space, information is being transformed into profitable action.

For example, health awareness created about breast cancer leads to more knowledge of the disease, and doable steps to prevent its spread before it occurs.

Promotes an Empathetic Society: When personal stories or real-life situations are presented in the media about particular issues, it creates empathy among viewers who are now aware. In cases of disabilities, depression, or terminal sicknesses, the awareness created around these problems by the media makes it more relatable to others and creates a compassionate society.

Promotes Accountability: With awareness playing a significant role in informing citizens of current happenings, it keeps the government and other higher institutions accountable. The government’s decisions and actions are now brought into public view, thereby making them accountable to society and working in society’s favour.

Overcomes Information Overload: In a system where there’s so much going on at every moment, the role of awareness matters because it brings into proper view what is important. When awareness is in place, vital information is not lost and remains centered, retaining its value. Awareness helps to tackle information overload.

Conclusion

The media has a powerful influence on how the public perceives and receives information. It is essential in this case that readers have just enough media literacy to filter out narratives when they come. Readers should always be aware and stay engaged that the media doesn’t fully control their perspective.