Invention: Framing Events

Contents

• Framing is based in Communication as Form
• Common Strategies for Framing and Reframing
• The Power of Successful Framing
• Exercises

Framing is based in Communication as Form

• Frames help the public to understand situations in a particular way
• Reframing has as its purpose altering the ways in which publics see a set of facts

Common Strategies for Framing and Reframing Understanding

Questions

• A series of questions generate from a perspective
• A speaker conveys the frame through a series of questions as an organizational device: posing questions and then answering them
• Interpreting the strategy requires understanding the perspective that generates the questions

Setting Stasis

• Definition "Stasis": Stasis is the point at which disputes are decided. It identifies the issues that decide dispute
• A speaker using this strategy:
  1. Declares what the key position of the opposition is
  2. Responds to that argument
• The strategy works like questions in setting the frame. The speaker has established a frame for deciding the dispute and placed his/herself at advantage in that frame.
• Analysts must always be cautious of this strategy since the speaker declares the key issues whether those who disagree with the speaker would identify the same issues.

Narratives

• Narratives
  • Determine what events are important
  • Put events into a sequence that gives them greater significance
  • Tie familiar story lines to give certain responses a feeling of appropriateness
• A speaker tells a story that connects the events
• Interpreting the strategy requires understanding the underlying story and how it is constructed with character and plot
  • Character: what the people involved in the story are like
  • Plot: the unfolding of events

Root Metaphors

• In normal language use, words cluster together in frequency and appropriateness of use. Thus, the use of some words in a speech dictate the use of others.

• Some examples
  • War Metaphor: victory, defeat, commitment, sacrifice, heroes, casualties, objectives, troops, commitments, allies, enemy
  • Family Metaphor: father, mother, parent, children, nurture, love, teach, obey.
  • Crime Metaphor: crime, suspect, victim, investigate, charge, probable cause, trial, proof, rights, justice.

Using root metaphors structures how events are understood

• Seeing September 11th in war metaphor causes us to see enemies who are committed to defeat us. We marshall our military troops to go to war with them and defeat them. Those who defend us are heroes and those we lose have sacrificed their lives for us.
• Seeing September 11th as a crime causes us to see law breakers who we must locate and charge through the courts. There is a burden of proof for us to prove that they did the things they are being charged with. They have certain rights within our justice system. Upon conviction we have the right to impose the penalities dictated by law.

Power of Successful Framing

• Successful framing gives significance to facts that come along after the speech
• Successful framing guides the questions we ask about public events after the speech
• Framing ties understanding to patterns of reacting

Exercises

1. List ten or fifteen terms that are part of the root metaphor of "learning."
2. List ten or fifteen terms that are part of the root metaphor of "consumer."
3. Watch an evening news program. Select a story from that news program. Answer the following questions:
   1. What is the underlying narrative(s)?
   2. What facts might be left out as insignificant?
   3. What is the character of the people in the narrative?
   4. What is the plot of the narrative?
   5. What is the proper response?
   6. Are there any root metaphors used here in addition to the narrative?
4. On September 11, 2001, President George Bush said the following from Barksdale Air Force Base, LA:

"I want to reassure the American people that the full resources of the federal government are
working to assist local authorities to save lives and to help the victims of these attacks. Make no
mistake: The United States will hunt down and punish those responsible for these cowardly acts.

I've been in regular contact with the Vice President, the Secretary of Defense, the national
security team and my Cabinet. We have taken all appropriate security precautions to protect
the American people. Our military at home and around the world is on high alert status, and we
have taken the necessary security precautions to continue the functions of your government.

We have been in touch with the leaders of Congress and with world leaders to assure them that
we will do whatever is necessary to protect America and Americans.

I ask the American people to join me in saying a thanks for all the folks who have been fighting
hard to rescue our fellow citizens and to join me in saying a prayer for the victims and their
families.

The resolve of our great nation is being tested. But make no mistake: We will show the world
that we will pass this test. God bless."

Answer the following:

1. Does Bush use a root metaphor here? What one?
2. Generate some more discourse that you would have expected to follow this statement.
3. What are the actions implied by this root metaphor?


5. On September 5, 2001, Tom Brokaw of NBC described the events. Answer the following
   1. Does Brokaw use a root metaphor here? What one?
   2. Generate some more discourse that would have followed the use of this metaphor.
   3. What are the actions implied by this root metaphor?
      
      
6. Group exercise: Generate a message using a consumer metaphor explaining why the University should not increase tuition. Then generate a message using a learning metaphor for the same thing.