Baysha, Olga and Hallanhan, Kirk (2004). Media Framing of the Ukrainian Political Crisis, 2000-2001. Journalism Studies, 5(2), 233-246.

Baysha and Hallahan content analyzed 820 news stories from three television channels, one newspaper and one internet site in the Ukraine during the nation’s political upheaval in 2000-2001. They specifically look at the frames, which depict public issues as events that result from actions undertaken by individuals; and thematic frames, which analytically consider the systemic problems underlying public issues. They asked five research questions including: which frames dominated the coverage, how did this coverage vary across media and throughout time, what devices were employed to construct the frames, and how were foreign sources utilized. Baysha and Hallahan argue through a constructionist viewpoint that political struggles are equally physical struggle and struggles over meaning. How journalists depict a political crisis can have serious implications for public opinion about the crisis.

This article defines the concept of framing and how it influences conflict reporting. This definition is important for how conflict is constructed because frames are important indicators of biases in conflict stories. The authors also define how metaphors are used to construct frames in conflict reporting, which is another key concept.

Abstract by Meghan Maskery

Missouri School of Journalism

MA ‘07