Social Media & Framing News Story Perceptions

Social Media & Framing News Story Perceptions

A recent study conducted by the Pew Research Center found that young adults (18–32) are most likely to get their news from online sources. They tend to draw on a range of different news sites and sources and 22% report that they rely on their social networks for alerts or links to news stories  Purcell et al., 2010). The majority of audience members report that they access news through social 

media and that they have in turn used social media to disseminate news stories. Approximately 25% of online news users report commenting on news content (Purcell et al., 2010).

These personal comments usually appear with the news stories and can serve to provide a ‘‘frame’’

for the story that may influence story reception. In the simplest terms, framing deals with the way tems are presented in the media, rather than what items are presented (McCombs et al., 1997; Scheufele, 1999). Studies concerning framing theory have tended to focus on specific kinds of new items and their presentation via broadcast media or more traditional news sources (Pajnik, 2010; Birkland, 2009). Facebook ‘‘frames’’ or comments, however, can also influence perceptions of story content through interpretation, praise, or ridicule. 

The latter may be of particular importance. As noted earlier, perceived social desirability can influence third-person effects. When message effects are viewed as socially undesirable (pornography, violence, etc.), then third-person effects tend to be greater (see Perloff, 1999). Negatively framing news stories through the inclusion of negative or critical comments could contribute to perceptions of the social undesirability of acknowledging influence and limit people’s willingness to acknowledge message effects. It could also increase third-person effects.