In media analysis, framing is a modern term for the conscious or unconscious way that media workers decide what to include or omit from a news story, and also how to construct that story. Media professionals usually have to work to rigid deadlines, and this limits the amount of time they have to construct a news story around the day’s events. This means they have to analyse and process the information they receive in a very short time, and frames offer a quick and convenient way to package news information that will be understandable to the audience. Stephen D. Reese recently suggested a working definition of framing, influenced by definitions from those who have used framing in their research; most of whom are also included in this study. Reese considered that: ‘Frames are organising principles that are socially shared and persistent over time, that work symbolically to meaningfully structure the social world.’[1]

[1] S. D. Reese., Prologue – Framing Public Life: A Bridging Model for Media Research, in S.D. Reese., O.H. Gandy., and A.E. Grant., Framing Public Life: Perspectives on Media and Our Understanding of the Social World, (Mahwah, New Jersey and London: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2001), pp. 7-31, p. 11.