Media Framing in the Digital Age: A Narrative Review of Sociopolitical and Cultural Impacts
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.61978/communica.v3i3.653Keywords:
Media Framing, Public Perception, Digital Misinformation, Communication Strategy, Framing Theory, Crisis Communication, Media LiteracyAbstract
This narrative review analyzes how media framing in both news outlets and digital platforms shapes public perception across sociopolitical and cultural contexts. Drawing on framing theory as the conceptual foundation, this study systematically reviewed 72 peer-reviewed articles published between 2018 and 2023, retrieved from Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar using Boolean operators and targeted keywords such as “media framing,” “public opinion,” “misinformation,” and “crisis communication.” The review identified three dominant themes: (1) the direct influence of framing on individual attitudes and behaviors, (2) cross-cultural variations in framing reception and impact, and (3) the systemic role of media in shaping policy discourses and institutional trust. The analysis demonstrates that linguistic strategies such as metaphors and emotional cues significantly alter public interpretation and engagement, with implications for both democratic processes and health communication. Unlike previous reviews, this study emphasizes cross-regional comparisons, particularly in developing countries, and highlights long-term behavioral implications often overlooked in prior research. The findings suggest that media framing holds transformative power, underscoring the need for ethical attention from practitioners and strategic policymaking. Strengthening media literacy programs and integrating cross-cultural perspectives are crucial steps to mitigate risks and leverage framing’s potential for social good.
References
Ash, E., Xu, Y., Jenkins, A., & Kumanyika, C. (2019). Framing use of force: An analysis of news organizations’ social media posts about police shootings. Electronic News, 13(2), 93–107. https://doi.org/10.1177/1931243119850239
Boukes, M., Boomgaarden, H., Moorman, M., & Vreese, C. (2014). Political news with a personal touch. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, 92(1), 121–141. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077699014558554
Campos‐Castillo, C., & Shuster, S. (2021). So what if they’re lying to us? Comparing rhetorical strategies for discrediting sources of disinformation and misinformation using an affect-based credibility rating. American Behavioral Scientist, 67(2), 201–223. https://doi.org/10.1177/00027642211066058
Choi, S., Zhang, J., & Jin, Y. (2023). The effects of threat type and gain–loss framing on publics’ responses to strategic environmental risk communication. Corporate Communications: An International Journal, 28(3), 363–380. https://doi.org/10.1108/ccij-09-2022-0109
Corbu, N., Buturoiu, R., & Durach, F. (2017). Framing the refugee crisis in online media: A Romanian perspective. Romanian Journal of Communication and Public Relations, 19(2), 5–18. https://doi.org/10.21018/rjcpr.2017.2.234
Dickson, B. (2023). Reconstruction and resilience in Rwandan education programming: A news media review. Journal of Peacebuilding & Development, 18(2), 177–194. https://doi.org/10.1177/15423166231179235
Duffy, A., Prahl, A., & Yan-Hui, A. (2020). The inexorable rise of the robots: Trade journals’ framing of machinery in the workplace. Journalism, 23(2), 409–426. https://doi.org/10.1177/1464884920969078
Emelu, M. (2023). The U.S. cable televisions' framing of mass shooting: A grounded discovery of competing narratives. Frontiers in Communication, 8. https://doi.org/10.3389/fcomm.2023.1174946
Gollust, S., Fowler, E., & Niederdeppe, J. (2019). Television news coverage of public health issues and implications for public health policy and practice. Annual Review of Public Health, 40(1), 167–185. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-publhealth-040218-044017
Graeff, E., Stempeck, M., & Zuckerman, E. (2014). The battle for ‘Trayvon Martin’: Mapping a media controversy online and off-line. First Monday. https://doi.org/10.5210/fm.v19i2.4947
He, Y., Zhang, G., & Chen, L. (2020). Analysis of news coverage of haze in China in the context of sustainable development: The case of China Daily. Sustainability, 12(1), 386. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12010386
Høeg, E., & Tulloch, C. (2018). Sinking strangers: Media representations of climate refugees on the BBC and Al Jazeera. Journal of Communication Inquiry, 43(3), 225–248. https://doi.org/10.1177/0196859918809486
Johnson, R., Romney, M., Hull, K., & Pegoraro, A. (2020). Shared space: How North American Olympic broadcasters framed gender on Instagram. Communication & Sport, 10(1), 6–29. https://doi.org/10.1177/2167479520932896
Kanaker, O., Abughazlih, M., & Kasmani, M. (2020). Media framing of minorities’ crisis: A study on Aljazeera and BBC news coverage of the Rohingya. Jurnal Komunikasi Malaysian Journal of Communication, 36(2), 1–16. https://doi.org/10.17576/jkmjc-2020-3602-01
Kessler, S., & Guenther, L. (2017). Eyes on the frame. Internet Research, 27(2), 303–320. https://doi.org/10.1108/intr-01-2016-0015
Li, M. (2017). Staging a social drama: Ritualized framing of the Spring Festival homecoming in Chinese state media. Journalism, 19(9–10), 1417–1434. https://doi.org/10.1177/1464884917704090
Luporini, A. (2021). Metaphor, nominalization, appraisal: Analyzing coronavirus-related headlines and subheadings in China Daily and The Wall Street Journal. GEMA Online Journal of Language Studies, 21(1), 253–273. https://doi.org/10.17576/gema-2021-2101-15
Mohammadi, E., Tahamtan, I., Mansourian, Y., & Overton, H. (2022). Identifying frames of the COVID-19 infodemic: Thematic analysis of misinformation stories across media. JMIR Infodemiology, 2(1), e33827. https://doi.org/10.2196/33827
Mowri, S., & Bailey, A. (2022). Framing safety of women in public transport: A media discourse analysis of sexual harassment cases in Bangladesh. Media Culture & Society, 45(2), 266–284. https://doi.org/10.1177/01634437221111913
Owusu‐Addo, E., Renzaho, A., & Smith, B. (2018). Cash transfers and the social determinants of health: Towards an initial realist program theory. Evaluation, 25(2), 224–244. https://doi.org/10.1177/1356389018814868
Quintana, J., Osuna-Acedo, S., & Lazo, C. (2021). La construcción de las noticias en «el caso de Julen»: Un estudio comparativo de la cobertura mediática. Anàlisi, 65, 49–66. https://doi.org/10.5565/rev/analisi.3358
Rossmann, C., Meyer, L., & Schulz, P. (2017). The mediated amplification of a crisis: Communicating the A/H1N1 pandemic in press releases and press coverage in Europe. Risk Analysis, 38(2), 357–375. https://doi.org/10.1111/risa.12841
Schwarz, A., & Diers‐Lawson, A. (2024). Mediated crises and strategic crisis communication of third sector organizations: A content analysis of crisis reporting in six countries. Corporate Communications: An International Journal, 29(4), 567–591. https://doi.org/10.1108/ccij-08-2023-0117
Semykina, K. (2019). The media’s construction of LGBT pride parades in Russia. The Journal of Social Policy Studies, 17(2), 281–292. https://doi.org/10.17323/727-0634-2019-17-2-281-292
Shehata, A., Andersson, D., Glogger, I., Hopmann, D., Andersen, K., Kruikemeier, S., … & Johansson, J. (2021). Conceptualizing long-term media effects on societal beliefs. Annals of the International Communication Association, 45(1), 75–93. https://doi.org/10.1080/23808985.2021.1921610
Thắng, P., & Trang, T. (2022). Using media to influence consumer attitudes to domestic goods in Vietnam by framing public interest: A media framing effect analysis. SAGE Open, 12(4). https://doi.org/10.1177/21582440221138247
Tryggvason, P., & Shehata, A. (2024). Success or failure? News framing of the COP26 Glasgow Summit and its effects on citizens’ beliefs about climate change. The International Journal of Press/Politics, 29(3), 689–709. https://doi.org/10.1177/19401612231218426
Valenzuela, S., Bachmann, I., Lawrence, R., & Zúñiga, H. (2023). Politics and media in Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly: A centennial research retrospective. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, 100(4), 808–825. https://doi.org/10.1177/10776990231203542
Yang, H., & Gorp, B. (2018). Framing the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank: A qualitative analysis of the political debate and media coverage on a China-led multilateral institution. The Pacific Review, 32(4), 603–634. https://doi.org/10.1080/09512748.2018.1512647
Yin, J. (2022). Media data and vaccine hesitancy: Scoping review. JMIR Infodemiology, 2(2), e37300. https://doi.org/10.2196/37300
Yousaf, M., Raza, S., Mahmood, N., Core, R., Zaman, U., & Malik, A. (2022). Immunity debt or vaccination crisis? A multi-method evidence on vaccine acceptance and media framing for emerging COVID-19 variants. Vaccine, 40(12), 1855–1863. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vaccine.2022.01.055
Zinn, J. (2021). Introduction: Towards a sociology of pandemics. Current Sociology, 69(4), 435–452. https://doi.org/10.1177/00113921211020771
Zulli, D., Coe, K., Isaacs, Z., & Summers, I. (2021). Media coverage of the unfolding crisis of domestic terrorism in the United States, 1990–2020. Public Relations Inquiry, 10(3), 357–375. https://doi.org/10.1177/2046147x21996015
