Framing Use of Force: An Analysis of News Organizations' Social Media Posts About Police Shootings. (June 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Ash, Erin; Xu, Yiwei; Jenkins, Alexandria; Kumanyika, Chenjerai
• Is Part Of: Electronic news. Volume 13:Number 2(2019:Jun.)
• Page Start: 93
• Page End: 107
• Publication Date: 2019-06
• Subjects: framing -- social media -- journalism -- news -- police; Broadcast journalism -- Periodicals; Broadcast journalism -- United States -- Periodicals; 070.43
• DOI: 10.1177/1931243119850239
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1931-2431

Abstract

This research is a systematic investigation of reporting on police use of force incidents by news organizations through social media. A sample of Tweets and Facebook posts appearing on the social media accounts of top news outlets ( N = 500) over the course of a year were analyzed. Rationalizations for use of force, characterizations of police and victims, and contextual framing were examined. Results revealed medium-based differences in challenging police actions as well as demonstrated the limitations of short-form social media in communicating news on complex issues. Implications of these findings for theory and journalistic practice are discussed.