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What's in a Frame? Media Framing in the 2016 'Brexit' Referendum

Hellman, Mikaela LU (2016) STVM23 20161
Department of Political Science
Abstract
This thesis endeavours to test the predictions of previous research on framing during referenda, by specifically studying the campaign leading up to the June 2016 referendum on whether or not the United Kingdom should remain a member of the European Union. The thesis studies the framing taking place in newspapers during three separate weeks where there were significant shifts in public opinion, to determine whether these shifts were preceded and caused by framing in the news. The results of this study support the previous findings that the mere presence of a frame in the public debate is insufficient for it to be influential, but that the contextual setting rather matters greatly. It also supports the previous studies showing that... (More)
This thesis endeavours to test the predictions of previous research on framing during referenda, by specifically studying the campaign leading up to the June 2016 referendum on whether or not the United Kingdom should remain a member of the European Union. The thesis studies the framing taking place in newspapers during three separate weeks where there were significant shifts in public opinion, to determine whether these shifts were preceded and caused by framing in the news. The results of this study support the previous findings that the mere presence of a frame in the public debate is insufficient for it to be influential, but that the contextual setting rather matters greatly. It also supports the previous studies showing that arguments regarding the economic benefits of EU membership are the strongest frame present in the debate. Additionally, it suggests that fluctuations in which issues the public considers to be salient, potentially due to external factors such as terrorist attacks, may cause different frames to resonate, if only temporarily. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Hellman, Mikaela LU
supervisor
organization
course
STVM23 20161
year
type
H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
subject
keywords
United Kingdom, European Union, Referendum, Framing, Media
language
English
id
8873236
date added to LUP
2016-06-17 12:44:24
date last changed
2016-06-17 12:44:24
@misc{8873236,
  abstract     = {{This thesis endeavours to test the predictions of previous research on framing during referenda, by specifically studying the campaign leading up to the June 2016 referendum on whether or not the United Kingdom should remain a member of the European Union. The thesis studies the framing taking place in newspapers during three separate weeks where there were significant shifts in public opinion, to determine whether these shifts were preceded and caused by framing in the news. The results of this study support the previous findings that the mere presence of a frame in the public debate is insufficient for it to be influential, but that the contextual setting rather matters greatly. It also supports the previous studies showing that arguments regarding the economic benefits of EU membership are the strongest frame present in the debate. Additionally, it suggests that fluctuations in which issues the public considers to be salient, potentially due to external factors such as terrorist attacks, may cause different frames to resonate, if only temporarily.}},
  author       = {{Hellman, Mikaela}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{What's in a Frame? Media Framing in the 2016 'Brexit' Referendum}},
  year         = {{2016}},
}