News Literacy and Framing Across Media

According to Ashley et al. (2022), news literacy is the "knowledge of the personal and social processes by which news is produced, distributed, and consumed, and skills that allow users some control over these processes" (Ashley et al., 2022, p. 1593). Skills and knowledge builds off of the audience's ability to have control over the news they consume, or media locus of control. For scholarly application, news literacy is conceptualized across five key domains (the 5 Cs), which collectively address the knowledge and skills related to news production, distribution and consumption, as well as the role of news in society.

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The Five C's Framework

Understanding how to navigate today's complex news landscape requires more than just routine fact checking; it demands knowledge and skills known as news literacy. To provide a clear outline for research and evaluation, news literacy is conceptualized across five domains, which function as a framework for understanding the processes of the news.

Context

Context refers to the social, legal and economic environment that shapes how news is produced, including organizational structures and societal standards.

Creation

Creation explores how journalists conceive, report and create news, focusing on individual decisions and journalistic values.

Content

Content is the qualitative characteristics of a news story that sets it apart from other forms of media content, including evidence.

Circulation

Circulation is the process of distribution of news among audiences driven by decision-making or algorithms.

Consumption

Consumption refers to the personal factors that influence news exposure, attention and evaluation.

Framing in News Media

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News Literacy recognizes that framing is a crucial component of how we consume information. According to Aruguete and Calvo (2018), "framing entails selecting and highlighting some facets of events or issues, and making connections among them so as to promote a particular interpretation, evaluation, and/or solution" (Aruguete & Calvo, 2018, p. 483). The words and images used to frame a news story are distinguishable from other news content because of their ability to stimulate support or opposition.

Framing in the news is often used to generate political divide, and partisan support or opposition. According to Borden and Zhang (2023), media framing selectively influences certain aspects of a story using targeted language and biased narratives to influence public perception on a specific political issue. In regards to social media, users often frame political events through selective sharing of news content that is congruent with their own beliefs ((Aruguete & Calvo, 2018). News literacy skills are needed to manage the consumption of these frames.

According to Ashley et al., a core element of news literacy knowledge is identifying dominant frames (like episodic or thematic frames) used in a news story to distinguish it from other forms of content. In relation to consumption, media effects, such as those predicted by framing theory, can influence attitudes towards hot issues and political figures in a news story. News literacy involves recognizing that personal biases and predispositions influence how we evaluate news and what choices we make when picking a news source (Ashley et al., 2022).

News literacy is necessary for understanding not only how news is created, circulated and consumed, but also how framing shapes public perception and political discourse. By applying the Five C's framework, individuals can critically evaluate news content and recognize the influence of framing and personal biases on the media they consume. News literacy equips audiences with the knowledge and skills necessary to navigate today’s media landscape with more awareness and control.

References

Aruguete N. and Calvo E. (2018). Time to #protest: Selective exposure, cascading activation, and framing in social media. Journal of Communication 68(3): 480–502. doi:10.1093/joc/jqy007

Ashley, S., Craft, S., Maksl, A., Tully, M. & Vraga, E. K. (2022). Defining and conceptualizing News Literacy. Journalism 23(8) 1589–1606. DOI: 10.1177/14648849211005888

Borden, J. & Zhang, X. (2023). Linguistic Inference Framing: A Linguistic Category Approach to Framing Crisis. Mass Communication and Society. DOI:10.1080/15205436.2023.2197884