Written Communication Jan 2002

Representing Gun Owners: Frame Identification as Social Responsibility in News Media Discourse

Douglas Downs University of Utah

Abstract

Critical discourse analysis of a 75,000-word corpus of newspaper articles, editorials, and letters to the editor reveals the presence of a cosmopolitan worldview-frame and its effects on representations of gun owners in the United States. This cosmopolitan worldview, which includes cultural frames of reliance on others, specialization, risk avoidance, and government responsibility for risk reduction, results in the marginalization of gun owners and the silencing of frames and information that would counter it. This study demonstrates that the frames news media adopt in covering contentious social issues can not only silence participants in public debate but hamper efforts to find common ground on those issues. Socially responsible news media should instead explore and report on the variety of frames in play regarding a range of social issues in an effort to educate their audiences and, in so doing, promote public debate.

Journal
Written Communication
Published
2002-01-01
DOI
10.1177/074108830201900103
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Open Access
Closed
Topics
discourse analysis argument public rhetoric editorial matter
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Citation Context

Cited by in this index (3)

  1. Campeau (2023)
    Who’s a Vaccine Skeptic? Framing Vaccine Hesitancy in Post-Covid News Coverage
    Written Communication
  2. Faber (2003)
    Creating Rhetorical Stability in Corporate University Discourse: Discourse Tech…
    Written Communication
  3. Shelby et al. (2003)
    Writing in Noninterpersonal Settings: Rhetorical Choices by Nonprofessional Wri…
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication

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CrossRef global citation count: 25 View in citation network → Build reading path →

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