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Constructing Policy Narratives in 140 Characters or Less: The Case of Gun Policy Organizations
Author(s) -
Merry Melissa K.
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
policy studies journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.773
H-Index - 69
eISSN - 1541-0072
pISSN - 0190-292X
DOI - 10.1111/psj.12142
Subject(s) - gun control , framing (construction) , blame , narrative , scholarship , political science , rifle , politics , public relations , public policy , media coverage , construct (python library) , public administration , sociology , media studies , social psychology , engineering , law , psychology , art , literature , mechanical engineering , structural engineering , computer science , programming language
This study examines interest groups’ framing of gun policy issues via an analysis of nearly 10,000 tweets by the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence and the National Rifle Association spanning from 2009 to 2014. Utilizing the Narrative Policy Framework (NPF), I investigate the extent to which interest groups use social media to construct policy narratives. This research shows that much can be conveyed in 140 characters; both gun control and gun rights organizations used Twitter to identify victims, blame “villains,” commend “heroes,” and offer policy solutions. This research sheds light on the politics of gun control by revealing trends over time in groups’ framing and suggests refinements for hypotheses of the NPF. Finally, this work underscores the importance of social media for public policy scholarship.