The Hermeneutics of Frames and Framing

Frames are organizing principles that are socially shared andpersistent over time, and that work symbolically to meaningfully structure the socialworld. The study of framing has grown over the past decades as mass media has becomemore and more ubiquitous in society. People rely on media for information and access tolocal, national, and world events. This reliance on the media is important to address asnews stories are essentially narratives and interpretations—By focusing on one aspect ofan event and presenting it to an audience, media outlets construct reality. Thisconstruction operates by making certain aspects of stories more salient than others.This salience then “frames” an event and provides a reference point for viewers in whichall subsequent information is judged upon. This article examines the current literatureon framing and examines what techniques and methodologies are used by past and presentsociologists and media scholars. Particular attention is given to the hermeneutics offrames, that is, how frames and framing influence individuals to interpret events invarious ways