Framing

As a mass communication theory, framing describes the active process of creating, selecting, and shaping aspects of reality in communicative texts. The results of this dynamic activity are called frames. This entry first examines the ways in which framing has been defined and goes on to trace its theoretical roots in various disciplines and identify the core processes and underlying paradigms in framing. Next, the early works that shaped the field of study are reviewed and subsequent research explored. The entry concludes with a brief discussion of the ways in which scholars have critiqued the concept of framing and argued for new approaches to the field.

To paraphrase a landmark 1993 definition by scholar Robert Entman, frames perform a variety of tasks, such as defining social ...