Frame-Rich, Frame-Poor: An Investigation of the Contingent Effects of Media Frame Diversity and Individual Differences on Audience Frame Diversity

Abstract

An audience’s interpretation of news is considered to involve the input of news frames and audience predispositions. This study proposes that media frame diversity and individual-level factors may both condition audience issue cognitions. Using two public issues in Taiwan that vary in news frame diversity and data from a sample survey, this study compares media and audience frames and examines factors that condition audience framing. Results show that media frame diversity corresponds to audience frame diversity at the aggregate level. Audience frames are more diverse in the more diverse news context, but are less diverse in the more uniform news context. Individual differences also affect audience framing. Education appears to be a strong predictor to audience frame diversity as more education increases audience frame diversity in both issue contexts. Other individual variables show differential effects on audience framing across the two issues. Overall, the findings suggest that, while effects of individual-level factors on broadening audience perspectives may vary with issues, diverse media frames may help to cultivate a more reflexive citizenry. Framing is a seminal concept that describes the interpretative activities on both the message encoding and decoding sides. Researchers have suggested that audience framing is a product of the information integration process that combines input from news discourses and the audience’s existing predispositions (Pan & Kosicki, 1993; Price & Tewksbury, 1997). Empirical studies on this topic have in general shown that individual-level factors and specific news frames can affect how audience members come to understand news issues (Iyengar, 1991; Haider-Markel & Joslyn, 2001; Valentino, Beckmann, & Buhr,