Wood Frames: Framing the Forests in British Columbia

Abstract

Much research into social movement framing activity has been based on qualitative case-study analysis of specific movements. These analyses are limited in that are they unable to systematically track any long-term relationships that might exist among a variety of social movement framing strategies. A series of hypotheses were developed that deal with the frequency and prevalence of environmental activists framing tactics over time, which include the frame alignment processes of transformation and amplification, as well as core framing activities of diagnosis, prognosis, and motivation. A quantitative content analysis of news media stories about the protection of temperate rainforests in British Columbia, Canada, over a seven-year period was conducted to test the hypotheses. Findings show that amplification frames are more prevalent than transformation frames, and diagnostic frames are more prevalent than prognostic or motivational frames. In the discussion, several areas for future quantitative research into social movement framing are suggested.