| In 2006, millions of immigrants protested in cities around the nation against H.R. 4437, a new bill in Congress that, minoring California legislation from over a decade earlier, threatened to treat undocumented immigrants as felons. News coverage of this event, along with the California bill, Proposition 187, was analyzed and journalists were interviewed to gain insight into potential differences between news outlets. The purpose of this dissertation was to examine how frames are transmitted through newspapers. More specifically, I wanted to determine which was the best predictor for the transmission of frames: the inter-media agenda setting approach or geo-ethnic context? An inter-media agenda setting approach predicts that frames are established by larger, elite daily newspapers and passed down to smaller daily newspapers. Geo-ethnic context predicts that the unique ethnic compositions of different locations would affect how stories are told in those areas, with some research even suggesting that certain types of stories might resonate more in certain areas. A content analysis of news content and in-depth interviews revealed that how a newspaper covered the pieces of restrictionist immigration legislation varied when the influence of race, both in the community and in the newsroom, was taken into account. Geography also demonstrated differences in how H.R. 4437 and Proposition 187 were framed in the newspapers which, in tandem with the racial influence, supports the role that geo-ethnic context appears to play in the framing process. Meanwhile, analyses of inter-media agenda setting showed no pattern between how larger, elite newspapers framed an issue when compared with smaller newspapers. Interviews with the journalists showed that most viewed immigration as a statewide, not a local issue, and also felt race did not play a role in news coverage. These results suggest that geo-ethnic context should be taken into account when trying to understand how an issue is framed, particularly when trying to explain and predict why and when frames might occur. |
