Media and claimsmaker framing of controversial environmental issues: A frame mapping analysis of mountaintop removal mining

This study employed frame mapping analysis to explore claimsmaker and media framing of mountaintop removal mining, a controversial coal mining technique practiced in Appalachia. Frame mapping analysis is an objective technique for framing research that conceptualizes frames as independent variables affecting public opinion and policy through a framing cycle. Claimsmaker frames were identified from texts such as press releases and archived material on Web sites. Media framing of the issue was assessed longitudinally from 1985--2004 in newspaper articles. Specific frames and their constituent words were identified through the frequency and co-occurrence of key terms within the text. The associative relationships among the frequency and co-occurrence of these terms allow the frames to be represented in three-dimensional space by plotting eigenvalue coordinates on a graph. Supporters and opponents used very different frames for the issue---a result that stems from their different goals regarding the issue. Opposing claimsmakers had a greater number of frames for the issue than did supporters. Opponents also used more water-related frames than did supporters. Despite a decrease in the number of media frames for the issue between the two time periods analyzed, media framing seemed to become more sophisticated over time. No stakeholder frames were replicated in the media texts, suggesting that resonance has not occurred and that the issue remains in the competition phase of the frame cycle. This study raises and to some extent addresses questions about how to determine whether a particular frame is or is not being repeated in another time period or replicated in another place. It also suggests that intractable issues such as environmental controversies may not follow the same course through the framing cycle as less-contentious issues. This dissertation discusses the theoretical, methodological, and practical implications of frame mapping analysis for claimsmakers, policymakers, journalists and journalism educators.