Booms, Bailouts, and Blame

This study examines the framing of economic news in national television newscasts during the height of the economic crisis of 2008. Specifically, the authors examine the manner in which the broadcast media presented the question of who is responsible for causing and fixing the problem. Agents responsible for causing or solving the economic crisis include government, businesses, individuals, and foreign entities. Other variables studied include the volume and scope of economic news coverage and source attribution. A content analysis of 357 broadcast news transcripts revealed that corporations were most commonly presented as causing the economic news being reported while government was most commonly framed as able to provide a solution to the economic news being reported. Implications of these findings in the context of the media’s tapping into public outrage toward corporations are discussed.