Applying the narrative policy framework to the issues surrounding hydraulic fracturing within the news media: A research note

Identifying narratives within the news media is a challenging task. In this research note, we utilize the Narrative Policy Framework (NPF) to identify news media narratives and characters (heroes, victims, villains) on hydraulic fracturing in two local Colorado newspapers. We find the victim is the public and the villain is most often the oil and gas actors. Furthermore, the two newspapers present heroes differently: the conservative newspaper presents oil and gas industry actors as heroes while the liberal newspaper presents environmental organizations as heroes. This research note demonstrates the potential of the NPF to evaluate media reporting of contentious issues.