Strategy and Issue Framing: An Exploratory Analysis of Topics and Frames in Campaign 2004 Print News

This study refines the study of strategy and issue framing in campaign news. A content analysis of Campaign 2004 articles published in the New York Times (N = 267) from Labor Day to election day was conducted. Strategy and issue frames were observed in a topical architecture that included 8 campaign topics grouped into 3 categories: (a) Policy Issues, (b) Politics and Process, and (c) Personality. Also, strategy and issue frames were observed in stories containing metacoverage-stories that blend behaviors, products, and standards of the news media with 1 or more of the 8 campaign topics. As expected, stories that contained a salient Policy Issues topic tended to be issue framed, whereas stories with a salient Politics and Process topic tended to be strategy framed. Stories with a salient Personality topic tended to be issue framed. Metacoverage, salient in 9% of coverage, was most commonly combined with Personality topics in stories that were mainly issue framed. Implications for the study of framing in political communication are discussed.