Framing

Definition

Framing is selecting some aspects of a perceived reality and making them more prominent in a communication so as to promote a particular definition of the problem, its cause, a moral judgement or a remedy. The same facts can be framed differently, which changes how they are understood.

In plain terms

Every account leaves things out and puts things first, so no presentation is frame-free. Frames work through emphasis, word choice, examples and metaphors. Studying them means asking what the presentation makes the reader pay attention to, and what it leaves in the background.

A related but separate idea comes from the psychology of decisions: people choose differently when the same options are described as gains or as losses. In the classic experiment, most people took the sure option when outcomes were described as lives saved and most took the gamble when the identical outcomes were described as lives lost.

Example

One fact, two headlines (synthetic): the jobless rate moved from 5.0% to 4.9%.

Both are accurate. A reader of only one comes away with a different impression, and a monitoring system that counts both as “coverage of unemployment” would not notice the difference.

Common misunderstandings

• “Framing is just a polite word for bias or lying.” Frames can be accurate; the point is that emphasis shapes understanding.
• “A neutral, frame-free account exists.” Choosing what to include is already framing; the aim is to be aware of it.
• “Only journalists frame.” Sources, politicians, companies and analysts do too, including whoever writes a dashboard title.