Gunning for Page One: The Gun Control Debate and Social Movement Organization
Tactics in Garnering Media Coverage
THESIS
Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University
By
Trent T. Steidley, B.S.
Graduate Program in Sociology
The Ohio State University
2012
Master's Examination Committee:
Andrew W. Martin, Advisor
Cynthia G. Colen
Vincent Roscigno
Copyrighted by
Trent T. Steidley
2012
Abstract
Do social movements have any influence in how they are portrayed in media coverage?
While social movement scholars have long recognized the importance of media coverage in social movement mobilization, recent research has lacked systematic analysis of how social movements attempt to interact with media agents via tactical frames which generate media resonance. Using the gun control debate in the United States as a case study and the employment of mixed methods, this article explores how social movement organizations garner media attention. Press releases from the National Rifle Association and the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence are used to identify collective action frames issued by both groups. Content analysis of media coverage is then employed to assess the effectiveness of achieving media coverage and communicating frames.
Findings indicate that social movement organizations employ frames and packages in a tactical manner. Despite the tactical use of movement frames, the coverage of these respect groups is influenced by prevalent biases in media coverage rather than the individual efforts of an organization to frame its presence in the media. Considerations are raised for how social movements might, or might not, benefit from attempts to interact with media organizations.
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Acknowledgments
This work is the result of not just my labor but also from the support of my family, friends, and academic advisors. My wife Brandi has taken all my antics during this process in stride while supporting my academic pursuits. She is undoubtedly the best friend anyone could ask for.
My thesis committee deserves credit for pushing me not only in the production of this paper, but also in my intellectual growth. Dr. Martin tasked me with a literature that I was unfamiliar with, but has instilled in me a curiosity about organizations and social movements that I did not know I had. Dr. Colen provided not only her invaluable knowledge regarding quantitative methods, but also shared helpful wisdom about this endeavor we call graduate school. Dr. Roscigno taught me how to become a better scholar as well as a better writer. These scholars are responsible for the strengths of the paper, and any shortcomings are not their responsibility.
Multiple colleagues also deserve thanks. Lisa Nielson, Lindsey Ibanez, Martin Kosla,
Matt Schoene, Jill Yavorksy, and many others from The Ohio State Sociology
Department are worthy of thanks. Truly, without the opportunity to discuss, opine, and vent with these sharp minds, this paper would not be the same.
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Vita
May 2006 ...... Foyil Pubicl High School
2010...... B.A. Sociology, Oklahoma State University
2010-2011 ...... Dean's Graduate Enrichment Fellowship,
The Ohio State University
Fall 2011 to present ...... Graduate Teaching Associate, Department of
Sociology, The Ohio State University
Fields of Study
Major Field: Sociology
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Table of Contents
Abstract ...... i
Acknowledgments...... ii
Vita ...... iii
List of Tables ...... v
Chapter 1: Introduction ...... 1
Chapter 2: Understanding Media Coverage as a Social Movement Resource ...... 5
Chapter 3: Collective Action Framing and Media ...... 10
Beyond Core Tasks ...... 12
The Brady Campaign and The National Rifle Association ...... 16
Chapter 4: Data and Analytic Strategy ...... 23
Data Collection ...... 23
Analytic Strategy ...... 34
Chapter 5: Findings ...... 36
Qualitative Inferences of the NRA and Brady Campaign Press Releases ...... 36
Understanding Tactical Implication of Press Releases Frames and Packages ...... 45
Press Releases’ Assocaiton with Media Coverage of SMOs ...... 50 iv
Press Releases’ Association with Framing in Media Coverage ...... 57
Chapter 6: Discussion and Conclusion ...... 61
References ...... 66
v
List of Tables
Table 1. Frequency of Frames and Pacakges in SMO Press Releases and NYT Coverage of Gun Control Debate ...... 26
Table 2. Summary Statisitcs for Weekly Counts ...... 32
Table 3. Pairwise Correlations of NRA and Brady Camp. Frames and Packages in Press
Releases...... 46
Table 4. Row Percentages of SMO Press Releases and Quotes in the NYT Occuring in the Same Week ...... 51
Table 5. Zero Inflated Negative Binomial Regression Coefficents Predicting NYT
Coverage of the NRA and Brady Camp ...... 54
Table 6. Weekly Core Frame Task Occurrence in the NYT Predicted by Weekly Press
Release Package Occurences ...... 58
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Chapter 1: Introduction
Social movement scholars have long recognized media coverage as a crucial resource in movement success (Lipsky 1968; Gamson et al. 1992; Gans 1979). Likewise, the concept of collective action framing has been an integral concept in understanding how movements generate movement mobilization (Benford and Snow 2000). While research has focused on these two separate processes, assessing the linkage between collective action framing and media coverage is an area of research ripe for exploration.
In is paper, I explore the process of how collective action framing itself may facilitate media coverage of specific social movements. To that end, the question explored here is whether social movement organizations (SMOs), can use framing in a strategic manner that either generates new media coverage of an SMO or shapes the media discourse around the SMO.
Frames here are understood as products crafted from internal social movement cultures. From their internal cultures, an SMO creates messages to interpret reality for sympathizers and mobilize potential supporters (Snow et al. 1986). By employing a frame a social movement seeks to strike a resonance of shared understanding with the broader culture of a society. The intentional use of frames in such a way that garners support in the broader public can be understood as a tactic in a SMOs repertoire of mobilization strategy (Davis et al. 2005; McAdam 1983; McAdam, Tarrow, and Tilly 2001). The
1 media can play an important role here for the SMO, by picking up on a SMO’s frames and broadcasting them into the public sphere. Media coverage of SMOs and their frames can facilitate framing resonance with broader audiences, potential sympathizers, and current supporters. The tactical use of frames in attempts to generate media resonance is one that can be seen as comparable to other tactics, such as protests (Taylor et al. 2009;
Rohlinger 2002).
Building on the work of McAdam, Tarrow, and Tilly (2001), frames here are argued to be wielded by SMOs to generate resonance with media actors so either 1) more media coverage of a social movement is attracted, or 2) SMOs are able to influence what frames enter media coverage. Additionally, I recognize effects that the processes of modularity and neo-institutionalism may play in the strategic use of frames. SMOs are seen as bound by internal social movement cultures and isomorphic processes, which limit the range of freedom that SMOs enjoy with tactical framing. While social movements research is quite familiar with the concept of collective action framing, it has not been used to explain patterns of social movement media coverage. Through this understanding of collective action frame, I test the viability of SMO tactical framing to influence media coverage using SMO press releases and subsequent newspaper coverage of these SMOs.
The gun control debate is employed as a case study of this question, similar to previous research on the abortion debate (Ferree 2002; Rohlinger 2002). To assess if
SMOs are able to garner or influence media coverage, I examine press releases from the
National Rifle Association (NRA) and the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence
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(Brady Camp) and subsequent coverage of these SMOs in the New York Times (NYT).
Consistent with Johnston and Noakes’s (2005) outline for framing analysis, I first identified the cultural arguments and frames of the NRA and Brady Camp press releases.
Next, I analyzed media coverage of the organizations to assess whether or not those frames garnered coverage in the NYT. NRA and Brady Camp press releases from
January 1st 2000 to June 29th 2011 were coded for both the presence of core frames, packages of framing arguments, and discussion of major touching points in the gun control debate. New York Times articles covering these two SMOs in the same time period were collected, while those articles falling within a year of crucial touching points
(identified later) in the gun control debate in the same time period as the were coded for presence of frames from earlier press releases. In all 1,053 press releases from the Brady
Camp and 386 press releases from the NRA were qualitatively read for inductive identification of core frame tasks and framing packages. These data contributed to the coding scheme of 235 NYT articles covering the NRA and/or Brady campaign.
The conceptualization of framing to garner media coverage builds on Benford and
Snow’s identification of core framing tasks (2000). The idea of packages being used to deliver these frames emulates Rohlinger’s conceptualization of packages as a set of ideas related to frames that “represent an explicit attempt to respond to oppositional activity and the larger political environment” (2002:480). Findings show that both the NRA and the Brady Camp have unique packages that deliver core frames, neo-institutional processes and modularity create packages that are shared by both organizations (Tilly
1993). Via the concept of collective action framing, I argue that SMO press releases are
3 subsequently crafted to strategically employ these frames within a framing package.
These press releases are then seen as influencing media coverage in a way that either draws media attention on the SMO or promotes their desired frames into the public sphere.
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Chapter 2: Understanding Media Coverage as a Social Movement Resource
Lipsky’s (1968) seminal work found that SMOs focus attention on media coverage in achieving social movement success. This research illustrated that media energizes support among movement insiders and builds new recruits to a movement.
Media coverage of social movement events also reaches the broader public which may not be aware of the movement’s grievances or agenda (Jenkins and Perrow 1977;
Gamson and Modigliani 1989; McAdam 1983). Consequently, social movement researchers have sought to examine the processes by which SMOs engage the media to understand how movements can acquire this mobilization resource (Andrews and Caren
2010; Ferree 2002; Ryan 1991).
Since the early recognition of media coverage as a social movement resource, social movement scholars have examined what patterns exist in media coverage of
SMOs. The fruits of these efforts have revealed several biases that exist in media coverage of SMOs. One bias is the media attention cycle, which can bring more recent news making events into the media limelight. McCarthy, McPhail, and Smith (1996) found that movement events perceived by the media as more salient and recent received more coverage than events that were not perceived as such. Amenta et al.(2009) likewise, found that events related to the issues of SMOs impact the relevance of these groups to the media and results in increased news coverage. Ferree and colleagues found that
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SMOs who are associated with contentious, emotional, and politically divisive issues garner more attention in the media than SMOs which are not (Ferree et al. 2002). Yet, the most consistent and powerful factor that has been associated with media coverage of
SMOs is the production of violent protests and visible counter protests (Earl et al. 2004;
McCarthy et al. 1996; Oliver and Maney 2000). These patterns of bias often guided SMO strategies for garnering media attention.
However, in western democracies, institutionalization of protest results in a reduction of the newsworthiness of protest activities (Meyer and Tarrow 1998). Indeed,
SMOs have been seen engaging the media in novel ways so that movement messages and grievances might reach the public sphere (Oliver and Maney 2000). SMO attributes also play a role as Andrews and Caren (2010) found that older, larger, and more organized
SMOs tend to achieve significantly more coverage in the media than smaller younger, and disorganized organizations. Consequently SMOs have moved to exploit media- specific engagement tactics, like press releases, which obviously favor larger, well financed SMOs but also allow resource poor SMOs opportunities to gain media coverage by improving their image in the eye of media agents (Andrews and Caren 2010; Barker-
Plummer 2002; Levin 2002; Rohlinger 2002; Wolfsfeld 1984).
SMO press releases have been highlighted as promising documents to expand knowledge of how social movements engage with the media outside of protest and insurgent action (Barker-Plummer 2002; Levin 2002; Martin 2010; Rohlinger 2002;
Wolfsfeld 1984). Press releases convey concise messages that are designed to be picked up and published by journalists, exploiting the known process of journalists to minimize
6 time in research and interpretation of events (Gans 1979). Martin (2010) found that press releases indeed appear more often when media coverage of an SMO increases. It is here, with the positive relationship between of press releases and media coverage, that press releases can be understood as a SMO mechanism to either generate media coverage or shape media framing of SMO issues. Through the use of collective action frames, SMOs utilize press releases to appeal to media agents in a manner that allows the proliferation of SMO frames in media coverage of SMO events and issues.
Here press releases are conceptualized as culturally crafted products, meant to translate the frames originating within a SMO’s internal culture into media discourse.
This process parallels Isaacs’s conceptualization of the labor problem novel, where he describes the novel as a literature product used by labor activists to frame and shape labor discourse in late 1800’s America (Isaac 2009). Rather than having a product meant for public use, however, press releases are meant to appeal to journalists. I posit that previous literature on the norms of journalism (discussed later) allows us to understand how press releases obtain coverage in the media, with older and larger groups obtaining more coverage and credibility in the eye of journalists and reporters relying on these sources for original content.
In order to explore processes by which SMOs can achieve media coverage, it is important to understand processes of media coverage and how they impact the concept of coverage as a social movement resource. Tuchman and Gans separately pioneered sociological research of American news media and the processes. These efforts found that journalists follow relatively simple heuristics to determine what is newsworthy. Both
7 researchers offered conclusions that journalists tend to produce stories that will have a wide audience and come from sources that a journalist perceives are trustworthy
(Tuchman 1972; Gans 1979). While Tuchman focused more on how journalists strive to achieve objectivity in their work, Gans work examines organizational patterns and norms of news journalists to determine what stories are newsworthy. Gans also found that journalists tend to rely on simple interpretations of events covered, sometimes relying on the sources they interviewed for their interpretations of events so as to avoid time consuming research. Tuchman (1972) shows that the concept of the direct quote in a news story offers an interesting indicator of this phenomena. As journalists rely on movement actors to convey messages, they allow the actors to convey the preferred messages and interpretations of reality seen in the movement.
These studies illustrate that journalists, strapped for time and searching for the next big scoop, can often be counted on to convey messages from sources perceived as trustworthy. These messages may contain interpretations of events that originate from the trusted sources, especially if a journalist cannot devote time and effort to research that would lead them to their own interpretations. Charlotte Ryan’s subsequent work (1991) with grassroots activists and her own research supports the understanding of media coverage processes as outlined above. Ryan's work illustrates how activists can utilize these processes to their advantage in conveying preferred messages and gaining media attention. With journalists facing increased pressure to meet deadlines and publish newsworthy stories that have interpretations of events that make sense, the construction of stories “ready-to-print” by SMOs in press releases maximizes the likelihood that a
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SMO’s message will enter into media coverage and the public sphere. Tuchman's (1972) earlier work offers an interesting measure how successful these efforts maybe in the concept of the direct quote in a news story. So while media coverage of a an SMO is understood as an important resource for movement mobilization, and press releases can be seen as SMO attempts to engage the media for coverage, an explanation remains for how press releases would be effective tools for SMOs. In the following sections, I outline how collective action frames and neo-institutional processes allow for an understanding of the relationship between SMOs and the media and how this relationship impacts the use of press releases.
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Chapter 3: Collective Action Framing and Media
Snow and colleagues (1986) seminal work on collective action framing laid the groundwork for contemporary social movement scholars in illustrating the fundamentals of framing processes in social movements. Building on Goffman’s (1974) more psychological concept of cognitive framing, these authors propose a novel means of explaining movement mobilization that diverged from earlier social movement theories by emphasizing the role of grievance identification and movement identity construction/maintenance. Frames provide basic understandings to complex issues, and the means by which movement actors communicated messages of grievance and retribution. These heuristics are understood to operate in a frame alignment process and explain how social movements operate on a cultural level in order to recruit participants, identify areas of potential mobilization, and to express their messages of grievance to sympathizers and the inquisitive (Snow et al. 1986) .
Collective action frames generate mobilization resources through the three core tasks that they achieve. First, they must identify a grievance of a social movement
(diagnostic framing), offer explanations for and solutions to said grievances (prognostic framing), and finally, motivate allies and sympathizers to act upon the proscribed solutions (motivational framing) (Benford and Snow 2000). The creation of these frames, however is determinate upon the culture of a social movement. Taylor and
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Whittier (1995) found that social movements produce an internal culture based upon emergent values and norms, collective identity, ritual, and discourse with countermovements. Taylor and Van Dyke's (2004) later review of culture and tactics in social movements highlights that these internal movement cultures constrain the options of movements to wield tactic and frames. The creation of internal cultures and symbols for frame creation are essential social movement laws that all movements follow (Taylor and Van Dyke 2004). For example the NRA's identification of the right to bear arms is undoubtedly an internally shared cultural artifact of the SMO that influences the collective action frames utilized by the SMO. From this single cultural idea, entire frameworks of understanding and logical arguments emerge to facilitate the movement.
Symbols that resonate with the internal culture emerge as well, the icon of a the
American Minute Men toppling the tyranny of the English Empire (only possible because of this understood right) is one example of such a symbol. This resonance of internal culture understandings is determinate of the subsequent selection and success of frames and tactics that this or any other social movement use.
Through framing it is clear that social movements, including their agents and organizations, are not pluralistic entities in political and social engagements. Rather, they are cultural agents who create symbols and cultural items that are intended to initiate change. The process of frame creation must begin within a social movement, drawing on its internal culture. Once created, frames can be translated into a broader appeal that seeks to prescribe collective action.
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In the context of media coverage, Gamson and Modigliani (1989) similarly argued that a frame is cognitive and cultural concept that serves to “offer a number of different condensing symbols that suggest the core frame and positions in shorthand, making it possible to display the package as a whole from a deft metaphor, catchphrase, or other symbolic devise” (p.3). This understanding of framing fits well with Swidler’s
(1986) concept of culture as a toolkit. Frames provide excellent examples of how the toolkit metaphor worked in a concrete way, because social movements relied on shared cultural meanings to generate resonance and alignment. Later work by Roscigno and
Danaher (2001) illustrate such a phenomena in their work depicting the mobilization of southern textile mill workers as a result of cultural frame resonance via music in the early days of radio. Cultural interpretations of framing, as well as the concept's ability to simultaneously illustrate resonance and implications for movement mobilization, lead scholars to quickly recognize framing as a strategic tactic for a movement (Davis et al.
2005; McAdam et al. 2001; Westby 2005). Framing efforts of an SMOs that manage to resonant with internal movement cultures and with the macro-culture garner the most mobilization resources for a social movement. This applies to the case of media coverage as well, as SMO frames that resonant with media agents are more likely to repeated by these agents. Thus, movements have incentive to tactically use frames that they might feel resonate the most in the media given a certain cultural environment.
Beyond Core Tasks: Frames as Tactics and Neo-Institutional Limits
Gamson’s (2004) analysis of opportunity structure, movement framing and the media argues that social movements face crucial challenges of legitimacy in order to
12 create cultural resonance in the broader macro culture. Media coverage provides an answer to this challenge for social movements in three crucial ways: 1) through persuasion in cultural resonance through the promoting of frames they prefer to communicate, 2) offering incentives to joining a social movement via a marketing campaign, and 3) by using tactics of embarrassment to challenge targets that a social movement opposes (Gamson 2004). This depiction of media's ability to generate mobilization resources for SMOs highlights a strategic understanding of framing resonance in the media. The ability to achieve frame resonance in the media strategically is synonymous with other work on tactical innovation (McAdam 1983; McAdam et al.
2001). This act of social movements strategically using their own frames to combat the presence of countermovements' rhetoric creates the phenomena of framing battles (Dixon
2008; Benford and Snow 2000; McAdam et al. 2001). In these frame battles SMOs apply new arguments to already well-structured frames, creating a playing field (or battleground) of rhetoric that social movements engage with counter movements and the state in order to out maneuver opposition forces. Indeed, it is a strategy game where success is measured in terms of macrocultural resonance.
While SMOs may choose to wield frames in a strategic manner, it is important to note that frames themselves are not unique to a specific SMO. Two movements engaged in a rhetorical debate utilize collective action frames to engage with cultural and moral value driven debates in the public forum. Here we see that, while the movement's rhetoric may be based in the logic of a collective action frame, the actual cultural bedrock upon which the foundations of a frame are built upon convey deeper symbolic meanings and
13 values than any one argument or slogan can sum up. Thus, opposing social movements can both utilize the same cultural meanings in their opposing frames. This use of a shared cultural value or understanding by different groups for very different objectives parallels what Tilly (1993) termed modularity, a social movement phenomena where multiple actors strategically lay claim to a single tactic or frame, innovate upon it, and project cultural authority over it.
Burns’s (2005) analysis of abortion and contraception discourse in the United
States exemplifies this modularity, demonstrating that frames are not loyal to those who wield them but rather those that lay claim to them with the most cultural authority. For example, the humanitarian frame in the US abortion debate is often used by pro-life movements to show how tragic abortion is in terms of human life lost. Illustrating modularity, Burns highlights how the humanitarian frame is also used by pro-choice movements to highlight how the outlawing of abortion would produce disastrous outcomes for those who would seek abortions from unregulated sources. Likewise,
Adams and Roscigno (2005) illustrated the modularity of contested frames in the white supremacist movement. Ultimately frames can be seen as occupying a contested terrain; the culture that they are based in and drawn from often resonates with those on both sides of social movement.
While culture is important in social movements' attempts to mobilize via framing, it is also necessary to understand what potential processes outside the internal cultures of a movement both facilitate and limit the formation of frames. Neo-institutional theory provides an understanding for organizational culture and isomorphic processes that can
14 shape framing strategies of a social movement. Davis et al. (2005) highlights the linkage of social movements to neo-institutional theory by illustrating that social movements closely emulate organizational logic; both social movement scholars and organizational scholars have found that internal cultures have significant impacts on the outward presentations of movements and organizations respectively. Meyer and Rowan (1977) state that organizations seek to build facades of legitimacy so as to increase their access to resources from political actors as well as peer organizations. In the context of this study, we see how SMOs attempt to put on facades of legitimacy for the media to improve their perceived credibility in the eye of journalists, which increases the likelihood receiving media attention. However, this attempt to project legitimacy must find cultural resonance with the internal culture of the SMO. SMOs are bound by internal culture, structure, and rituals which binds the institutional logic for all aspects of the organization. For example, drawing on my case of the gun control debate, frames that emerge from gun rights SMOs are firmly grounded in the cultural roots of the movement, which is the broader American gun culture (Melzer 2009). Consistent with Meyers and
Rowan, these gun rights SMOs cannot create or express frames that are not consistent with their movement cultures, meaning these SMOs are strictly bound within the logic of the gun culture in their use of strategic framing and presentation of frames to the media.
There is also potential for the neo-institutional aspect of isomorphic processes in
SMO framing (DiMaggio and Powell 1983). The interaction of media organizations and
SMOs creates rituals of streamlined interactions where organizations in the same field will begin to emulate similar behaviors they perceive as beneficial. The creation of these
15 rituals will occur even when two SMOs are fundamentally at odds with one another; as these organizations still seek the same resources for movement success. Consequently, for these organizations' concerns of garnering media coverage, they will move to mirror each other in how they attempt to acquire such a resource (DiMaggio and Powell 1983).
For SMOs, we see that this is the case in regards to media coverage. Culturally different
SMOs create entire press teams and media kits that are rather homogenous meant specifically to improve relations with the media (Andrews and Caren 2010; Ryan 1991).
In sum, the effects of modularity and neo-institutionalism on the framing tactics of SMOs are somewhat limited by the internal cultures in which frames are constructed.
Simultaneously, SMOs will exercise frame modularity during opportune moments as they attempt to employ frames they feel will generate the most macrocultural resonance.
These SMOs however, are not exempt from broad field level processes as they emulate other SMOs in their attempts to interact with outside institutions like the media.
The Brady Campaign and the National Rifle Association
Year after year, gun control is an issue that mobilizes millions of Americans who see the issue as either common sense violence prevention or infringement of constitutional freedom. Politicians in the United States will frequently cater to the “gun vote”, leading to discourse in the media about the role that firearms play in our society.
For SMOs in the gun control debate, shaping this media discourse via strategic framing could mean the difference between movement success and defeat and by extension policy outcomes related to firearms. This study utilizes the gun control debate as a case study of strategic framing press releases with a frame analysis of the two dominate, opposing
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SMOs in the debate: The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence and The National
Rifle Association.
The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence (Brady Camp) - The Brady
Camp is the most widely recognized SMOs in the United States advocating stronger gun laws (Goss 2008). The organization’s name is honorific of Jim and Sarah Brady, with the former being the White House Press Secretary tragically paralyzed in the assassination attempt on Ronald Reagan and later becoming a lifelong leader in the anti-gun movement with his wife. From the mid-90’s to 2004, the Brady Campaign offered promise of becoming a stalwart SMO that challenged the National Rifle Association as a countermovement in policy and protest efforts. As of late, that clout has largely faded away from the policy discourse on the topic of gun control in the United States. Goss’s
(2008) work examining the fading of support for gun control in general, as well as the
Brady Campaign, explains the failure of gun control advocates to sustain the movement due to the inability of elites to create frames that highlighted broad individual incentives for gun control.
Despite the fact that by 2005 the Brady Campaign was considered to be less significant than its former self in terms of lobbying power in Washington DC, it remains the largest membership based gun control organization in the United States. Also, the
Brady Camp is one of the oldest organizations promoting gun control in the US. The
Brady Campaign has a history of gun control victories, most notably the Federal Assault
Weapons Ban in 1994 and the aptly named “Brady Bill” in 1998, which mandated the use of instant background checks for all merchant purchases of firearms. This track record of
17 early victories and size contribute to the Brady Campaign being the most covered SMOs in the media on the topic of gun control (Amenta et al. 2009).
The National Rifle Association (NRA) - The NRA is often used as the very definition of “special interest group” in American political discussions. However, despite its image as a lobbying group, the NRA claims to be the largest civic organization in the
United States. Boasting over 3 million members in 2004, the NRA sends regular publications to its members and organizes regular social events for fund raising and promotion of shooting sports (Melzer 2009; Spitzer 2007). Melzer’s (2009) cultural examination of the NRA suggests that the organization is based in cultural narratives of a frontiersman as a rugged individualist and ultimate patriot. The current NRA agenda results from the “Cincinnati Revolution” in 1977, when hardline gun-rights advocates managed to win a majority of leadership positions on the NRA’s board of directors at the organization’s annual convention. From that point on the NRA’s leadership adopted positions of strict defiance to any new proposed gun regulations, whether they be local, state, or national (Sugarman 1992). Despite recent victories for the NRA in the past decade, such as the expiration of the Federal Assault Weapons Ban in 2004, and several states passing less restrictive concealed carry laws, the organization continues to argue to its members that the right to bear arms is but a single election or congressional vote away from being destroyed. The image of credibility that the NRA portrays to the media is most impressive, with its size and ability to mobilize voters leading to it being the most covered gun rights group in the media (Amenta el at. 2009).
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These two organizations do not represent the entirety of SMOs devoted to the issue of gun control in the United States. However, for the purposes of understanding how SMOs fare in conveying their frames via press releases, they offer the most viable examples: both are large in terms of membership, both have dedicated efforts to constructing press releases on a fairly regular basis, and both have the premise of credibility to journalists due to their history of advocacy and previous track records of success in policy outcomes. Adding to the viability and implications of findings or a study utilizing Brady Campaign and the NRA in a frame analysis, is the fact that previous research has found media coverage of gun control issues to be influential on public opinion as well as policy outcomes.
Media Trends and SMOs in the Gun Control Debate- Both the NRA and the
Brady Camp have unique perspectives on their relationship with the media. Goss’s analysis of the gun control movement found there to be a bias among media agents to support the frames and perspectives of gun control advocates (2008). As a result the media strategy of the Brady Camp has been to go to journalists early and often with potential stories, seeing the media as a valuable resource to broadcast frames. On the other hand, communications scholar Brian Anse Patrick found that media outlets reserved a deep seated bias against the NRA and its agenda from the late 80’s up to 2000 (Patrick
2001). The source of this media bias is attributed to a liberal culture in journalism circles that is unfamiliar with, and has little desire to become acquainted, gun ownership and gun owners. While Patrick’s findings conflict with Gan’s and Tuchman’s long standing interpretations of media agents, it is telling that this bias is also perceived by the NRA
19 general membership (Melzer 2009; Patrick 2001). NRA members generally feel that elite media outlets, like the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post, favor the agenda of gun control advocates over the values expressed by gun rights supporters. Patrick attributes this bias as a source of hostility between the NRA and media agents (2001).
Thus, the media strategy of the Brady Camp can be seen as one that embraces media relations as a valuable framing tool. While the NRA can be seen as more hesitant to engage media outlets, as such endeavors are assumed to not produce favorable coverage of the organization. Despite these differences, both organizations have maintained formal media relations in the form of issuing regular press releases. It should be expected that these differences in perceptions of media coverage will impact how these organizations choose to frame issues to the media. The Brady Camp may use media relations to solidify its core membership via media engagement, as the Brady Camp perceives likely supporters to be in media or to accept its framing attempts. The NRA, however, may use media relations to reach those outside its core group of supporters, as it recognizes that NRA supporters members are not likely to accept media messages on gun control. Thus, for the NRA, framing strategies that resonant with undecided agents and have a higher likely hood of being productive rather than frames which will resonant with core NRA supporters.
With regards to previous research on media coverage of the gun control debate there are some trends that are apparent. Communications researcher has found a long standing bias in the news to adopt a “cosmopolitan” view of guns in society: that is guns
20 are not desirable in a modern society and gun owners/rights supports are suspect (Downs
2002). Callaghan and Schnell (2001) found that media coverage of the political discussion on gun control from 1988-1996 had the ability to bring key frames of gun control discourse to public attention. Arguing that media must select a few frames offered by interested parties in the gun control debate, the found that media may select topics that they feel will generate the most cultural resonance. In a similar vein, Dowler (2002) found that consumers of print media are significantly more likely to favor stronger gun control initiatives. This results in the public discourse being significantly altered; not all parties and not all frames will get equal play, affecting policy discussions and the means by which SMOs and political leaders may select their respective frames for presentation to the media. Simply put, previous findings that media outlets exhibit bias towards gun control supporters’ frames might predict a bias in media coverage of the NRA and the
Brady Campaign to favor frames from the Brady Campaign.
Thus, when it comes to the topic of gun control in the United States, the interplay of SMOs with the news media may have significant effects on the policy outcomes and public opinion. While evidence suggests that biased support for gun control advocates exists, how pronounced this bias is, and how it is shaped remains to be assessed. Should the framing efforts of press releases from the Brady Camp and the NRA be found to be influencing the content of media stories of these organizations, then broad implications for how policy formation and elite discourse are influenced by SMOs outside of protest activity exist. If press releases from a SMO manage to shape media discourse, which influences policy formation and discourse, then SMO framing can be argued to have
21 influence in political spheres rather than just in movement mobilization. Thus, cultural musings of collective action framing may have concrete implications in how they affect policy for the rest of the United States.
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Chapter 4: Data and Analytic Strategy
Data Collection
The current study employs SMO press releases to explore social movement interactions with media. Data for SMO frames comes from a content analysis of press releases from the NRA and the Brady Camp. Press releases from January 1, 2000 to June
23rd 2011 were downloaded from the respective SMOs' websites and incorporated in a content analysis. The time period of 2000 to mid-2011 was partly selected because of available press release data. More importantly though, is the fact that five major events have happened in the gun control debate is this time period: The Million Mom March, the expiration of the Federal Assault Weapons Ban, The Virginia Tech Massacre, the
Supreme Court Ruling in Heller v. DC, and the Tucson Safeway Shooting. These latter three events represent major touching points in the gun control debate that have not seen collective systematic assessment by social movement researchers. Data for media coverage of SMO frames comes from a second content analysis of New York Times
(NYT) articles from the same time period. In combined, the press release data and the
NYT data allow for pre- and post-effects of these events to be seen in framing tactics and media coverage. Using a frame analysis of press releases and media coverage, the effectiveness of SMO framing attempts to influence media coverage can be assessed.
Data collection, setup, and use is discussed below.
23
Frames and Packages in Press Releases- The current study explores framing of press releases issued by both the NRA and the Brady Camp via a qualitative content analysis. NRA press releases were gathered from the NRA’s Institute for Legislative
Action webpage. Brady Camp press releases were gathered from the media page of the
Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence webpage.1 All press releases from January 1st,
2000 to June 23rd 2011 were downloaded and incorporated into a framing analysis. The time period of 2000 to 2011 was selected for two reasons. One, the 2000’s were a time when social scientists devoted significantly more attention to the SMOs involved in the gun control debates, which allows the current research to expound on previous research
(Melzer 2009; Goss 2008). Two, this time period represents the only complete record of press releases for these two organizations during the same time period, which allows for a comparison of framing tactics between the Brady Camp and the NRA. All of the press releases gathered were incorporate in the qualitative analysis and preliminary frame analysis. In total 1,050 press releases from the Brady Camp and 395 press releases from the NRA were collected and incorporated into the qualitative analysis.2
Cultural analyses, and by extension framing analyses, often raise concerns regarding the capture of their conceptualized measures (Benford 1997; Griswold 1987).
1 The author emailed both SMOs to determine if the websites contained complete press release data, the representatives responded that this was the case for the sample period specified. The press releases for the NRA were publicly available until the website was updated in early 2012, however the data was gathered is available upon request as the press releases were recorded electronically. Press releases for the Brady Campaign are available online at
The current study seeks to overcome such hurdles using a frame analysis strategy that first identifies frames from their cultural source (Johnston and Noakes 2005). To this end, every press was read and assessed by the author, and qualitatively coded for the presence of core framing tasks. The identification of these core frames was achieved using Benford and Snow’s (2000) conceptualization of diagnostic, prognostic, and motivational frames.
A press releases was coded for the presence of diagnostic frames (frame identifies grievances of the SMO), prognostic frame (SMO proposes solutions to problems and counters logic of opposition forces), and motivational frames (SMO calls to action for members and sympathizers). If more than one framing task was prevalent the press release was coded as containing both or all three. Coding for press releases that did not appear to have a core framing task was also included. Statistical analyses of the data is achieved by making the variable for the presence of a frame a dummy for each possible frame once the initial coding was complete. This coding procedure was used for both the
NRA and the Brady Camp press release data. Table 1 presents percentages of frames and packages in press releases and NYT articles which will be discussed shortly. Each row in
Table 1 shows the number and percentage (in italics) of releases or articles that contained a respective frame or package. For the NYT articles, I also present which SMOs and outside parties were quoted as using a particular frame and package.
25
%
100
0.85
0.43
0.43
1.28
0.00
2.13
5.11
8.09
4.26
0.85
0.85
5.96
12.77
Party
2
1
1
3
0
5
2
2
n
12
19
10
14
30
235
Anti-Gun Third Anti-Gun
%
100
0.85
0.43
0.43
1.28
0.00
4.68
8.51
7.66
0.43
2.13
11.91
12.77
13.62
Anti-Gun Anti-Gun
Politicians
2
1
1
3
0
1
5
n
11
28
20
18
30
32
235
%
100
1.28
0.00
1.28
3.40
1.70
2.13
9.36
3.83
0.00
5.53
9.79
10.21
17.02
3
0
3
8
4
5
9
0
n
24
22
13
23
40
Brady Camp
235
%
100
0.43
0.00
1.28
1.70
0.00
1.70
2.55
4.68
6.38
0.43
0.00
5.53
9.36
Party
1
0
3
4
0
4
6
1
0
n
11
15
13
22
235
Pro-Gun Third Pro-Gun
New TimesYork Articles PackgesFrames Containing and
%
100
0.00
0.00
0.00
1.70
1.28
0.85
1.70
4.26
6.38
0.00
0.85
4.26
8.09
Pro-Gun Pro-Gun
0
0
0
4
3
2
4
0
2
n
10
15
10
19
Politicians
235
%
100
4.26
0.00
3.83
6.38
3.83
3.40
2.55
4.68
12.77
11.06
13.62
20.00
20.43
NRA
0
9
9
8
6
n
10
15
30
26
32
11
47
48
235
%
100
0.09
0.57
9.31
4.84
11.68
11.40
19.09
35.61
25.17
24.88
37.51
21.37
36.94
1
6
n
98
51
123
120
201
375
265
262
395
225
389
Brady Camp.
1053
Packages
Table 1- Frequency PacakgesFrames of and SMO in Press Releases Coverage NYT and Control Debate Gun of
%
%
100
6.38
0.78
2.07
5.44
6.48
9.07
43.83
56.17
49.79
43.83
20.73
19.69
11.66
51.04
16.06
22.28
26.68
36.53
NRA
3
8
n
15
80
21
25
35
76
45
62
86
103
132
117
103
197
103
141
386
Press Releases Frames Containing and
(N)
None
News
Other
NRA
Groups
Opinion
Neutral
Frames
Support NRA Support
Adminstrative
Crime Control Crime
Brady Camp.
Types Articles of
Prognostic Frames Prognostic
Shared Packages
Diagnostic Frames Diagnostic
Supprt Brady Camp Brady Supprt
Motivational Frames Motivational
No Dominate Frame Dominate No
Public Health / Safety Health Public
Rights and Democracy and Rights
Poltician Condemnation Poltician
2nd Amendment Rights Amendment 2nd
Politician Endorcements Politician
Safety and Rule of Law of Rule and Safety
Responses to Opposition Opposition to Responses
Packages the Unique to
Packages the Unique to
American Culture/Heritage American
Total ReleasesTotal / Articles Valence of Articles Valence NYTof in
26
Press releases were also coded for the presence of packages used to deliver frames. Packages here are cultural arguments that are used to deliver a frame, and are meant to fit within the political and social concerns of the time (Rohlinger 2002). During the initial reading of the press releases, the author identified reoccurring themes in the press releases and began to inductively identify the most common themes into a coding scheme. This initial reading identified fifteen themes in each SMO's population of press releases. These themes were incorporated into a structured content coding scheme for the press releases (Singleton and Straits 2009). Packages were identified as unique to either
SMO, which were unique to the SMO issuing the press release, or shared by both SMOs, which shared commonalities in tone and purpose of a press release. The themes and content of each of these packages, shared and unique, are discussed in detail in the qualitative analysis below. Following the qualitative analysis, I use weekly counts of packages and frames in press releases for a quantitative assessment of SMO framing tactics. The modal frame tasks that occurred in both organizations’ press releases were diagnostic in nature, while the most common types of packages used in the press releases were those that were unique to either organizations.
Frames and Packages in NYT Articles- Data measuring SMO frames in media coverage comes from a content analysis of New York Times newspaper articles about both the NRA and the Brady Camp. The use of the NYT for such an analysis follows a research tradition in sociology that regards the NYT as the gold standard for newspaper data in the US (Amenta et al. 2009). Lexis-Nexis Academic, one of the most complete
27 electronic archives of newspaper articles available, was utilized to gather newspaper articles from the NYT. To set the population parameter, I gathered all articles that were published in the NYT that covered these SMOs. Consequently, search terms that captured the titles of the Brady Campaign and the NRA were employed to cast as wide a net as possible3. These terms were selected after several preliminary searches that yielded large results but with fewer usable articles. The search string used returned 1,184 NYT articles that contained mentions of either SMO from the same time period as represented by the press release data. After these articles were downloaded, the author read through each article to assess which organizational search term caused Lexis Nexus to hit the article and if the article either mentioned the NRA or Brady Camp in passing or if the article content was focused coverage of either SMO. For an article to be considered having focused coverage of the NRA or Brady Camp it either 1) had a direct quote from either organization, or 2) mentioned the groups and discussed the organization’s position on a gun control issue. Direct quotes offer ideal measures of frames and media coverage for three reasons: 1) according to Tuchman (1972) direct quotes provide unique analytic opportunities, as reporters go to lengths to provide equal opportunities to speak for all contentious sides of an issue, 2) quotes often contained direct framing rhetoric and were often balanced with voices of opposition from counter movement groups or the state, and
3 Handgun Control Inc. and the Million Mom March merged together in 2001 to form the Brady Campaign to Prevent Handgun Violence. The Million Mom March represents a grass roots element to the Brady Campaign to this day. For the articles that mention either group in the time period before the merge, the author treated a mention of either group as a mention for the Brady Campaign. The search terms used were: (national rifle association OR brady campaign OR brady center OR "handgun control inc" OR "million mom march"). 28
3) articles that contained direct quotes leave no doubt whether or not a frame is being conveyed.
After the above selection criterion was applied to the NYT article sample 481 articles remained. From this narrowed set, articles that occurred within one year of five major events in the gun control debate that occurred between 2000 and 2011 were selected. These touching points were selected based upon qualitative inference of events influencing discourse in organizational framing in press releases as well as in the NYT.
These five touching points were the Million Mom March in May 2000, the expiration of the Federal Assault Weapons Ban in September 2004, the Virginia Tech shootings in
April 2007, the Heller vs. DC Supreme Court Case in March 2008, and the Tucson
Safeway Shooting in January 2011.4 Using these selection criteria narrowed the sample to a final 235 articles that are in the current paper.
Using the same coding scheme constructed in the press release content coding , a secondary content coding of NYT newspaper articles was conducted. NYT articles were coded for frames and packages of the NRA and Brady Camp that appear either in quotes from news stories or the discourse of opinion articles. This coding provided a measure for core frame tasks from the NRA and Brady Camp, as well as the shared and unique packages of the NRA and Brady Camp. Since research has shown that media saliency on social movement events increases when political elites are seen discussing such events, an effort was made to collect quotes, frames, and packages of politicians and third party groups that were in the articles of the NYT sample to allow for some basic control
4 The Virginia Tech shooting and Heller v. DC sampling period briefly overlap. Three articles from the NYT fell in this overlap period and were removed from the analysis. 29 measures. Politicians and third party groups in the gun control debate that were in the data were identified as either pro-gun (allies of the NRA) or anti-gun (allies of Brady
Camp)5. Coding the frames and packages of these politicians and groups was identical to the scheme used for identifying SMO frames and packages.
A measure of valence was used in the NYT sample coding. Valence is the emotional arguments that appear in media coverage that are understood to imply favor for a particular party (McCombs and Shaw 1972; Earl et al. 2004). While valence has been a concept often studied by media scholars, it remains difficult to measure. Recent work to capture valence in media coverage suggests that coding articles for a “gut reaction” to media content offers the most feasible way to get at valence (Kiousis 2004). To this end,
NYT articles were read through and, assuming the viewpoint of an average reader, an assessment of valence was made. By and large, Tuchman’s (1972) arguments of journalist’s attempts at neutrality renders valence in news articles absent. However, articles where only one party was interviewed, whether that be the NRA or Brady Camp, would sometimes have an explicit valence. Likewise, opinion pieces, letters to the editor, and editorials did not attempt to establish neutrality as well as the news articles. While the emotional tone of the article was considered in valence measure, the number of quotes given to either side of the gun control debate was also considered in the coding.
The possible codes for valence had three outcomes: 1) article expresses favor toward
Brady Camp positions and frames 2) article expresses favor for NRA positions and frames, and 3) article does not favor one SMO over the other or gives equal coverage and
5 I recognize that calling politicians and groups “pro-gun” and “anti-gun” is a simplification, and perhaps unfair assessment of these groups. But for the purposes of conciseness I find that these terms work well. 30 merit to both sides. In addition to valence, articles were coded for whether they were a traditional news piece or an opinion piece. Opinion articles included letters to the editor, op-ed columns, and editorials.
The above data description sets the stage for the immediate following qualitative analysis. During the later quantitative analyses in the paper, I aggregate the content analysis data into weekly counts to create count variables for a negative binomial regression model. Table 2 presents summary statistics for these weekly count variables.
From the NRA, and the Brady Camp press releases, weekly counts of press releases as well as package occurrences in press releases were created. For the NYT data core frame task occurrences in the NYT, and quotes in the NYT from the NRA and Brady Camp were aggregated into weekly counts also. Summary statistics of these outcomes are presented in Table 2.
31
Table 2 - Summary Statisitcs for Weekly Counts Variable Mean Std. Dev. Min Max NRA
NYT Quotes 0.928 2.359892 0 20 Press Releases 0.58 0.937612 0 5 Press Release Packages 2nd Amendment Rights 0.268 0.570507 0 3 Safety and Rule of Law 0.064 0.245244 0 1 American Heritage / Culture 0.14 0.420843 0 3 Responses to Opposition 0.052 0.239846 0 2 Political Endorsement 0.024 0.153356 0 1 Political Condemnation 0.036 0.186664 0 1 Administrative 0.136 0.454235 0 4 Other 0.016 0.125727 0 1 NYT Frame Occurances Diagnositice 0.18 0.424643 0 2 Prognositic 0.188 0.723012 0 8 Motiviational 0.044 0.241448 0 2
Brady Camp
Brady Camp Quotes 0.868 4.099488 0 42 Brady Camp Press Releases 1.78 2.050468 0 17 Press Release Packages Crime Control 0.492 0.707061 0 3 Public Health 0.44 0.669472 0 4 Rights and Democracy 0.644 0.876549 0 5 Responses to Opposition 0.148 0.436875 0 3 Political Endorsement 0.384 1.701802 0 17 Political Condemnation 0.204 0.568928 0 4 Administrative 0.212 0.489914 0 4 Other 0.012 0.109104 0 1 NYT Frame Occurances Diagnositice 0.16 0.463962 0 3 Prognositic 0.088 0.380572 0 4 Motiviational 0.052 0.371278 0 5
Controls
Third Parties Pro-Gun Group NYT Quotes 0.428 1.624615 0 17 Anti-Gun Group NYT Quotes 0.436 1.244225 0 8 Pro-Gun Politician NYT Quotes 0.316 1.097708 0 7 Anti-Gun Politician NYT Quotes 0.668 2.329697 0 29 NYT Control Data Gun Violence Coverage 1.892 1.608317 0 8 Articles Covering NRA and/or 0.912 1.792515 0 13 Brady Camp Opinion Articles 0.4 1.025772 0 8 Articles Favoring NRA 0.06 0.269612 0 2 Articles Favoring Brady Camp 0.396 1.08253 0 8 President* Clinton 0.188 0.391496 Bush Years 0.6 0.490881 Obama Years 0.212 0.409545 Touching Points* Million Mom March 0.188 0.391496 Fed. Assualt Weapon Ban 0.212 0.409545 Virginia Tech. 0.196 0.397765 Heller vs. DC 0.192 0.394663 Tucson Shooting 0.212 0.409545 Post Event Week 0.508 0.500939 n = 250 * Denotes dichotomous variables
32
Data for control variables were constructed with content analysis data as well as with a secondary search for NYT coverage of gun violence. Weekly counts of quotes by pro-gun politicians and pro-gun groups, as well as anti-gun politicians and anti-gun groups came from the NYT content analysis. As gun violence is likely to increase the media saliency for both sides of the gun control debate, a Lexis-Nexis search of NYT articles was employed to capture coverage of gun crimes and violence that also excluded discussion of the NRA and Brady Camp6. These data were only gathered in weekly counts to give a general measure for gun violence coverage in the NYT. While the primary interest is determining the effects of press releases on media coverage, several factors may impact the coverage of the NRA and Brady Camp that must be accounted for to truly assess the influence of press releases the proposed statistical model. First among these is the coverage of gun violence in the media, as violent tragedies are likely to increase the saliency of the gun control debate in the media. Thus weekly counts of articles covering gun violence and crime are included in the model. Second, the more articles published about either organization only provides more opportunities for those organizations to be quoted, so it is necessary to account for the weekly number of articles covering either organization. Likewise, previous research shows that when politicians and secondary movement groups speak out on issues related to SMO agendas, coverage
6The search terms for the gun violence variable were: (BODY(gun! or firearm!) W/5 (violen! OR homicid! OR crime OR murder) AND NOT ((BODY(national rifle association OR brady campaign OR brady center OR "handgun control inc" OR "million mom march")) OR (SECTION(foreign OR theater OR movies)) OR (obituaries)))
33 of these SMO increase as well (Amenta et al. 2009). Thus, I incorporate a measure of quotes from politicians and outside groups who are speaking about gun control, as well as quotes from the opposition SMO in the gun control debate. In addition, as Gans (1979) argues, events relevant to SMOs will act as "news pegs" that journalists can hang stories on. So dummy variables marking the specific touching point event that an article is nearest and whether the article was published post-touching point event. Also it is necessary to account for who was President during the time the article was published, as presidential administrations determine firearm regulations and which may impact coverage of gun control issues. The NRA and Brady Camp often praise or condemn presidents they see as friendly or hostile to their cause and how the head of the executive branch of government is viewed by the SMO will impact its rhetoric. Model specifications and the use of these variables in quantitative models are outlined later in the paper.
Analytic Strategy
The proposed analysis employs a mixed methods strategy. First a qualitative discussion of the findings from the content analysis of press releases from the NRA and the Brady Camp is presented. The presence of neo-istitutional processes, as well as modularity of frames and packages in press release is identified and discussed. The correlation of the most prevalent frames and packages is also presented with a description of the NRA and Brady Camp's framing tactics.
Next, a quantitative analysis of content analysis of media coverage of the NRA and
Brady Camp is presented. For this analysis, all data for dependent variables is drawn
34 from the NYT content analysis and collapsed into weekly counts of media coverage and frame occurrences. Data from the content analysis of press releases and NYT articles are fit into a negative binomial regression model. Negative binomial regression is selected because of the use of count variables as dependent variables as well as the fact of overdispersion in the data. Ultimately, the quantitative analysis will seek to assess the impact that press releases have on 1) media coverage of both the NRA and Brady
Campaign, measured in quotes either organization has in NYT articles and 2) how different framing tactics used in press releases are associated with media coverage of these SMOs.
35
Chapter 5: Findings
Qualitative Inferences of the NRA and Brady Campaign Press Releases
The qualitative analysis of the NRA and Brady Camp press releases identified three unique packages belonging to either organization. In addition, four shared packages that both organizations employed regularly were identified. Building from the previous data description above, the findings from this analysis are outlined in Table 1. As mentioned earlier, packages are cultural arguments for a social movement that contain a core framing task. In the course of the findings and discussion I use the term package to refer to a cultural argument that could contain any core task (diagnostic, prognostic, or motivational). I use the term frame to reference a package which contains a core frame task and has been utilized by either SMO. Here I present contextual uses of the three framing packages that are unique to each organization, followed by descriptions of the four shared packages.
The unique packages to the NRA are: 2nd amendment rights and freedoms, safety and rule of law, and American heritage and culture. In contrast, for the Brady Campaign the three unique packages are: crime control, public health and safety, and rights and democracy. The four packages that both groups share are: responses to oppositional forces, political condemnations and endorsements, and administrative announcements.
36
Frames Unique to the NRA- First and foremost in the NRA's packaging of core frame tasks is the theme of 2nd Amendment Rights and Freedoms. This package appeals not just too owning guns however, it also applies to all aspects of gun ownership, use, industry, and trade. This is illustrated by the following example from a NRA press release referencing a court decision that found a gun manufacturer not liable for the negligent use of its products:
The lawsuit, brought by the City of Chicago, is one of many attempts nationwide by gun-control activists to bankrupt the American firearms industry. Almost every court has thrown out such cases. Today’s decision marks another milestone in defense of the Second Amendment and the firearms manufacturers. November 4, 2004 “Voters Overwhelmingly Support Sportsmen`s Rights”
The NRA’s package of rights and freedoms also includes the right to exercise gun ownership for self-defense, meaning that Americans have the right to choose which guns they want unhindered and to use those guns when owners deem it necessary. Take the following example that came from an NRA press release regarding the court case where the NRA sued the City of New Orleans after confiscating firearms from citizens in wake of Hurricane Katrina:
Chris W. Cox, NRA’s chief lobbyist, stated, “During a time of chaos and lawlessness, Ray Nagin took away the only means of protection law- abiding citizens had, and by delaying necessary and appropriate action to right this wrong, he blatantly continues to disrespect New Orleans citizens. The Mayor’s contempt of court, his contempt of the Second Amendment, and his disrespect of the law-abiding gun owners of New Orleans is shameful.” April 10, 2006
37
American heritage and culture is the second most prevalent unique package of the
NRA. Here the NRA attempts to frame gun ownership as common behavior in the United
States. The promotion of gun rights is shown as mainstream:
Voters in Tennessee, Arkansas, and South Carolina made a powerful statement on Tuesday by overwhelmingly voting to include National Rifle Association- backed constitutional amendments to protect America’s great, ages-old heritage of hunting and fishing as state constitutional rights. “The voters have spoken and they have sent a very clear message to anti-hunting groups like the Humane Society of the United States and PETA: You and your extremist agendas are not welcome in my state,” said NRA-ILA Executive Director Chris Cox. “NRA will continue to lead efforts to pass these amendments across the nation. We must be vigilant because even as we get more sportsmen’s groups to join us in the fight, extremists are pouring hundreds of thousands of dollars into anti-hunting campaigns.” November 5, 2010
The third unique package for the NRA is the theme of safety and the rule of law. This package posits that gun ownership is entirely safe as owners are responsible and educated in the use and storage of guns. At the same time, the package condemns the negligent use of guns. Also in this package are arguments that only law-abiding citizens will heed gun control laws. According to this package, the answer to gun violence is not new gun laws, but stronger enforcement of current laws. The safe responsible use of a gun is highlighted as a non-problem:
On Wednesday, New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson signed House Bill 641, the Right-to-Carry Reform Bill, into law. This National Rifle Association (NRA)-backed legislation improves New Mexico’s existing Right-to-Carry laws and expands access to licenses by more law-abiding New Mexicans. “These changes will encourage more law abiding New Mexicans to apply for a license and protect themselves in a lawful, responsible manner,” stated Chris W. Cox, NRA’s chief lobbyist. April 6, 2005
38
Packages Unique to the Brady Campaign – The most prevalent package employed by the Brady Campaign is the rights and democracy package. This package is somewhat similar to the NRA’s freedom and rights package; however, the Brady Camp advocates freedom from the fear of guns and gun crimes. This package highlights democratic rights rhetoric to highlight the rights of local citizens to govern themselves. This plays out as the Brady Campaign argues that as the NRA, and its allies, push for broader gun rights, they are trampling on the rights of lower levels of government. Take the below example from when the Brady Camp supported the decision of Columbus, OH to pass a local assault weapon ban despite threats from the NRA to move its national convention (which was a proposed boon for local merchants).
Columbus police officers said they didn't want to face military-style semiautomic assault weapons on the streets, and the city's elected leaders wisely listened to law enforcement and passed sensible restrictions on these weapons. What the NRA's leader said to the people of Columbus this morning is let us set public policy, or we won't visit your city. That must never be the agreement in a civilized democracy. We urge Mayor Coleman and the City Council to stand tough for public safety and we urge the people of Columbus to support their elected officials in this matter. Columbus residents should be proud of their leaders. They are proving the city will stand with the police and won't back down from bullies. July 18, 2005
Also within the rights and democracy packages for the Brady campaign is the use of legal rights to challenge the gun industry to improve safety standards. The Brady Campaign often advocates the use of liability lawsuits to sue gun manufacturers for harmful use of their products:
“This ruling is an important victory for the people of Gary and the rest of Indiana who have suffered from the distribution of guns to criminals and gun traffickers because of the practices of the gun industry,” said Paul Helmke, President of the Brady Center… “When the gun industry injures the public, it should be held accountable.”
39
October 29, 2007
The second most prevalent package found in the Brady Camp press releases was one of public health and safety. This package emphasizes tragic outcomes of rampant gun violence. It is here that tragedies like Columbine and the Virginia Tech massacre are held up as consequences of weak gun laws and easy access to firearms:
Eight years ago this week, the young people in Littleton, Colorado suffered a horrible attack at Columbine High School, and almost exactly six months ago, five young people were killed at an Amish schoolhouse in Pennsylvania. Since these killings, we've done nothing as a country to end gun violence in our schools and communities. If anything, we've made it easier to access powerful weapons. We have now seen another horrible tragedy that will never be forgotten. It is long overdue for us to take some common-sense actions to prevent tragedies like this from continuing to occur. April 16, 2007
The public health and safety package stands separate from the crime control package as it emphasizes these events as preventable tragedies rather than as criminal acts. By showing that gun deaths are preventable the Brady Campaign seeks to convince its members and sympathizers that the consequences of weak gun control laws are dead youths rather than just rising crime rates.
The final, but by no means uncommon, package is crime control. This package embodies a fairly simple logic; there are too many guns in the American population, leading to outrageous rates of gun violence. In this package, the Brady Camp often espouses support for new or stronger gun laws in the name of law enforcement, take for example:
This legislation (a recently passed microstamping law in California) will help law enforcement track down armed criminals and solve gun murders. Our police are working harder than ever to catch criminals and keep them behind bars, yet about 40 percent of homicides go unsolved. Giving police tools like microstamping to help them do their jobs is the common sense thing to do. February 11, 2008
40
Another example of weak gun laws often touted by the Brady Camp is the existence of the “gun show loophole,” referring to the practice of individuals purchasing firearms at gun shows without a background check:
…terrorists have exploited our weak gun laws, including the gun show loophole, to purchase weapons. Take the case of … a convicted felon with ties to the Hezbollah terrorist group in Lebanon, traveled to gun shows in Michigan last year to buy guns and ammunition … How then, did he get his weapons? He acquired them because just like 31 other states, Michigan does not require unlicensed sellers at gun shows to conduct criminal background checks. Unlicensed sellers would not have checked and would not have known that Mr. Boumelhem was prohibited from buying guns. November 11, 2001
Finally, the crime control package states that law enforcement agencies often agree with the Brady Campaign on gun control issues:
The Major County Sheriffs Association today approved a resolution urging President Bush and Congress to renew the landmark 1994 Assault Weapons Ban, which is set to expire September 13 unless President Bush gets Congress to act. "We are very pleased at today's action by the Major County Sheriffs Association, and we thank President Margo Frasier and the other sheriffs for their strong support for reauthorizing the Assault Weapons Act," June 29, 2004
Shared Packages in Press Releases- Given the earlier stated neo-institutional considerations of SMOs, it should expected that press releases by SMOs may have packages that appear to share traits. Evidence of isomorphism exists in the press release data in the form of shared packages. Noteworthy about these shared packages is the fact they appear to serve similar purposes in conveying clear messages about the organizations to the media and public in general. This suggests that the employment of a press releases is subject to isomorphic patterns between the fields of the SMO and media.
41
The shared packages identified in my data are responses to opposition logic and attacks, statements of condemnation and praise for political actors, and administrative messages. The responses to opposition logic and attacks (hereafter, response) package is used by both the NRA and the Brady Campaign to convey the organizational response to actions taken by countermovement forces. The response package conveys synonymous tones of outright refutation of the opposition from both the NRA and Brady Camp. This package is unique in that does not so much convey internal cultures of the projected organization, but rather are statements of condemnation of their opposition:
Response Package of Brady Camp: “The NRA’s leaders say we should just ‘enforce the laws on the books’ - and then they sue to stop the enforcement of common sense laws,” said Paul Helmke, President of the Brady Center. “Law-abiding gun owners should have no problem reporting to the police when their guns go missing. This gun-lobby lawsuit threatens a reasonable common-sense law, and can only help gun traffickers and criminals.” May 12, 2009
Response Package of NRA: Referring to the Five-seveN handgun in a press conference by the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, Mike Barnes today suggested that the NRA`s President, Wayne LaPierre, "put on a bullet proof vest, and we`ll fire the weapon at him, and see what happens. He should put his body where his mouth is." … It is pathetic to see the gun control lobby make hysterical statements to resurrect their failed political agenda. According to the BATFE (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives), this armor-piercing ammunition is only available to the military and police. The Brady Campaign continues to deceive the American people in their effort to ban firearm ownership by all law-abiding Americans. March 3, 2005
The statements of condemnation or praise of political actors package was used by both organizations, especially in times when an election was imminent. In this package, both organizations would issue platitudes towards political actors that were viewed as
42 favorable to the general goals and efforts of the organization. Likewise, general condemnations meant to damage the image of the political actor in question were issued if he/she was viewed as an enemy of the SMO:
NRA Endorsement: “As the former Virginia Attorney General, and a former Secretary of Public Safety, Jerry Kilgore understands that the key to reducing violent crime lies in strictly prosecuting violent criminals – not increasing firearm regulations. He is a true leader who firmly believes in the Second Amendment,” Chris W. Cox, NRA chief lobbyist, stated. Based on past pro-gun efforts and a firm pledge to continue to protect Virginia’s proud hunting and outdoor heritage, Jerry Kilgore earned an NRA … “A” rating, the highest endorsement rating allocated to candidates. June 1, 2005
Brady Camp Endorsement: During her years of distinguished service in the House of Representatives, Lynn Rivers has been a committed advocate for stronger gun laws. She supported legislation that would stop criminals, terrorists, and children from buying firearms at gun shows by requiring a criminal background check on every firearm sold at these events. She also opposed efforts to repeal the federal assault weapons ban, a law that that is strongly supported by law enforcement officers across the country. March 13, 2002 NRA Condemnation: "NRA will not allow Barack Obama to revise history. That is why we will be sending this fact sheet of Obama votes to wherever hunters and gun owners congregate and to 4 million NRA members to share with their friends and neighbors." said Chris W. Cox, NRA's chief lobbyist. "He has supported bans on handguns and semi-automatic firearms, and he has voted to ban possession of many shotguns and rifles commonly used by hunters and sportsmen across America. And we will remind voters every single time he lies." September 10, 2008
Brady Camp Condemnation: "As a former Member of Congress, I know what it's like to have a public record," said Handgun Control President Michael Barnes. "Governor Bush is going to have a lot of explaining to do to defend his atrocious record on guns to the American people - the majority of whom overwhelmingly support new common-sense gun control laws." May 4, 2000
43
Finally, the last observed shared package in the press releases of the NRA and the Brady
Campaign was an administrative package. This package is used to communicate messages in press releases that are important to insiders in the movement. The NRA often uses this package to announce annual meetings and conventions. The Brady Campaign, likewise, uses this package to communicate leadership changes in the organization. Both organizations used the package to communicate condolences for social movement actors that had passed away.
NRA Administrative Package: Gun-rights advocacy reached new heights in September 2007 and May 2008 when NRA’s Celebration of American Values convened presidential candidates and other Second Amendment advocates to state their views on firearm freedom. A similar Leadership Forum will be reprised at the Phoenix Convention Center, on Friday, May 15, at 12:00 p.m. Pro-freedom speakers currently slated to appear are still to be announced. March 31, 2009
Brady Campaign Administrative Package: Survivors of fallen officers come to Washington, DC, during National Police Week (www.policeweek.org) to hear the name of their fallen officers read at the National Peace Officers' Memorial Day Service on May 15, to share their burden of grief with other survivors at Survivors' Seminars, and to see the name of their loved one engraved on the Walls of Remembrance at the Memorial. Nationwide during National Police Week, the group Concerns of Police Survivors, Inc. (COPS) distributes a half million blue ribbons for law enforcement agencies to tie to their car antennas to call national attention to this day and numerous police organizations hold memorial services locally, regionally, and on a statewide level during that week. For more information, visit www.nationalcops.org. May 15, 2008
This package achieves more than mobilizing those within the organization. It is also meant to communicate to the media the logic and reasoning of organizational actions, and gives clear information on times and dates of events in the hopes that it is
44 picked up in media coverage, spreading this information to potential allies and sympathizers.
Understanding Tactical Implications of Press Release Frames and Packages
While the qualitative data allow for a contextualization how these packages are utilized in a tactical manner, they do not allow for an insight of whether the NRA or
Brady Camp systematically use these packages with their core frames tasks. To that end,
I employ pairwise correlations with significance tests to illustrate what core frames are used with specific packages. Results of these correlations are in Table 3. For the NRA, diagnostic and prognostic frames have significant correlations with both unique and shared packages. However, this is not the case with motivational frames, as we see that the safety and rule of law package is not significantly associate with motivational frames.
45
Table 3 - Pairwise Correlations of NRA and Brady Camp. Frames and Packages in Press Releases Frames for NRA Frames for Brady Camp. Diagnostic Prognostic Motivational None Diagnostic Prognostic Motivational None Packages Unique to the NRA
2nd Amendment 0.5326*** 0.1054** 0.3002*** -0.1523*** Rights
Safety and Rule 02062*** 0.1577*** 0.0298 -0.0783* of Law
American 0.1851*** 0.2223*** 0.0838* -0.0720 Culture/Heritage
Packages Unique to the Brady Camp.
0.1757*** 0.0102 -0.0210 -0.0837** Crime Control
Public Health / 0.1577*** -0.0756** 0.0480 -0.0447 Safety
Rights and 0.0704* 0.0945** 0.0628* -0.1185*** Democracy
Shared Packages
Responses to 0.0361 0.2772*** 0.0570 -0.0686 -0.0220 0.2681*** -0.1098*** -0.0641* Opposition Groups
Politician -0.0161 0.1832*** 0.1179** -0.0305 -0.1457*** -0.0252 0.2945*** -0.0743* Endorcements
Poltician -0.0429 0.2362*** 0.0895* -0.0526 -0.0278 0.2157*** -0.0313 -0.0717* Condemnation
-0.1611*** 0.0338 -0.0197 0.7897*** 0.0082 0.0741* -0.0661* 0.4593*** Adminstrative
Other 0.0150 0.1084** 0.0431 0.0150 -0.0249 0.0866** -0.0508 0.0434 0.0361 -0.0261 0.0570 0.2108*** -0.0205 -0.0142 -0.0207 0.1370*** None
pairwise correlation significant with α <0.05* <0.01** <0.001*** NRA n= 386 Brady Camp. N=1053
46
The systematic use of frames with unique packages for the Brady Camp are more mixed; as data show that the Brady Camp does use diagnostic frames with all the Brady Camp’s unique packages but prognostic frames were only significantly associated with the rights and democracy package. Motivational frames had a single significant association with the unique packages of the
Brady Camp, again with the rights and democracy package. Here we can conclude that both organizations prefer to deploy diagnostic frames with their unique packages. The NRA also utilizes its unique packages prominently with its use of prognostic frames; while the Brady Camp is more sparing with its use of unique packages to deploy prognostic frames. Motivational frames were not significantly associated with every unique package of either organization.
The shared packages that were identified for both SMOs revealed interesting patterns in their correlations as well. It is noteworthy that the general trend of diagnostic framing with the use of shared packages appears to be a negative association, while the prognostic frames see positive associations for both SMOs; a finding that contrasts sharply with frames significantly associated with unique packages. Motivational framing for the NRA had positively significant associations with the shared packages, while the Brady Camp only had negative significant associations.
While the correlations of NRA unique packages and core frame tasks are all positive, correlation results show the NRA uses its shared packages to achieve only prognostic and motivational frames. So while the NRA outlines the boundaries and important grievances it has in the gun control debate with packages that resonant with its current members, it uses shared packages to communicate proposed solutions and motivational rhetoric.
The Brady Camp does not have appear to have discernable pattern of positive correlations of frames with unique packages. This is suggestive that the Brady Camp does not
47 strategically employ cores frames with unique packages. Diagnostic framing is still positive and significant with all unique packages. Prognostic frames were negatively correlated with the public health package, and positively correlated with the rights and democracy package. As for motivational frames, only rights and democracy packages were positively significant. Only prognostic frames are uniformly significant and positive in the association with the shared packages of the Brady Camp. The Brady Camp can be seen as utilizing a framing strategy that employs shared packages to propose solutions in the gun control debate rather than packages that resonate with the internal culture. The Brady Camp also had marginally significant negative correlations with the absence of frames and shared packages, suggesting the Brady Camp avoidance of shared packages not carrying frames.
The notion of modularity in framing attempts of these organizations is supported by the qualitative analysis of the shared unique packages. Both organizations use themes of safety and rights in their unique packages that appealed to a larger cultural theme of rights. For both the
NRA and the Brady Camp, these packages appealing to these modular arguments of rights and safety were significantly associated with all three core framing tasks, arguably showing the both of these organizations see rights frames as culturally resonant. Undoubtedly, both organizations can be seen as trying to use these similar cultural arguments in a way that they can claim the most authority over, reaffirming previous research of social movement discourses (Tilly 1993, Burns
2005).
Findings also suggest that neo-institutional processes are present in the NRA and Brady
Camp press releases. Both SMOs diagnose problems and boundaries of the gun control debate with frames that resonate with their core membership: their unique packages. The NRA, however, is more likely to use prognostic frames with its unique packages than the Brady Camp.
Additionally both organizations utilize prognostic frames with their shared packages. The fact
48 that both organizations begin to emulate the behavior of each other in their efforts to garner media coverage via framing suggests that these organizations are conforming to some isomorphic processes.
Both organizations use political endorsements with their motivational framing strategies.
Also both organizations use political condemnations with their prognostic framing strategies, suggesting that these SMOs both identify the removal of political opponents as viable solutions to their broader agendas. Also, both groups had packages that fell in the other category as significant with prognostic frames, suggesting that prognostic frames are more flexible and can be used as one time arguments that are utilized when the SMO anticipates times of opportunity.
While evidence for modularity exists, the correlations do not overwhelmingly support the idea that SMO packages and frame tasks are best explained by modular tactics. Thus it appears that, in these attempts to engage the media, neo-institutionalism provides the more viable explanation for apparent framing strategies. The phenomena of shared packages are likely products of these SMOs presenting their framing attempts in packages they feel with resonant with agents in the media. In their efforts to identify issues and grievances in the gun control debate, both organizations rely heavily on their internal cultures. The promotion of solutions is often packaged in ways that can be seen as influenced by isomorphism, as the creation of shared packages can be seen as phenomena of these organizations creating mimetic behaviors
(DiMaggio and Powell 1983). While both SMOs have some significant correlations that are independent of each other; political endorsements and condemnations, administrative, and response to opposition groups packages for both SMOs are noteworthy as they have the same frames significantly correlated with them across both organizations.
The data appear to suggest that frames based upon the internal culture of an SMO appear to be, by and large, diagnostic in nature. Simultaneously, we see that the frames appealing to
49 processes that should appeal more to journalists are prognostic in nature. While these findings are interesting, and supportive of earlier literature on SMOs, framing tactics, and neo-institutional processes, it remains to be seen if these framing strategies translate into successful attempts to garner or shape media coverage of the SMO. The quantitative section of the current study seeks to address that next question.
Press Releases' Association with Media Coverage of SMOs
While the above analysis illustrates the mechanisms responsible for SMO framing rhetoric, such an analysis wants for insight in the feasibility of SMO framing strategies in shaping media coverage of their respective SMOs. To assess how press releases are associated with media coverage, this section of the paper employs a quantification of the press releases' and NYT articles' content analysis data into a quantitative analysis. To justify the use of statistical techniques I argue that NYT data used in these analyses is conceived of as the population of all
NYT coverage of the Brady Camp and the NRA within a year of the most discursive movements of the gun control debate from 2000 to 2011 The associations of press releases and media coverage explored here are twofold: 1) the possible relation of press releases to positively influence media coverage of a SMO, and 2) the potential for a press release to generate frame resonance in the media, thus shaping media discourse of SMO events.
For the first association, I posit that press releases are used by journalists as a source for news stories. Drawing from the literature, we see that press releases present an opportunity for journalists to reap great benefits for minimal effort. This is doubly so if the press release comes from a trusted source. Thus, I posit that more press releases issued by an SMO will present more opportunities for those releases to translate into news stories, especially from large and well known SMOs like the NRA and Brady Camp. To test this reasoning I present the first hypothesis:
50
NRA and Brady Camp press releases are positively associated with media coverage of their respective SMO.
Table 4 - Row Percentages of SMO Press Releases and Quotes in the NYT
Occurring in the Same Week.
Was SMO Quoted in NYT?
NRA Brady Camp
No Yes No Yes
Did SMO issue Press Release?
No…………………………………. 75.8 24.2 91.07 8.93
Yes…………………………………. 66.67 33.33 79.9 20.1
Total Weeks with Quotes 72.4 27.6 82.4 17.6
Table 4 shows a cross tabulation of weeks when these SMOs issued a press release and whether or not these groups were quoted in the NYT. Looking at these tabulations, we see that in weeks when a press release is issued there appears to be a higher probability of either SMO being quoted in the NYT7. However, in order to determine if other known mechanisms impact this association it is necessary to account for other factors that impact media coverage of SMOs.
To further this analysis, I construct zero inflated negative binomial regression models assessing weekly media coverage of NRA and Brady Camp, predicted by weekly counts of press releases. For the dependent variable of media coverage, weekly counts of quotes from a SMO in the NYT are employed. For the independent variable of press release influence, weekly press
7 The Chi Square statistics for these tabulations are not significant at alpha=0.05. 51 releases from the NRA and Brady Camp are incorporated in the analysis. Two sets of models are constructed to test the hypothesis; one set for each SMO. Since only count models are incorporated here, all variables discussed are weekly counts, save for the dummy variables to be discussed shortly.
Due to the use of count variables and over dispersion in the data, a negative binomial regression model is preferred to assess the association between press releases and media coverage of the NRA and Brady Camp. Tabulations of the data reveal that in the 250 weeks of media coverage, 138 had no articles mentioning either the Brady Camp or the NRA. This high number of zeros, and the fact that zeros in the dependent variable of weekly SMO quotes in the NYT are thought to be influenced by the independent variables examined here; I employ a zero-inflated negative binomial regression model (Long 1997). Due to the fact that the observations are not independent within a week, I use Stata’s cluster option upon the week an article was published, which also allows for robust standard errors. Variance inflation factors and statistics for White's general test for heteroskedasticity were found for all models and no concerns of multicollineariety appear to exist for these models.8 I first explored the association that NRA press releases had on the NYT coverage of the organization, I then conducted an identical analysis with the Brady
Camps press releases. I used two sets of models to analyze both SMO’s press releases impact on generating media coverage. Within each set, three preliminary models separately determine the significance of press releases (Model 1), quotes from various parties in the gun control debate and weekly articles covering SMOs and gun violence/crime (Model 2), and extra-media factors of touching point events and presidential administration (Model 3). The final model (Model 4) incorporated significant terms from previous models, save for Model 3 which was included to
8 OLS regression is used in the diagnostic tests as Stata does not allow for VIF or White tests with the nbreg or zinb commands. However, since I am only interested in assessing the correlations of regressors, and not their sensible outcomes, this is not a major concern. Huber-White Standard Errors were used in all models. 52 capture if extra-media effects changed. Table 4 presents the results of these models in exponentiated form for simplified interpretations. These exponentiated coefficients for the count model can be interpreted as incident rate ratios of percent increase of quotes an SMO receives in the NYT in a given week. Likewise, exponentiated coefficients for the logit model can be interpreted as odds ratios for the likelihood of an SMO not being quoted in a given week.
53
(-17.81)
(-2.21)
(-1.81)
(-2.74)
(-0.89)
(-1.31)
(-0.60)
.
.
(-0.15)
(-0.06)
(-0.14)
(-6.41)
(-1.66)
(-0.74)
(-0.52)
Model 4
250
398.1
0.00***
0.198*
0.135
0.652**
2.598
0.522
0.687
.
.
0.906
0.964
1.045
1.305***
1.142
0.951
1.087
(-4.15)
(-3.80)
.
.
(-0.86)
(-0.03)
(-0.05)
Model 3
250
449.7
0.0872***
0.0835***
.
.
1.724
0.982
1.021
(-0.84)
(-0.07)
(-1.13)
(-7.96)
(-1.52)
(-2.74)
(-2.15)
(-2.97)
(-2.55)
(-1.24)
(-0.46)
(-1.22)
(-0.38)
(-0.31)
Brady Camp Quotes Camp Brady the in NYT
Model 2
250
382.7
0.378
1.024
4.228
0.00***
0.104
0.144**
0.0735*
1.310**
1.195*
1.105
1.032
0.948
1.031
0.981
(-2.98)
(-1.67)
(-2.38)
(-1.54)
Model 1
250
462.2
0.341**
0.658
0.805*
0.768
(-8.70)
(-19.02)
(-19.54)
(-16.83)
(-3.34)
(-0.86)
(-1.17)
(-3.54)
(-3.66)
.
.
(-2.11)
(-1.06)
(-1.8)
(-6.48)
(-3.35)
(-2.35)
(-1.41)
(-3.25)
Model 4
250
448.9
0.00***
0.00***
0.00***
0.00***
0.101***
1.163
0.508
0.337***
0.323***
.
.
2.028*
1.449
1.381
1.162***
0.833***
1.030*
1.093
1.302**
(-4.62)
(-4.00)
.
.
(-0.17)
(-0.13)
(-0.42)
Model 3
250
588.1
0.151***
0.188***
.
.
0.925
1.067
1.116
(-2.99)
(-0.26)
(-23.70)
(-12.20)
(-18.48)
(-0.75)
(-2.85)
(-5.59)
(-2.14)
(-1.20)
(-0.96)
(-2.36)
(-1.21)
(-0.19)
NRA Quotes the in NYT
Model 2
250
447.5
0.0406**
1.061
0.00***
0.00***
0.00***
0.266
0.0945**
1.212***
0.898*
0.937
0.969
1.038*
0.934
1.002
(-2.64)
(-0.56)
(-0.25)
(-0.13)
Model 1
250
606.9
0.488**
0.574
0.966
0.979
Table 5 - Negative Zero Inflated Regression Binomial Coefficents CoveragePredicting NYT Camp the of Brady NRA and
BIC
N
Articles about NRA/Brady Camp NRA/Brady about Articles
Gun Crime/Violence Articles Crime/Violence Gun
Anti-Gun Groups Anti-Gun
Pro-Gun Groups Pro-Gun
Anti-Gun Politicians Anti-Gun
Pro-Gun Politicians Pro-Gun
Opposition SMO Opposition
Brady Camp Brady
NRA
Obama
Bush
Tucson Shooting Tucson
Heller v. DCv. Heller
Virginia Tech Virginia
Fed. Assualt Weapon Ban Expiration Weapon Assualt Fed.
Post Touching Point Event Point Post Touching
Articles about NRA/Brady Camp NRA/Brady about Articles
Gun Crime/Violence Articles Crime/Violence Gun
Anti-Gun Groups Anti-Gun
Pro-Gun Groups Pro-Gun
Anti-Gun Politicians Anti-Gun
Pro-Gun Politicians Pro-Gun
Opposition SMO Opposition
Brady Camp Brady
NRA
Exponentiated coefficients; t statistics in parentheses
Weekly Coverage NYT
Weekly Quotes in NYT
Weekly Press Releases
Logistic Model (Odds Ratios of Weeks Without SMO Quotes) (Odds Model Logistic SMO Weeks of Ratios Without
President
Touching Points
Weekly Coverage NYT
Weekly Quotes in NYT
Weekly Press Releases Negative (IncidentModel RateBinomial Weeks Quotes) of Ratios SMO with 54
Beginning with the first model, we see that there is little support for the idea that press releases overtly influence media coverage of the NRA or the Brady Campaign in the count model. In fact, for weeks when the Brady Camp does see coverage, the only significant finding is for the Brady
Camp, and even then the model predicts that an increase in weekly Brady Camp press releases reduces the number of weekly quotes seen in the NYT. However, according to the logistic regression, Brady Camp press releases significantly reduce the odds of not receiving any coverage for either the NRA or the Brady Camp.
As for media variables of quotes from the SMO’s opposition, politicians, and outside groups in Model 2, it appears that these factors do not have substantive impacts on the count of weekly quotes for either the NRA or Brady Camp. However, an increase in articles about either
SMO has a substantively positive effect on either SMO weekly quote count. An increase in gun violence/crime coverage has a negative effect on the NRA’s weekly quotes, yet such an event benefits the Brady Camp’s coverage in the NYT, an intuitive relationship. According to the logistic model, increases in these variables are all relevant predictors for reducing not being quoted in the NYT for these SMOs. Model 3 shows that, compared to the Million Mom March in
2001, touching point events have no significant impact on the count outcome of SMO quotes in the NYT, save for the NRA during the year of the Virginia Tech shooting. However, presidential administrations do have a significant association, as years after the Clinton administration were associated with less coverage of the NRA or Brady Camp in the NYT.
The full model, Model 4, generally supports to the hypothesis that press releases have a strong association with increasing media coverage. Incorporating significant terms from Models
1 and 2 in the analysis now shows that the previously insignificant relation between NRA press releases and quotes in the NYT becomes significant, with a one count increase in weekly press releases increasing the rate of weekly quotes in the NYT by 30%. For the Brady Campaign, there
55 is no significant relation between the number of press releases issues per week and the number of quotes the Brady Camp received in that week. For the logistic equation, predicting the probability of a week without any quotes, NRA press releases had no impact on reducing the likelihood of the SMO not being quoted. However, with the presence of a press release, the Brady Camp reduced the odds of not being quoted by 35%. In addition, quotes from politicians and groups that either SMO were at odds with had substantial effects on improving the likelihood of the SMO being quote. Pro-gun politicians and groups being quoted in a given week reduced the odds of the
Brady Camp not being quoted by 80% and 100%, respectively. Likewise, anti-gun politicians and groups, as well as pro-gun groups, all reduced the odds of the NRA not being quoted in a given week by 100%. So it appears that press releases have some impact on improving the media coverage of the NRA and Brady Camp and that both groups experience this impact differently.
Controlling for all other variables, NRA press releases had no significant impact on reducing the likelihood of weeks without quotes, these press releases did have a significant effect increasing the number of quotes the NRA received in weeks when it was quoted. Likewise, controlling for all other variables, Brady Camp press releases had no significant impact on determining the number of quotes the group received, however Brady Camp press releases were significant in increasing the likelihood of the SMO being quoted at all in a given week. While these findings are generally supportive of the idea that press releases are associated with improved media coverage of an SMO, the evidence is hardly conclusive. Quotes from outside groups and politicians have much more substantive effects, which is suggestive that press releases are issued in response to increased media coverage of an SMO due to external events. Assessing the possibility that press releases operating in a fashion meant to respond to current media coverage leads us to the next question in the quantitative analysis.
Press Releases’ Association with Framing in Media Coverage
56
So if data on SMO coverage predicted by press releases suggests that press releases do not greatly improve media coverage of their respective SMO, is it possible that they are more effective at shaping media discourse? That is the crux of the second and final hypothesis in this paper. Drawing on the pairwise correlations from the qualitative discussion of the press release data, we see that that both the NRA and Brady Camp utilize their unique and shared packages with specific core framing tasks. Both organizations used unique packages to drive their diagnostic frames into the public, as well as using shared and unique packages to deliver prognostic and motivational frames. To assess how press releases may be able to shape media discourse I employ basic negative binomial regression to examine if the number of weekly articles that mention a SMO frame is associated with the weekly number of SMO press releases containing a package. I regress the weekly appearances of each type of frame for the NRA and
Brady Camp in NYT articles with the weekly appearance of packages in their respective press releases.
Table 6 presents the results of the negative binomial regressions. Similar to the correlations presented in the qualitative section, packages in the press release data are the exponentiated coefficients for frames that appear in the NYT. Each model assesses the weekly occurrence of a particular core frame as the dependent variable. The independent variable for each model is the weekly occurrence of packages in the press release data. All controls from the first hypothesis are included expect for those that had multicollinearity. In all, six models are shown: one for each core frame task of either the NRA or Brady Camp.
57
Table 6- Weekly Core Frame Task Occurrence in the NYT Predicted by Weekly Press Release Package Occurences NRA Frames in the NYT Brady Camp Frames in the NYT Diagnostic Prognostic Motivational Diagnostic Prognostic Motivational Packages Unique to the NRA 2nd Amendment Rights 1.56* 1.05 1.21 (-2.11) (-0.09) (-0.24)
Safety and Rule of Law 0.96 0.98 6.79 (-0.07) (-0.03) (-1.12)
American Culture/ Heritage 1.1 0.25* 2.42 (-0.43) (-2.48) (-0.98)
Packages Unique to the Brady Camp. Crime Control 1.33 0.98 0.39 (-1.41) (-0.06) (-1.18)
Public Health / Safety 1.37 1.44 2.67 (-1.4) (-0.71) (-1.33)
Rights and Democracy 1.35 1.62* 1.6 (-1.81) (-1.97) (-0.95) Shared Packages Responses to Opposition Groups 2 5.77** 0.00*** 0.69 0.38 0.00*** (-1.84) (-2.79) (-16.74) (-1.16) (-1.32) (-16.54)
Politician Endorsements 0.00*** 1.55 0.00*** 1.06 0.55 2.31 (-29.94) (-0.77) (-15.88) (-0.62) (-0.69) (-1.66)
Politician Condemnation 2.12 0.00*** 0.00*** 1.23 1.39 0.74 (-1.78) (-14.33) (-10.97) (-0.88) (-1.02) (-0.51)
Administrative 0.84 0.34 0.91 1.36 1.3 3.87* (-0.63) (-1.67) (-0.14) (-1.29) (-0.9) (-2.24)
Other 0.76 1.11 0.00*** 6.04** 0.00*** 5.99 (-0.32) (-0.12) (-10.98) (-2.59) (-7.36) (-0.88) Controls Gun Violence Coverage 1.1 1.04 0.57 1.13 1.09 1.13 (-1.36) (-0.44) (-1.49) (-1.06) (-0.54) (-0.56)
Post Discourse Event 1.84 0.61 1.78 1.75 0.20** 2.43 (-1.82) (-1.31) (-0.67) (-1.66) (-3.27) (-1.15)
Weekly Opinion Pieces 1.28*** 1.45*** 1.4 1.40*** 1.48*** 1.42*** (-3.92) (-3.72) (-1.01) (-4.25) (-4.07) (-3.46)
Touching Point Event Fed. Assualt Weapon Ban 1.14 0.00*** 0.18* 0.29 0.67 0.79 (-0.25) (-51.56) (-2.17) (-1.51) (-0.57) (-0.13)
Virginia Tech. Shooting 0.88 0.15*** 0.00*** 1.31 0.00*** 0.00** (-0.29) (-3.44) (-30.96) (-0.56) (-32.98) (-3.13)
Heller v. DC 0.77 0.10** 0.00*** 0.64 0.44 0.00*** (-0.50) (-2.58) (-15.81) (-0.73) (-0.87) (-8.40)
Tucson Shooting 0.4 0.35* 0.00*** 0.47 0.22 0.02 (-1.62) (-2.02) (-13.95) (-1.20) (-1.47) (-1.85)
n 250 250 250 250 250 250 Exponentiated coefficients; t statistics in parentheses 58
According to the models, unique packages do not appear to have a large impact on NYT coverage of SMO diagnostic frames. The only significantly positive association for unique NRA packages and NYT coverage of core frame tasks is the 2nd Amendment rights package and diagnostic framing, which is marginally significant. There was not a significant relation between any of the Brady Camp unique packages in press releases and NYT coverage of diagnostic frames.
Looking at the NYT coverage of prognostic frames, the only significantly positive association with unique packages is with the Brady Camp’s rights and democracy package. The NRA actually experiences a negative relationship with its American culture and heritage package in press releases and the NYT’s coverage of prognostic frames; a finding that is suggestive that the cultural notion of the American gun culture is rather repulsive to the NYT. Secondly, it interesting is that despite the fact that the NRA used political commendations in its press releases to deliver prognostic frames in press releases, the NYT coverage of prognostic frames actually decreases with NRA use of political condemnation packages. We see a similar pattern for the Brady Camp, as the use of packages in the “other” category were associated with prognostic frames in press releases but having a negative association with NYT coverage of prognostic frames.
In the qualitative assessment of press releases, The Brady Camp appeared to shy away from using responses to opposition groups as a means to deliver motivational frames. This holds true in the NYT coverage of motivational frames, with a 100% reduction in the count of motivational frames covered per week in the NYT for each increase in weekly press releases packages of Brady Camp responses to opposition
59 groups. The Brady Camp also enjoys a major boost from press releases in terms of spreading motivational frames with administrative package. A one unit increase in weekly administrative packages in press releases resulted in a 287% increase in the count of NYT articles containing motivational frames from the Brady Camp. The NRA, however, experiences a unique association with the NYT coverage of motivational frames. No single unique package in press releases was significant in influencing motivational frame coverage in the NYT, but the use of shared packages in NRA press releases showed a large and significantly positive association between the use of NRA press release packages of responses to opposition groups.
These findings suggest that the NYT favors covering Brady Camp motivational framing when shared packages are being utilized and, despite the NRA’s attempts to create motivational frames with shared packages, the NYT appears to ignore these frame attempts. Thus, it appears that Brady Camp enjoys a preferred status with the NYT with its administrative press release packages having a substantial impact on coverage of motivational frames. In sum, the Brady Camp experiences an ability to present details on upcoming SMO events and have the NYT publish them, while the NRA appears to be ignored when it issues similar motivational frames with packages about statements on politicians. Thus, I find that there is a modicum of support for the NRA’s perception of bias in NYT coverage of the gun control debate. However, in terms of press releases being effective in shaping media discourse, the data seem to offer little support for the idea that press releases can be used as effective tools for SMOs.
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Chapter 6: Discussion and Conclusion
The current paper conducts a number of analyses, both quantitative and qualitative, with data from several different sources. A qualitative reading of the press releases highlights how the NRA and the Brady Camp use frames in a modular fashion, by adjusting packages and core frame tasks a SMO can create a framing strategy that it believes has potential to resonate with its internal culture of supporters, as well as the outside public. In addition, these SMOs also seek to appeal to media agents. The need of
SMOs to acquire media coverage and the need of media agents to develop compelling stories on a regular basis can be understood as an isomorphic process. These organizations from different fields partake in mimetic interactions that facilitate the exchange of needed resources from each other: press releases. SMOs provide material for the media agents to publish, and the media project the desired frames of the SMO into the public. The attempt of SMOs to create packages for frame tasks that resonate with both the internal culture of the SMO as well as with media agents leads to the phenomena of shared and unique packages.
Quantitatively, the data show that despite these concerted efforts to craft press releases with packages containing core framing tasks, their effectiveness is lackluster. If the purpose of press releases is to generate media coverage for the SMO, then their utility is mixed. The NRA's press releases had no bearing on the ability of the organization to
61 get into the news, but they were significantly associated with improving the number of quotes the NRA received in a week when the organization was in the news. Conversely, for the Brady Camp, the issuing of a press release was a significant factor for the organization getting a quote in that weeks news, but the number of press releases had not impact on the number of quotes that Brady Camp would receive. It appears that the NRA is in a position to use its press releases to improve the coverage of the organization once it is already in the news, while the Brady Camp is able to use a press releases to improve its chance of coverage but unable to facilitate extensive coverage of the organization with this tactic.
As for SMOs’ achieving desired framing of media coverage, both organizations see mild success. The Brady Camp enjoys a relationship with the NYT where the newspaper is very likely to publish frames from the organization that are motivational should the organization issue administrative packages. Similarly, the use of the rights and democracy package of the Brady Camp press releases were also likely to improve the coverage of prognostic frames from the Brady Camp in the NYT. On the other hand, the NRA was able to use its response to opposition groups package in press releases to improve the chances of prognostic frame coverage in the NYT, as well as its 2nd
Amendment Rights package to increase diagnostic frame coverage. In sum, it appears that while both organizations use press releases for the same purposes, and indeed even share several packages in framing attempts, the resulting coverage of SMO frames in the
NYT is not identical. This finding is indicative of two potential outcomes: 1) Different
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SMOs approach media outlets in separate ways when it comes to framing, and 2) media outlets do not cover SMOs equally and unbiased.
Analyses of press releases from the NRA and Brady Camp suggest that there is definitely framing tactics occurring in SMO press releases, such a finding is supportive of earlier social movements research on framing and tactical innovation. Styling of packages with core frames in press releases is also suggestive that SMOs are subject to neo- institutional processes and the modularity of frames, again supportive of a broad swath in the literature. However, in terms of understanding how SMOs can drum-up mobilization resources via framing, I find that press releases are not a very successful approach for
SMOs on either side of the gun control debate. In terms of getting more news coverage of an SMO with press releases, the data show that the NRA is marginally successful, but only when considering the role of politicians and outside groups in media discourse as well. Additionally, despite the fact that the NRA and the Brady Camp use framing packages to deliver core frame tasks in press releases, these press releases do not appear to systematically affect media coverage of SMOs, or influence what frames receive coverage in the media outside of a few select packages. Thus, I am led to conclude that
SMOs may be issuing press release not because they are deemed to be effective, but rather because that is the neo-institutional perception of what a legitimate SMO does.
The findings here are not an irrefutable case that press releases are ineffective for
SMOs. Yet, it seems that a rethinking of how SMOs may engage the media is in order.
Press releases here are conceptualized as ready-made stories for journalists to pick up and publish. However, this is an assumption that SMOs and journalists see eye-to-eye on
63 what are newsworthy stories. SMOs may very likely issue press releases that journalists do not care about, and increasing this number of releases or changing their frame attempts on stories that journalists see as unimportant will not do much to persuade the journalism to care.
Similarly it is possible that journalists' biases are likely to influence framing resonance in the media more than a SMO can. There exists a mutual mistrust between the
NRA and the NYT. And while traditional journalist stories in the NYT did make efforts to achieve a neutral valence, the opinion articles in the NYT did not. The Brady Camp even enjoyed a significant association with the NYT resonating with its administrative packages and achieving more coverage of motivational frames. It may be time to reopen the studies of Tuchman and Gans and explore how journalists may or may not consider their newspapers as fair and balanced publications with regards to frame coverage.
Finally, given that the phenomena of shared packages were evident for both the
NRA and the Brady Camp, it seems quite clear that neo-institutionalist processes are at work in the interactions of media outlets and SMOs. Yet, the fact that SMOs have chosen to engage with journalists in their own medium appears to be of subjective benefit to the
SMOs. Thus the question to be asked is: if press releases are not overtly successful at achieving media coverage or facilitating/generating frame resonance in the media, then what purpose do they serve? Exploring such a question seems to be a logical next step for new research. Simultaneously, such research should examine how frames can be used to generate or shape media coverage. While there seems to be little debate that media can
64 serve as a powerful social movement resource, plenty of questions remain as to just how
SMOs can harness, or at the very least cajole, this social force to their benefit.
65
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