THE LONDON SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS AND POLITICAL SCIENCE Framing the Financial Crisis: Television news, civic discussions, and maintaining consent in a time of crisis. MEAGAN E. ZURN A thesis submitted to the Department of Media and Communications of the London School of Economics for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, London, September 2016. 1 Declaration I certify that the thesis I have presented for examination for the MPhil/PhD degree of the London School of Economics and Political Science is solely my own work. The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. Quotation from it is permitted, provided that full acknowledgement is made. This thesis may not be reproduced without my prior written consent. I warrant that this authorisation does not, to the best of my belief, infringe the rights of any third party. I declare that my thesis consists of 86,923 words. Statement of use of third party for editorial help I can confirm that my thesis was copy edited for conventions of language, spelling and grammar by Jamie P. Jeffers. Acknowledgements Thank you, first and foremost, to my advisor Dr. Bart Cammaerts, whom I know has gone above and beyond his duties to me as my advisor on several occasions – though he is likely too humble to admit it. Also thank you to my co-advisor Dr. Nick Anstead. The challenge and insight you both provided me during my studies and in the production of this thesis have been invaluable and will stay with me for the rest of my life. Thank you also to my participants who gamely gave their time to me in the midst of busy schedules, even though I could offer no more than lunch as compensation. And finally, thank you to my devoted partner Jamie and to my mother, for all of your support and patience. 2 Abstract The aim of this thesis was to investigate the role of television news media in maintaining cultural hegemony in the United States. The financial crisis of 2008 and 2009 was used as a window into this process. For this investigation, a qualitative frame analysis was conducted on samples of television news coverage from major moments during the financial crisis and the resulting economic recession. Additionally, peer group discussions were conducted as a window into how people who fit the social and cultural imaginary of “Middle America,” an important part of the historic bloc which forms the contemporary United States cultural hegemony, discussed the financial crisis and recession in a social context. The results found five major explanatory frames which dominated coverage of the financial crisis; strategy- game frame, survivor stories, bootstraps frame, opportunity in disaster, and populism. Taken in aggregate, these frames directed attention away from the actions of the economic elite and onto either the actions of politicians or the responsibilities of non-elite individuals. Moreover, these frames deprived the information environment of information which might otherwise facilitate an understanding of the financial crisis as resulting from the actions and practices of the business elite or the economic structure. Participants in the peer group discussions seemed to echo much of the picture provided by television media, demonstrating in particular a pervasive belief in a dysfunctional American government. Overall, participants struggled to demonstrate a fundamental understanding of the financial crisis, and this hindered their ability to form and express counter-ideologies. This was in spite of pervasive, emotional expression of betrayal, dissatisfaction and economic vulnerability. Overall, it is concluded that television news media functions as a hegemonic apparatus due to its practices producing frames and narratives which obscure the role of the capitalist classes even in the event of an economic crisis. 3 TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter 1 ............................................................................................................................................................................... 5 The American (Non) Revolution ............................................................................................................................. 5 Cultural Hegemony ....................................................................................................................................................... 6 The Three Faces of (Media) Power ........................................................................................................................ 9 Media’s Third Face ...................................................................................................................................................... 17 Lived Media Practices ........................................................................................................................................... 18 Framing: Disassembling the Ideological Engine ............................................................................................ 22 Framing, Hegemony, and Media Production ............................................................................................... 26 Frames as Cognitive Structures: Priming Theory ..................................................................................... 29 Framing and the Audience .................................................................................................................................. 30 Information Environments ..................................................................................................................................... 34 Public Knowledge and the Quest for the Rational Citizen ..................................................................... 34 Reconstructing the Moment of Consent............................................................................................................. 40 Reconstructing Emerging Resistance ................................................................................................................. 40 The Collective Action Frame .............................................................................................................................. 40 The Financial Crisis .................................................................................................................................................... 43 Chapter 2 ............................................................................................................................................................................. 49 Methodology .................................................................................................................................................................. 49 Limitations ..................................................................................................................................................................... 77 Chapter 3 ............................................................................................................................................................................. 78 Strategy-Game Frame ................................................................................................................................................ 78 Peer Discussion Groups ......................................................................................................................................... 101 Summary ...................................................................................................................................................................... 117 Chapter 4 .......................................................................................................................................................................... 125 The Human-Impact Frame Cluster ................................................................................................................... 125 Peer Group Discussions ......................................................................................................................................... 150 Summary ...................................................................................................................................................................... 162 Chapter 5 .......................................................................................................................................................................... 168 Populism ...................................................................................................................................................................... 168 Populist News Frames ............................................................................................................................................ 171 Peer Group Discussions ......................................................................................................................................... 184 4 Summary ...................................................................................................................................................................... 195 Chapter 6 .......................................................................................................................................................................... 199 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................................................... 199 Strengths, Limitations, and Contributions ....................................................................................................