READY FOR TODAY – EVOLVING FOR TOMORROW
Framing Theory in action. These two captions by mainstream mass media organisations during 2005’s Hurricane Katrina describe virtually the same event, but with
vastly different attributes.
The second is Framing Theory, which
is concerned with the attributes the
mass media uses to tell a story during
its presentation to audiences. Dr.
Robert Entman defines framing as “to
select some aspects of a perceived
reality and make them more salient in a
communicating text, in such a way as to
promote a particular problem definition,
causal interpretation, moral evaluation
and/or
treatment
recommendation
for the item described.” 48 Moreover,
frames ultimately “highlight some bits
of information about an item that is the
subject of a communication, thereby
elevating them in salience” and that these
bits of information are made “more salient
by placement or repetition.” 49 Practically
applied one can observe framing in
action by the way the mass media
thematically covers the American gun
control debate. From regular and codified
use of the politically manufactured and
nonsensical term ‘assault weapon’ to
the way the media largely highlights the
pro-control narrative favourably whilst
shutting out opposing arguments, the
manner in which the mass media frames
this debate does a bit more than just tell
audiences what to think about. 50 51 52
Conclusion
The intent of this piece was to provide the
military leader with an introduction to the
history of how, as a military profession,
we have inconsistently approached
media relations. By additionally providing
a look inside the nature of news from one
PAO’s perspective it is hoped that those
military leaders who have traditionally
avoided, or feel reluctant about, engaging
the mass media will have gained some
measure of reassurance that doing so is
not as fraught with danger as one may
think it to be.
Compared to history prior to the first half
of the 20th century, our world since the
mid-1950s has experienced a relative
peace not seen by our ancestors. That
said, Western militaries are busier than
ever with small-scale commitments
around the globe supporting a variety of
combat, peacekeeping and humanitarian
operations all the while conducting an
array of training exercises with allies
and partners. As such these operations
will invariably attract a certain amount
of mass media attention. It is therefore
incumbent upon commanders and
their PAOs, as part of executing these
operations, to responsibly tell the story
of their formations and, by extension,
their parent military as a whole. As the
old saying goes in the public relations
profession, “If you don’t tell your story,
someone else will.” 53
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Lieutenant Colonel Adam Hallmark is
an 18-year veteran of the United States
Army and currently serves as the Deputy
Chief PAO for the ARRC. In his previous
assignment he served as the Chief PAO
for the 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team
(Airborne), 25th Infantry Division at Fort
Richardson, Alaska. Lt. Col. Hallmark
has led Public Affairs operations across
combat, humanitarian and peacekeeping
operations from Afghanistan to Haiti to
Kosovo as well as corps-level media
relations efforts following the 2009 Fort
Hood, Texas terror attack. A native of
Tuscumbia, Alabama, Lt. Col. Hallmark
holds a Bachelor’s Degree in History
from the University of North Alabama and
a Master’s Degree in Communication
from Auburn University.
48 Robert Entman, “Framing: Toward clarification of a fractured paradigm,” Journal of Communication 43, no. 4 (December 1993): 52.
49 Entman, “Framing,” 53.
50 Josh Sugarmann, Assault Weapons in America (Washington: Firearms Policy Project of the Violence Policy Center, 1988), 42, http://vpc.org/publications/assault-weapons-and-accessories-in-
america/assault-weapons-and-accessories-in-america-conclusion/.
51 Todd Gardiner, “What does the AP stylebook say about assault rifles vs assault weapons?” Quora, March 31, 2018, https://www.quora.com/What-does-the-AP-stylebook-say-about-assault-
rifles-vs-assault-weapons.
52 Karen Callaghan and Frauke Schnell, “Assessing the Democratic Debate: How the News Media Frame Elite Policy Discourse,” Political Communication 18, no. 2 (2001): 201-203.
53 Heather Sliwinski, “If You Don’t Tell Your Organization’s Story, Someone Else Will,” Public Relations Society of America, September 25, 2013, http://prnewpros.prsa.org/if-you-dont-tell-your-
organizations-story-someone-else-will/.
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