Gun violence has long been a debated issue in the United States for decades, especially with the rising number in deaths due to firearms increasing each year (Wintemute). The topic of gun control has had steady media coverage over the last years, but what has changed is the amount of media attention dedicated to this issue and how that framing has respectably changed with time. Although more than 30,000 people die from firearm homicide and suicide each year while another 80,000+ are wounded, gun violence is rarely at the top of the US public political agenda (McGinty). When a horrific act of violence occurs such as a mass shootings occur, that is when news media coverage is at an all-time high, along with public attention. However, …show more content…
To start of, I will compare the attention gun control has received on a national and regional scale by investigating the amount of attention this issue has received in local and national newspapers. Following, I will examine the differences and similarities by analyzing the numerous frames of gun control during three specific years out of the twenty years. From my analysis, the findings are as follow: major events involving gun violence lead to the media’s attention to majorly increase while rhetoric of frames change with. These frames are a constitutional frame of gun control and its limitations, and a public health frame of gun control with a growing influence of science leading to shifts in media attention of gun …show more content…
Through random selection, articles from these selected years were chosen in proportion to the amounts articles published. The years chosen signify years where the three mass shootings of Columbine, Virginia Tech and Aurora occurred in the United States. These years are of key significance due to the increase in media attention gun control gained on a national scale. Frames and the amount of media attention of gun control has changed drastically during these time periods after a mass shooting has struck. To ensure validity of the coding rules and the two frames, an inter-coder reliability test was conducted on a random sample of six articles. The results came back 98% in accordance with the coding rules which adds more reassurance towards the data found. From this data, media coverage of gun control and how the issue is framed will be closely