Revising the indexing hypothesis: Officials, media, and the Libya crisis

The President, the Press, and the War: A Tale of Two Framing Agendas

“…Because elite commentary is the "index" that the press uses to report the news (e.g., Althaus, Edy, Entman, & Phalen, 1996;Bennett, 1990;Bennett et al, 2007;Mermin, 1999;Wolfsfeld & Sheafer, 2006), if elites are not making critical statements it is difficult for media outlets to report critical news (Cramer, 2007). Thus, the tone of media framing is constrained by the statements of political elites.…”

U.S. National Identity, Political Elites, and a Patriotic Press Following September 11

“…47). With few dissenting voices within official circles, news media were likely to "index" their coverage (e.g., Althaus et al, 1996;Bennett, 1990;Entman & Rojecki, 1993) accordingly, echoing many of the same nationalist themes as government leaders.…”

“…U.S. government debate in autumn 2001 was markedly similar to the early stages of the Gulf War build-up, when Democrats and Republicans were largely in agreement about deployment of U.S. troops to Saudi Arabia (see Zaller, 1994aZaller, , 1994b. As a result, journalists following the routine of "indexing" their coverage and language to that of U.S. government elites (e.g., Althaus, Edy, Entman, & Phalen, 1996;Bennett, 1990;Entman & Rojecki, 1993) had little choice but to adopt a U.S. identity-affirming discourse.…”

Framing the EU in a Time of Crisis: Media Reflections from EU Strategic Partners in Asia-Pacific

“…The second element is strategy -the 'deliberate, planned activation of mental associations, which is the province mainly of elites.<xen> 2 </xen> Word choice, information distribution and withholding, and timing are among the strategic resources (Entman, 2003, p. 422). Entman draws on Althaus et al (1996) and Althaus (2003) when he argues that for most journalists it is about their ability to 'produce 'good stories' that protect and advance their careers and that accord with their self-images as independent watchdogs' (Entman, 2003, p. 422). More far-sighted are the strategic aspirations among 'investigative journalists, pundits, and editorial writers, who may strategize in hopes of shaping policy' (Entman, 2003, p. 422).…”