News media studies, especially in the field of the political economy of media,
have traditionally been looking at frames used by news media. Structures are
usually examined as follows: the words or phrases emphasized; the images
excluded or trivialized; and what these frames suggest about the mediated
image of public issues. Recent studies in the field of media framing have also
looked at how framing is evident in media messages, which have been shown
to exert some influence on the formation of attitudes, opinions, and
understanding of public issues. The present study theorizes that American news
media are adopting and using their government’s preferred versions of foreign
issues when they frame the international issues. Based on looking at the frames
used by two newspapers, The New York Times and The Washington Post, this study
examines news media coverage of President George W Bush’s 2002 State of the
Union address.