TweetStorm in #ferguson: How News Organizations Framed Dominant Authority, Anti-Authority, and Political Figures in a Restive Community

Abstract

After Officer Darren Wilson fatally shot African American teen Michael Brown in August 2014, rioters unleashed their anger on the streets of Ferguson, Missouri. Using content analysis and framing theory, this study analyzed how news organizations covered events in Ferguson on Twitter over the course of a month immediately following the shooting. Protesters were framed as troublemakers; but community leaders were not framed as “rabble-rousers.” Journalists continued to rely on official sources more than alternate sources in spite of criticism of law enforcement and other political elites, but nearly 10% of the coded tweets that relied on official sources included some element of skepticism. Tweets from cable news outlets did not show partisan bias in any significant amount; and traditional legacy news media sources utilized the Twitter platform enhancements—such as article links, photos, links to other content, or hashtags—more than their new digital media counterparts. As Twitter launched #ferguson into the national consciousness, it is quite plausible that the framing of the tweets by news agencies may have molded perceptions of larger issues about the racial health of the nation, established policies of law enforcement, and the challenge of elected leaders to resolve explosive domestic problems.

Acknowledgments

Special thanks to Wayne Wanta, Ph.D. professor, Department of Journalism, University of Florida.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Ginger E. Blackstone

Ginger E. Blackstone (Ph.D., University of Florida) is an assistant professor of mass communication at Harding University.  Her research interests include cultivation effects, bias and misinformation in news media, and the future direction of journalism.

Holly S. Cowart

Holly S. Cowart (Ph.D., University of Florida) is a lecturer in the multimedia journalism program at Georgia Southern University. Her research interests include the agenda-setting functions of news content on social media, the influence of mobile platforms on news credibility, and the role of design elements in online news presentation.

Lynsey M. Saunders

Lynsey M. Saunders (M.A., Columbia University) is a doctoral student in mass communication at the University of Florida. She is also the communications and community relations coordinator for the Monroe County School District in South Florida. Her research interests include the projections of identity in social media related to the intersection of hip hop and social movements like Black Lives Matter, as well as media literacy and engagement.