Several years ago, the above video became infamous among Internet message board users for the blatant falsehoods being presented as news. I think the concept of framing clearly applies to this Fox News report, as it's obvious the executives at Fox have very negative opinions of Mass Effect and video games in general; opinions they want their viewers to adopt as well, which helps me understand the tactics they use in this report.
But first, the term "framing" must be elaborated upon. Framing is the natural continuation of the concept of agenda setting. Agenda setting is the media's attempt to tell us what to think about, by focusing on certain topics and disregarding others. Through framing, the media takes it one step further and tells us how to think about these topics. This can be accomplished in any number of ways, from sensationalist reporting, to yellow journalism, to misrepresentation of facts, to a clear bias favoring one particular side of an argument, to many, many more. All of the above, however, can be found in the Mass Effect news report.
With framing in mind, I can more easily comprehend the different components of this report. For example, the image above, with its sensationalist "Sexbox" pun, and outright lie "New video game shows full digital nudity and sex." The truth, in this instance, is secondary to the idea that this game is evil, and is corrupting American youth, and that's what Fox News wants viewers to think. Perhaps most laughable is Fox's attempt to appear fair and balanced, by bringing Geoff Keighley, who actually played Mass Effect, into the debate. He presents the actual facts regarding the game, but is casually dismissed, and even laughed at when he rightfully asks if the other members of the debate have even played the game. Essentially, Geoff, a "game expert," is portrayed as a joke. He, too, is framed in a very deliberate manner. All of this, every element of the report, is part of the framing process, of telling viewers what to think about Mass Effect.
The image used in this post is pulled directly from the video, but can be found here:
http://www.xboxoverdose.com/tag/fox-news-mass-effect-controversy/
Could this blog post be considered my attempt at framing your thoughts on Fox News? I don't have an answer; I just consider that a very deep thought.
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