FRaming 101

Recently in my PR Research and Strategies class, a new approach was introduced to me and my classmates. This approach is called framing. I was familiar with the term but didn’t have a clue how framing was really applied. Practitioners and scholars have begun to use this approach to explain social issues to the public.


Strategic frame analysis (framing) was developed at the Frame Works Institute by a team that studied and tested the concept. According to this institute, framing means how messages are encoded with meaning so that they can be efficiently interpreted in relationship to existing beliefs or ideas. Framing focuses on organizing information in a way for the public to better interpret it. Framing is all about communication and interpretation. A frame can consist of metaphors, context, stories and visuals. These elements help people construct an expectation in their mind.


We often discuss global warming in class, and it is a good example of an issue being framed. The media and politicians often frame global warming to convince the public that this is a small issue. In James Hoggan’s book "Climate Cover Up", he addresses this issue and how it is not being properly analyzed. The book provides us with a plethora of examples of organizations and experts who frame and cover up the importance of this issue. As Americans we already have our views and opinions on certain things, and we often let the media be our decision makers. Research is important and should be our main source, especially about unfamiliar topics.


PR practitioners use framing as a persuasive tool. Some may confuse framing with spin because both are strategies to persuade the public. But spin is a negative strategy that public relations practitioners avoid. The public will make decisions off of previous knowledge and new information that a public relations practitioner has framed.

TIPPING POINT By Malcolm Gladwell

The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell is definitely a must read and is now at the top of my book list. The definition of a tipping point is any idea, product or message that spreads like an epidemic. In the book’s introduction, Gladwell explains how tipping has three characteristics. One is contagiousness, two is the fact that little causes can have big effects, and three is that change happens not gradually but at one dramatic moment. A great example that Gladwell used about "tipping" is the Hush Puppies epidemic. The shoe brand, Hush Puppies, was very unpopular at one point. Nobody wanted to purchase these unfashionable shoes until the right person spotted some local kids in New York wearing them. Once people recognized the potential in these shoes, designers from all over became interested, and just like that the epidemic began.

This bestseller makes you think more critically and analyze the concept of change.

Why is word of mouth so powerful? How does a TV show like “Sesame Street” help children grasp the concepts of reading and writing? This book helps us answer these questions by giving us an understanding of social change.

Gladwell focuses on three concepts in The Tipping Point. The first concept is Law of the Few, which tells the reader that there are three types of people who tip ideas. These individuals are known as connectors, mavens and salesmen. The second concept Gladwell presented was The Stickiness Factor. Gladwell defines the stickiness factor as the quality that compels people to pay close attention to a service, product or idea (p.92). The last concept that was introduced in the book was Power of Context. This concept determines if something will tip and spread. An example used in this chapter was the decline of crime in New York in the 1990s.

Public relations relates to the book The Tipping Point because of the concepts used to counsel organizational leaders, and to analyze trends throughout organizations and the public. Public relations introduces new ideas and change, and The Tipping Point has done the same.