Framing common core: a comparative analysis of media and policy agenda setting in Oklahoma and New Mexico

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Date
2018
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University of Alabama Libraries
Abstract

Education has been cited as an important political issue in the United States for decades, yet little research has been done on how the media influence education policy. The Common Core State Standards—which were recently adopted by nearly all 50 states—present an especially interesting case study of how the media can influence different policy outcomes in different places. This study investigated whether agenda setting and differences in framing by the media could have played a role in differing policy outcomes regarding Common Core in two states, Oklahoma and New Mexico. A content analysis was conducted of all newspaper articles referencing Common Core in the largest daily circulation newspapers in Oklahoma and New Mexico from 2010 through 2016, and the frequency of media coverage was compared to the amount of legislation regarding Common Core that was discussed by each state legislature during that same time period. A descriptive analysis was conducted to determine whether the media influenced the policy agenda or vice versa in each location. Additionally, a more in-depth content analysis of newspaper articles was conducted to determine whether there were differences in how Common Core was described, or framed, by the media in each state. Results indicate that there were indeed differences in who set the agenda and how Common Core was described by the media in each state. Whereas the policy agenda set the media agenda in Oklahoma (where Common Core was eventually repealed), the media agenda appeared to set the policy agenda in New Mexico (where Common Core has been largely supported). Moreover, Common Core was uniquely described in Oklahoma media outlets as a federal overreach into state issues, whereas New Mexico media uniquely described Common Core as an assessment tool and accountability measure and allotted substantial space to discussing the details of the standards as well as the logistics of implementing them. Although more research needs to be done, this study seems to indicate that traditional news media continue to play a strong role in politics via agenda setting.

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Communication
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