Critically Reading the Frame: Interpreting Newspaper Media Discourse on Police Killings

• In Event: 46.086 - Roundtable Session 16
  In Roundtable Session: 46.086-30 - Access, Equity, and Inclusion: Interrupting Normalized Discourses of Exclusion

Abstract

This paper uses frame analysis and critical discourse analysis to analyze the social issue of the killing of civilians by police in Trinidad and Tobago as reported in three main newspapers. Critical reading of 65 articles revealed that these media used metaphors, repetitive phrases, conflicting reports, and visual images to highlight the antagonistic relationship between police and community and set boundaries for readers’ understanding of events and actors. Issue-specific frames were responsibility, truth, justice, and trust. Generic frames were attribution of responsibility, conflict, and human interest. Articles in the Guardian highlighted police perspectives while the Express and Newsday gave prominence to community perspectives. The paper argues for the use of such texts in classrooms to develop students’ critical reading skills.

Author

• Iris Pamela Hewitt-Bradshaw, The University of Trinidad and Tobago