Testing the Political Effects of Color and Music in Television News

• In Event: Framing in the Wild and the Lab

Abstract

Contemporary television news programs routinely add colorful title animations and dramatic music to otherwise substantive issue coverage. These market-driven aesthetic choices—functioning as psychological advertising strategies—may guide public opinion or influence issue salience. This paper explores the possibility of "subordinate frames" in news media, defined as (1) inherently non-rhetorical devices that are (2) emotionally stimulative and (3) creatively enlisted to serve apolitical primary goals (e.g., audience engagement) while also producing secondary political effects. A randomized control trial experiment utilizing a video-driven survey instrument demonstrates that variations in background music and graphics in otherwise neutral media coverage of homelessness can influence the audience’s emotional response, guide attitudes about the issue, and influence policy preferences. Although the experiment fails to isolate a simple causal relationship between subordinate frames and voter support for progressive housing policy, the results inspire broader studies of subordinate frames’ influence on attitude formation and political behavior.

Author

• Nate Clark, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)