Framing is important in public relations because it allows the practitioner to put the message into certain contexts that the public is "comfortable" with and keep the publics opinion positive for the topic.
One of the current events I found framing to be used a lot in was the recent Sea World whale trainer death. When the death first happened, the reports were saying that the trainer went down on accident and was tripped by the whale. Then later reports were release that the whale had actually pulled the trainer in. Then a few days later Sea World did a press conference to discuss the incident. The press conference took place in front of the glass tank that held the whales. As the president of Sea World spoke, viewers of the televised conference could see the killer whales peacefully swimming by and even at time coming up to the window and staring at the press core. The press conference was framed to show that the whales were safe, gentle and that the trainer would not want for the whale shows to stop.
I think that the press conference was perfectly framed and helped to restore faith the whale shows at Sea World. This was evident in that the attendance for the whale show the next day was full.
Your example of framing by using the incident at Sea World was a really good example of what framing really is. In Dr. D's class on Monday we talked about what happened at Sea World but I did not think to connect it with framing. But I definitely agree with you on how the media used the press conference they had in front of the whales to show that the whales are not as bad as they may have seemed after the death of the trainer. It was a sad situation but I think the PR practitioners that worked with this case did a good job with making Sea World continue to be a safe place.
ReplyDeleteWhen I think back on when I went to Sea World as a little girl I loved it and I still do. The whales are so sweet and friendly I just could never imagine then killing someone. If I ever have children I will be taking them to Sea World. Its such a fun place to take your family!
Great job on recognizing the using of framing and connecting the dots, so others can understand and see the parallels of framing in the Sea World media coverage. It was unfortunate event that happen, but entertaining the media press questions in front of the whales tank was the best position that the PR. Practitioners chose to do. Media Press had first hand experience and evidence that the whales are harmless and well ¬trained and this whole incident was just an accident that comes with the job.
ReplyDeleteSea World has always been a great amusement park for children and generations to come and just because of one serious accident the future generations should not miss out on the opportunity to have the same experience as the generations before them. If I were able to suggest something to Sea World I would ask them to re-exam the safety issues concerning the whales and improve the safety measures. By doing that Sea World would have found a common bridge between the Sea World objectives and the public views on safety. The public would be aware of the fact that Sea World is improving safety and the public would fell a little bit more comfortable visiting Sea World in the future.
B. Hudson