The media and crisis communication of a company operate according to different logics. The media are known to be more entertainment driven, while the company tries to remain trustworthy and publishes information only once it is confirmed. Does this difference in logic and in framing a crisis persist when the crisis occurs without any warning signs?Different crisis life-cycle models exist of which two of them are presented and discussed within this study. Additionally, media framing, media logic theory and crisis communication theory are further going to be clarified in order to identify if the difference in framing an extraordinary crisis persist.One of the addressed research questions aims to determine if there was a difference in covering the event between Germanwings and two German media, Bild and FOCUS online. The objective of the second research question is to discern if there was a frame-alignment between the two different types of media, Bild and FOCUS online.The results show that Bild and FOCUS online applied different frames while covering the event. While Bild merely focused on emotional stories and speculations over the cause of the accident, FOCUS online based their coverage on facts and statements. Furthermore, FOCUS online aligned their frames with Germanwings crisis reportage, whereas Bild merely covered according to the media logic theory.

Reports of smear campaigns and manipulated narratives about Sweden unfolding online, following a few derogatory comments by US President Donald Trump (2017-21), provided this thesis with three research aims. (1) To investigate the framing of Sweden in some of the most influential US newspapers, (2) to examine the agenda-setting role and influence of the president through US foreign policy, (3) to construct a comprehensive US media image of Sweden. To be up-to-date and for comparative purposes, the period 2013-2022 was selected to accommodate the presidencies of Barack Obama, Donald Trump, and Joe Biden. The chosen theories make sure a common thread is running through all parts of the thesis, and enhance our understanding of the environment in which this thesis takes place. Rooted in a positivist epistemology, a quantitative content analysis was conducted to systematically go through vast amounts of data. Although considering other external factors and explanations for the empirical data, this thesis successfully isolates US foreign policy as an independent variable. It finds that the interest in Sweden and tone more generally declined from Obama to Trump and then back to be more positive again during Biden. It seems that the way Sweden is framed – and that certain topics get politically activated – is indeed linked to how the US interacts with foreign nations. The thesis adds to a rather limited research field, and provides a platform for future studies. It, also, increases our knowledge of the role of US foreign policy in framing nations with which the US, for the most part, has a positive relationship. This study is relevant and of interest to people, not least scholars, that desire to learn more about determinants in US media, foreign policy, and international relations.

In this paper I argue that in a mediatized Australia, where media are increasingly constructing society and culture as a whole, racializing frames used by Melbourne newspapers The Age and Herald Sun during a two-month period in 2018 contribute to the continued ‘othering’ of the ‘highly visible’ Sudanese-Australian and Sudanese refugee communities, and the erosion of the policy, and lived reality, of multiculturalism in Australia. Building upon the existing extensive body of research about the representation of refugee groups in Australian media, I use media framing theory to inform my analysis. In order to understand what media frames the Melbourne print media constructed around the ‘African gang crisis’ in 2018 I chose to conduct a quantitative and qualitative content analysis of the types of sources used, and the quotes referenced, within the news articles. The analysis shows that ‘the media’ cannot be treated as one homogenous ‘sense-making’ group, as latent patterns of dominating source types as used by each newspaper point to specific ‘newsroom frames’ for each outlet. These ‘newsroom frames’ should be taken into account when exploring the media frames and, specifically, the role of racializing frames, in understanding the ‘othering’ of black Sudanese people in Australia in relation to the country’s ‘white majority’. Only with this understanding can we begin to dismantle the lingering impact of the country’s ‘White Australia Policy’ past and make multiculturalism the solid foundation of Australia’s future.

The present exploratory study, framed in agenda-setting theory, analyzes the way European and US newspapers frame racism and ethnocentrism issues, on the background of the 2006 FIFA World Cup. By combining quantitative and qualitative methods, 2 research hypotheses and 9 research questions were explored. The results showed the distribution of articles that used a positive frame and the ones that used a negative frame was relatively equal across geographical regions. The US media have shown as the most ethnocentric nationality the Spanish, while the European media, the Scottish. There is an agreement across different geographical regions that the French and the German have the most tolerant or anti-discriminatory actions or attitudes. The most prominent theme to describe nationalities’ tolerant attitudes was the power of football to unify peoples and to enhance global understanding. Both the American and the European media described the Argentinean team mostly in terms of athletic skill.

This study investigates how the international media framed Sweden's response to the COVID-19 pandemic and its image during this time. By utilizing framing theory as an analytical framework, 42 articles from The Guardian and The Washington Post were analyzed. Hence, based on the existing framing research, by Semeteko and Valkenberg (2000), the coverage is classified into five frames: conflict, human interest, economic consequence, morality, and responsibility. The findings highlight how the media coverage of a nation during crises can shape its national image. Moreover, the study underscores the significance of comprehending how media can influence future global crisis reporting. This thesis contributes to the existing body of literature pertaining to the media framing of crises by analyzing the portrayal of Sweden's exceptionalism and image by the international media in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Through an examination of news coverage from prominent outlets, the study identifies the dominant frames used to portray Sweden's response and shape its image. The findings reveal a diverse range of frames employed, including conflict, human interest, economic consequence, morality, and responsibility, reflecting the complexities surrounding Sweden's approach. This research emphasizes the importance of comprehending media framing in shaping national image during global crises and advocates for holistic approaches to address societal, economic, and public health impacts. Finally, the study’s findings indicated that Sweden's national image in the context of its response to the COVID-19 pandemic is multifaceted and complex, based on the analysis of the various frames used in the articles. The dominant frames shape Sweden's perception of itself as a nation characterized by opposing opinions, controversies, ongoing debates, personal experiences, moral considerations, and a delicate balance between economic and social concerns. Sweden is framed as a nation that values individual liberty, individual responsibility, and a distinctive approach to crisis management.  Overall, Sweden's national image reflects a dynamic and complex perspective, illuminating the complexities and diverse perspectives surrounding its response to the COVID-19 crisis.

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This thesis investigates the role of network structure, brokerage, and framing in high-risk collective action. I use the protest movement that emerged in Russia following falsified national elections in 2011 and 2012 as an empirical case study. I draw on a unique dataset of nearly 30,000 online documents and the linking structure of over 3,500 Russian Web sites. I employ a range of computational social science methods, including Exponential Random Graph Modeling, an advanced statistical model for social networks, social network analysis, machine learning, and latent semantic analysis. I address three research questions in this thesis. The first asks if a protest network challenging a hybrid regime will have a polycentric or hierarchical structure, and if that structure changes over time. Polycentric networks are conducive to high-risk collective action and are robust to the targeted removal of key nodes, while hierarchical networks can more easily mobilize protesters and spread information. I find that the Russian protest network has a polycentric structure only at the beginning of the protests, and moves towards a less effective hierarchical structure as the movement loses popular support. The second research question seeks to understand if brokered text is actually novel, and if that text is more novel in polycentric networks than in hierarchical ones. Brokers are the individuals or nodes in a network that connect disparate groups through weak ties and close structural holes. Brokers are advantageous because they have access to and spread novel information. I find that the text among nodes in brokered relationships is indeed novel, but that information novelty decreases when networks have a hierarchical structure. The last research question asks if a protest movement in a high-risk political setting can be more successful than the government at spreading its preferred frames, and within such a movement, whether moderate or extremist framing is more prevalent. I find that the opposition is far more effective than the government in spreading its frames, even when the government organizes massive counter protests. Within the movement, moderates are more likely to have their framing adopted online than extremists, unless violence occurs at protests. The findings suggest that movements should build flatter, more diffuse networks by ensuring that brokers tie together diverse protest constituencies. The findings also provide evidence against those who claim that authoritarian governments are more effective in shaping online discourse than oppositional movements, and also suggest that movements should advance moderate framing in order to attract a wider base of support among the general population.

This diploma thesis called "Media framing of the Ukrainian conflict - articles comparison of German and Russian governmental servers concerning the theory of peace journalism" focuses on the extent, to which differ news coverage of Russian progovernmental webpage rt.com and German progovernmental webpage dw.com. It also researches how much these media contribute to potential escalation and de-escalation of the conflict. These results are gained by implementation of the concept of peace and war journalism into analysed articles. Thanks to quantitative and qualitative analyses methods, the research showed that the coverage of the Ukrainian conflict differs in both media. They vary primarily in the extent of contextual insight into the issue, in thematic contents of articles and in descriptions of parties involved in the conflict. Neither of these two media however can be associated with the practice of war or peace journalism according to the findings. They proved to choose certain aspects of the reality and increase its meaning in their articles, but the amount of such interventions cannot be interpreted as inclination to war or peace journalism.

The thesis analyses framing of news in four local on-line media of Donetsk Oblast in Eastern Ukraine. Two of the analysed on-line news websites (Novosti Donbassa and Mariupolskie Novosti) are based in Ukraine-controlled part of Donetsk Oblast, the two other (DAN and Gorlovka.Today) are located in so-called Donetsk People's Republic established by pro- Russian rebels. The thesis focuses on news reporting of two major events of the Conflict in Eastern Ukraine which occurred in 2015: The battle of the city of Debaltseve and the preparations of local elections in so-called people's republics of Donetsk and Lugansk. The analysis is based on Robert N. Entman's definition of framing analysis which consists of searching for keywords, phrases and other tools which build the frame.