Press Bias and Politics: How the Media Frame Controversial Issues
This is among a lot of other very interesting stuff at the cut on the bias blog
Framing is the issue - that is to say, the context in which the topic is placed. And framing is the mechanism for this to happen:
As part of his findings, Kuypers said liberal opinions from editorials and news analyses often found their way into straightforward news reports.
I've pointed out a lot of examples of that kind of bias, through framing, on this site. As an example, think about this situation (don't panic, I have no reason to think it's true) - Bush deciding not to attack Iraq for six months to give the UN inspectors time to do their thing. Here is how it could be framed:
Neutral: "President Bush has decided to wait to attack Iraq until the UN inspectors have had the opportunity to review the current weapons situation in Iraq."
Liberal: "President Bush acknowledged the importance of having the UN on board today by postponing an attack on Iraq until UN inspectors have completed their task. Leaders at home and internationally applauded his restraint."
Conservative: "President Bush backed off of his promise to the American people today by bowing to pressure from the UN and world leaders. He plans to allow UN inspectors ample time to inspect Iraq's weapons program - time critics feel will just give Saddam more opportunity to refine his arsenal away from prying eyes as the inspectors are diverted from the real installations."
Obviously the conservatives would be very ...