The Art of Framing

In class, we have been talking about the concept of framing and how it applies to our careers as PR practitioners.

According to the FrameWorks Institute, framing is described as "the construct of a communication - it's language, visuals and messengers - and the way it signals to the listener or observer how to interpret and classify new information. By framing, we mean how messages are encoded with meaning so that they can be efficiently interpreted in relationship to existing beliefs or ideas."

I know that was a really long definition. Some of you might learn through scenarios as I do. So here is a real-life example of one.

A couple of weeks ago we had a guest speaker come in and talk to us about the earthquake in Haiti and the effect that we, as Americans, had on the environment. Just giving you some background information, I am a Christian and not one of those Christians who are just Christian in their words. I try to please God with all of my actions. I mess up. A lot. But at the end of the day, I live my life with a strong conviction.

So flash forward to the guest speaker. His opening slide (after his title page) was the scripture Genesis 1:1: "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth." He proceeded to tell us that we interpret that scripture wrong. He told us that God was actually a group of people and that when the Bible said in the beginning it was actually referring to "A beginning", because with evolution there is a beginning for everything. So sirens are going off in my head at this point, but I opted to continue listening.

The next slide was titled "False Hopes". He then went on to say that we are the only people who can change ourselves, but we have these false hopes. Down on that list was Jesus Christ. I immediately stopped listening at this point and began staring off into space.

As Walter Lippmann describes it, "We define first, and then see." If you believe one thing, then you will be drawn to facts that support that frame. If a fact does not fit a frame, we throw out the fact, not the frame.

That's exactly what I did. I had a frame and his information did not support my frame so I threw away the fact. After realizing that that was what I did, I started noticing patterns of that in my life.

Can you recall a moment in your life where a "fact" didn't support a frame in your mind? What was that frame? How did you react?