Evaluating the Ability of Computationally Extracted Narrative Maps to Encode Media Framing

TL;DR

This paper investigates whether computationally generated narrative maps can effectively encode and represent framing information in news data, revealing their potential and current limitations in capturing framing dynamics.

Contribution

It evaluates the ability of narrative maps to capture and produce consistent framing information, highlighting both their potential and existing challenges in representing framing.

Findings

Algorithm captures framing distribution in data

Achieving consistent framing across different events is challenging

Narrative maps can provide insights into framing dynamics

Abstract

Narratives serve as fundamental frameworks in our understanding of the world and play a crucial role in collaborative sensemaking, providing a versatile foundation for sensemaking. Framing is a subtle yet potent mechanism that influences public perception through specific word choices, shaping interpretations of reported news events. Despite the recognized importance of narratives and framing, a significant gap exists in the literature with regard to the explicit consideration of framing within the context of computational extraction and representation. This article explores the capabilities of a specific narrative extraction and representation approach -- narrative maps -- to capture framing information from news data. The research addresses two key questions: (1) Does the narrative extraction method capture the framing distribution of the data set? (2) Does it produce a representation with consistent framing? Our results indicate that while the algorithm captures framing distributions, achieving consistent framing across various starting and ending events poses challenges. Our results highlight the potential of narrative maps to provide users with insights into the intricate framing dynamics within news narratives. However, we note that directly leveraging framing information in the computational narrative extraction process remains an open challenge.