ANALYZING MEDIA MESSAGES Using Quantitative Content Analysis in Research Second Edilion Daniel Riffe Ohio Univeniry Stephen Lacy Michigan Srate U"i...",s;ty ),'rtderick G. )<'ico Michigan SUlIe U"ivusjry IAWK.!'....CEI::llLlMlI)IASSOCJ,\,T&S,PU81.1SH.I!RS 110101"....1>,10'...J.....f ,.-don - _--_ ---___,- ... -- ~Cl_", _..._.. -_lOIt........__..._.... ...... ..... -.. --- 0-_-_....._ .- .. ' ,IMrJ -- h_' .- '","'e-.-c ........__,_. __.._I .. _:bod'" .-.....,."...,...,._c..... • _ lUA__-J -. ~-_._ I'lllNo.iOlt'm·,, ,oL_l ISlINo._»M~I"" _1 " e- ......... Ie-.l<.h..~ :L.-..-....1-.1........'._.. '4 ,__ " u, 1 .,... 11,__ 111,_. N.U!A'._.... - _--_"_""'" _ .. __ ......... '----~-- -. ..... ... ~ • I , I • • • , , lbl;"!RiJfr: For Ib,......Tt4,and EIiD SIqNnl..acy: ForI.P. B)WID.N.P. D&vi$,-.1A.G.Smilb "" FrnlFICII: '''"~''''I,. Bajuai..MIl FaitI'I Contents ,.,.. • ...... , 1 ~ 2 ~e-..NoIo/)'su.." So<iaISrimn'T..,j .U. 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"," a",~ ~ iJ' .. -So' .'i"if" i"l_·,;;-'n -. i5." ;;" '_"........,.."< .".0"_".. 0 n'.<"1.0 ••... i"ic""8l,C",'! ~ n!O;~ ,e,_.9 "" •. .s. ~_g~~~ai~i;fO~l .K...~a~ ;a:;j.,gH~o~l,a...!~!i~""s,Qt. •, •,__,,_,.,0a,=~..:.".1.:.~-.I'-:,~:,(r";i'"'~i-'S'.~'.'~,2sa,:e.1...8.-,:-I,_~~]n,'isil·S.l._,C"'"-.~0.-..!'.."~-0~a· "<>il"e ..-.. ' 1~~!j·~I~~~~.o!...! -(llr;'l" 111~1~a:1 ~,~r. 4ril~~I~.1 tigIJr~~'11~ ~,~~~ ~8.[-gE:~~~~ ~,,>:~<T~_g:I!!_i>~ ti~r s~~~t:g~~ ~i8~~~tg§.~~ • " ~ •... 8.~~~ ~l~~~.~~~~~..s"i',~"o!,~, , hoped10accomplishtheJaue,th",ogbd....,''''''''''elangulgelllUby "Ume",., pr,,,iding mpleo--<>f=enrand "c1as.ic~ studico---loil- lnmat. J'fobkm.and 10,1""•. We ",c rhe bookasI ",I",..yl.~l 10< couron in contenllnaly';., I ,apple"",,,,_lr••1rOO" ....."'h molb"ch CQu'lIe.I.llldau.efulI'rl=n<:er",followreuan:heninrna"communi· ,,"tionfkld,.p;.1;t;cal.cic,",c.andolhc,SO<';llandhehavionlsci"""". """,view In,his1>oסi:......beglllwithan ofthefieldof",IU.:ommun;· cuion "''''lreh. c"'pbllSi>.ingthe e<nfi1lli,y ofceo«o, .....Iy.;. '0that fieldII><!itsapplicabilityinOll>trdiocipli.nes.Wethendevelop'fonnal definition ofcOIllen,anuyoi.,cuminin. itsterm.IninltOdllCC impor tllllprindpl..infllCIlSUr<:"'CIIl,dIll",,"Iy.i.,andinf.rence.Inc/lapler 3 (Ihi, ""Inmoj. we describe the Ilrf'" involved in duisning I iludy. •"..,Iudingwith...ric.ofGue'li"",th., provideIII>OdeIforconducl ".ge ingqo"",;..,i""co'''.nl ...Iysi,. Wl,h,lie oc' byIh.,.., introouc loryoh."'....inthen:mainlul'I.We••plo«ruut.hIl$ueoIng'<lll« doplh.TlIe..,Indude"",.wttmon'.o.fit>dlng.ppropriateunit'of<on toni an4<l<velO(1lngrul..for..,igningIIIose unilS",o.tegori..;$Om .n pling.o...1«tingfrom poosible.on'enlonlya,m""h.,I'""tdtd; rtIi.blIIIy.oren",ring'haliudl"idu.l,applyI"llllt"ooy'.codingrul.. ob!alnIlie.."'""" uI,.;data"".1yOl',o••pplyIIIJI.pprop.1lte"Ill";••1 lechnique,; ..Iiduy.o.lh. Ihoo"";.11 .ndprllClic.1,Ignincanoeoflite ""dy', finding'; ond l«h".,.ogy. o. 'he Ule ofcompu'e.. in ...nten' ....Iy.,•. WeOW<'tMols'0manyfor klng'hi'bookpoSllbl<:ourfriends.. '--"WI.noeE.lba"rnAU""I I"".whoh..e wo,hdpOII.o,lywithU$ onlIIefits'andsecond«lI'lon.ofliltbook;",aohmwoo,"ughlu,con_ ,.." Dlly,i'_Do...14 L. Show. Eug."" F. Sh.w. W.yne Donlelson, 11m.. Tlnbnl. G. CI.velllOdWllholl. on<l D"idW.....--<:oIl••gu"" whoprovldtd'uuestinn,onIm",o>Ingtilebook;andourIIudenJ1who loughtu,themoll.bou'l.achingtonlenlan.ly.i,.Fin.lly.OUIdee,,",,' .ppreclatlongOCltoourf....iIi..whoof'enwonderw!le'hetwedo.ny_ lhlngbut.ootenl.n.ly." -DrJoltiRiff. -S'OpMO Uu:ty _F",t!uldrG. Fil:o 1 Introduction C"",iderlIIerichdi,...iryoffoe..ofl!IefollO'V;~.$Indies,allof,!>em ....mp...ofqUlntill.lh'.COOltnllnolysi.ICtO$S• r.,'~ad.""riod: • Inthelate 1940s.",..,mi'ler.euminedchillie;ntbein'ema,;"".1 polit;cal Iyllem by k>ol;ing ., 60 yem "reditorial. in five pres,;•• world ~'p.",,",. Lao.wen ...... found IwoCO""""""n' ''''00' in til< .ditori..b·langu••.........,n..,'ing joe,••'ingnati".....li.'" and growthof "",Ic,lriandoclnn<ll_tha, _med'n<uppon lIIeirhypocb<.i. ,h., in_ I<mlti""al"""i.Jrevolutionhad bet"b<t:winJforJOm<'ime(1........11. Lern..... '" ilclsola Pool. 1952). • Enmini",thefirstS hrofbre.king.......co....ao;.onCNN.ABC. CBS.100NBC.,,,,,.orch.,,'bowedhowtheSeptemberIJterrorisma{ tactSOjolledjoumaliwthl'theyob.nOOne<!tnditional roICllI""'lin dard•. reponing pef$()Oll thoughll and rumors aDd ",inll lnonymou. $(1"':0.(Reynolds&. Barnett,2003). Jm. • Sinc. til<Proj.." forEx••llooc.inJournall,m,'rese.rch"'. ganiu,i""un<!<rwri".n by,II<PewChorilObl<Tru.", halc..riodOn'a numberofmajor"udi..ofn....co'·...og.Clpl<wingth.impac'ofOWn· ....hip'yp"""loc&ltcle.i,i011I\CW,a,",.n,..co.crqcoflhew..inIraq and,hewar"",errori'm.'0nam..fcw(set:hUp:!lwww,joom&li'm.oraJ fCSOOrc.slrcsun:hlreporu). Similarly. "pIIblie.~ Meivic," <w Mcitiun_ balC<l"journalism"",a.i"goal,b.re'itoli..,iooorciviclife;anumber of..udie,ha....amine<!howefronsar.mOl1if..lCdinprin,andbroad· ca" ncw.eo••"'g.IM....y & Hu" 20(2). • Analy.i' ofpilot<»ofAfrican A.....ic.n.in Uf., N..."wuk. and Tim. during....'15,h~nrchronicledthe""""ingroieofBlack>inall , .'po"I> of American society fmm the early 10 tile la,e 20lh century (Lelter.lSmilh. t990). • ......Iy~in&.probability Ampleof2.696U.s, new.paperonicles d.."" from. J'OP\llllionofitems identir>ed by ~l.,·.", key "<>r<b•• •tudy(KutAlMoy,2002)dl)Cllrnente<!.co",i'tentne&l,i•• pon""YII offundamentali.tOri,,;.", f'om 1980umil2000, • A"ndy(Riff.,Goldson.SaAIOll.&;Yd. 19119)ofchllVle,,"role.in I.te-isionodvert,singduringSalurdaymOl'liinscllildn:n',pmgrarnmins """"flCC repontdI rem.lealld.lhnic fa'sm.lle,thanthose&fOUl'" pres· encein Ih....l- r1d population IS,.Oec,.din""nsu.datI. • 1\'••mof arcben(Pfa.ofII..20(4)anllyudwhclhcrembe<l· <led;o..m1Ii...coveredOpcnllioo"""'IiFm:<lom"mol<.fovonbly thin jOllmlli,lScoweringIh.«lnfliCIfrom Idis"",,,,,and whethe'printcov erageofthatope....'io" differed from ",po"i". during"'e lst doYIof 'i"" Opetal'On~EI>dl1rin&Fre<:dom~andOpe.... "o...n S"mn: • ASoulherndaily n<WSpIJ>ftJKlblishcr.s,ungby.rili.i,m,,ho,hi. pope' wo. e1.es<i,oIy negui"" in .o""rlge oftho Af'ican ADI<ri.an con,muoi,y,'cMom' .m.i..iol>Cd one: of!he lulllor< of'hi' Ic:<' to me..ure co,.....g.of gmen'ofthecommunilY. • UsingmlguineoniclescilNin~ Road"" G~ido1ohriodicnl Ute""u",. '....rehcn (Simmon, &; t"",,'Y. 1990) charoctori7"'d lho miftingpublicimageofinte'oltioOllllerrori<mduring'he 198010 1988 period. • A leamof"""""'her<lookN"'~ien,",nelll.in'wotypesofnelllS_ papcnmarting"'heendpoio,"00lheeon,iouumofjournali"ie,••pon_ .il>ili'y.~Sorp,ilingly,lahloidl'>OW.paper<(No'IMOII",!ui"" IndSlur) were"00'panicuJuly'inferior',omore're<ptclJble'JlCwspapcr<"(i.e.. 7T"", ,he/oleo.' York Ind Philadelphia Inquirer), in Imoontof"'entifoc reponing, IlthouJII p tige papers"'.remorecomprehensiveIudrig- orou, io ICK:nceco", e (E'an" Krippendorff. Yooo, POIlu,VlY. &; Thoma., 1990. p. ll~). " Finlily.tho 199~ to1OOOco\'WlgeofIOd.ti"ue,(pollu!;on,po" eny. lUId inclTee"';on) "-IS conten' anlly,N by Kcn<kki (2OOl) fOt dominom"f"""",:"definN ~"pcrsi...n,p.onemlofpruemo'ion.em· ph......and«el..ion"(Gi'lin, 1980.p. 7)lhalmuemoreulien,apar_ ,ieul.. "problem d<fo"'t'''''. conw in'e'J'fClO!'''''. mon.l o..olUllioo" IDdrecommend.lionfoc solo'i""(Eotmlo, 1993, p.~2). Co..cIOlesel· dom id<nliflCdelu'" oreffccu foc the i$Sue!.nordid i'of'en,nu..' thehkcllhoodthl' ,he prohlem,cOllId bewl>'ed. , Although,h.""'tudi",differinpurp<><e(O<)·<:all«lbasic"o.e.ln;h,OJ" "FP]i.dre<elrt:h,..inthe.'!.eofU","ud~"ommi..i<lRrobytheSoutb_ ern new.pope. publisher). focus, tc<:hoi'luClI cmpl<>ycd, ODd ""i.otitic rigor. they havechor"lCriud. vUlC1y ofapplication> P'».iblc: wlUl quo",;">!,,,,,"""'"n'"Mlyd•.• researchrnelhoddc:fincdinbrief.."t!Ie .y"erna6c...ignmentofcommuni.a';oncoo,ent toCI,.,orieloccord ;ng10",1e".lIdtileanalysi,ofrela'i"".hip.involving,boseClt.SOfie< ",iOIlSllli'tical IDetllod"M Usually,but1)0(.1"'"yl,CORle'"l/U.lysisillll<>!,·esdrawingI'qln'senlll till.umplellofCOOlen,.lJainingc«Ien10use till:nleg"" rulesdevel op«! '0 me.a.utt or .dkd <liff.....II<•• in _ ..n•••nd mounring ~ ",lio";I;ly (opumem Of £lability 0"" Ii_) of«"k.,i.,in ""plying thc ruI....Thed>1llcollected;nI'1uanli,.,i",.""len<"".lY lrCIhocn",.oUy anllyzedto&$enbewhatare'YPiocllpan.msorcbaraclcri.cic$ortoiden_ tifyimporlonlrelationshipsamongtil<OOnl<nt'l....litie$...mioed.Iftile categoriesandrulesa",cor>ceplUallyand~lic.1IY""",ndand.'"",Ii· ably opplied. the rese"",ber i""re..... the chance Ihal lbe 'Iud~ results ..ill bevalid(e.g..Iblltheo/l$erYedp.uemoaremeaningful). ThesuJellldefinitionjustJlf=ntMdeliberuelylock,lI1ymenti"" ofthe'pttifiegoalofthe....,_IIet.,iogqOWlIi"Ii""COnlenl....1y,i. (e.g.•lOleSl.hypothe,i,lboulinlernalio...1,...illr.volutionOr10de· ..ribe medii portrlyll ofmitIOriIi..), any 'pe<ifica'iooof.pproprilte Iypes ofcommunicllion 10 be...mined (e.g.• ,bemcs orI."'rti...... in preOligene"'pape. edilorial.ortelevision cornmereill,). Ihe Iypesof conlenlqu,litie.explorul(e.,..pllcemen,Of le"thofI new, ilemor preso""eofI dominlnlorcompelingfrome).ortbe'ypesofinfe..""". Iho< will bedn..n from thee""tentlfUlly,i,dati (e.lI.. ch'l'IC1.cri~in, chanlle in the global ",ciopnlillcil clim.",acrt>si 60yea" ofimeml tionllalflin00tbebui,oflanSlLlseinnew.pape.edil"';':h.conclud· ingth.otlOuni.m i.beins used inthec.,tinSofmlnorilyc""rac,,,•• in Idverti.inS limed II children, or'u8llcstinS Ihal media ""nltibule 10 puhlie Ip.thy aboul ill problem. hy failinS 10 "USB"" c.u,.., effe<lO.ormean,of lotioo). Such.pecificationoflerm,i.....nll.llO.th""",ghdefinilion.How .'·cr, before.morecomp",hensi,·.definitionofIbi, venllil.",selreh mClhodi.developedinchapltr2(Ihis...,lome), inIbisc","pler, ""flnl offer.briefo'·.rvi....oftile'01.ofeonl.nlInalysi.iomao.""mmoni· eo,ioor.searchfollo..'edbynample.ofbowcon",ol.nlly.i.hasbeen uoedinoth<,field, Inddiscipli"u. • /M,SSCOMMUNICATION RESEARCH Whereas ""bolus ....1 aw""""b rna,.communi,ati"" mc<lag•• from 1""'f'<'C,ive!"",meusoci.'e ",lib !behumanities (e.g., •• l'<enln", or art). mlnyO<h.....mploy asocial scien""aJ>P"lKh bar.edinempirical obsen'I';OOlnd mealnmncnl. Wha,lII., mcan.,~pic.IJyi,tho! the$<: ,escarchcn id""lify 'l"""iOM or problem< (eilh<r derived from tIl. ",hollllylite"'l"~orDCCOninginappliedmlS.communication).iden tifyconceptstha,"in,1Ieory" maybe involvedoratwork••00pf'OlJO'C possible.aplan";on'orrcl;Olion'b;p.""""'.ronecpU.ImplausibleC> planationsaredi""lIdcd,andviabl."""••esledempiric.Hy.witb theo re,i.alconcept. "",..mu,ur'«!inCOfN:fCle,o!»ervllbleterIn•• If mcmbe", of ethni<: min<ni,y, r.".cumpie. ",;co COncern !hOI tlM:yOf.undcrr.p nl.dinD,,,'ISmediacOIIlent(i"tamSof,lI<i,Ccn_ .... ""mlltrs),.rEXarchc:rmay pf<lPG'<' thaI racism i. at wort orthat mcml>ersof,bo;ethnicminority.",onderrcprc.scnted in lhoseoocupa tionalgroup.'hatservemoreoften..,no....>OII=Ointilt"".....Eathof thoot inltrprtlltion, ore'pl.....tioo. ;""oIve. diffe,ent concepu thll canbe"optratiolUlliz.ed··intomeaS~"'menl pmced~rt" andeach.,.obe te.tedempirkanY.asrtotarchersdidinthecontenlanalyjC.highlighted previou.ly. l'utanoth.,....y.",planllion.for problem.or""e"i"".for ,uchre_ searellt..at.lOUgh'andderi.,cdlhmughdirec'andobjective_rva_ tion and me••urem.n, rather than through 0...·• ,.a"",ing. in,ui,ion, .hort. ,c faith, idwloa;y,orco""ictiOll. In tiIesr: rna.. communic.tion oearehera employ ...hat is "adilionally referre<! to a. 'he ",;on,itic me'hod. ThecenturiCll-olddistinction bel.....n idMli_ (.n approach tho<..rgu..'hal"'"mindandiuide'"are"tiltul\ima",SOUre.andcrite riaofkno"'lcdlle*).nd"..pl,ici4..(anapproachtha,arguesth..obser· vation and e.perimenll'ion yield tnowledge) continnes to hold the a""ntionofth_int.re"cdin""i"""'aIDlYorthe,tndyofkno...ledg. (\'bg', 1999."".96, 1].6). Another imponan, d;"i"'lioo in..ol.... re<!uclioni.rn and holilm. Much of rna" commu"ication """ial "..icncc adlltre. implicitly to a ffliuclioniJrvie_theargumentthai undenundingcomCIIlhl'Ollghre docing • phenomenon to ,m.lle., more ba.ic, ind;vidu.ll"'rlS(Yogi. 1999, p. 2311)-'ather "'an /tqJi,,,,, an ...omption that ...hoICII.,.o be more than or different from the 10m of thei, individual pam (Vog,-