Mediers inramning av morden på Melissa Hortman och Charlie Kirk. En kvalitativ studie av hur nyhetsplattformarna MSNBC och Fox News ramar in politiskt våld i amerikansk nyhetsmedia.

Abstract

This study examines how politically motivated killings of two prominent American political figures: Democratic Speaker Melissa Hortman and conservative commentator Charlie Kirk are framed in news coverage from Fox News and MSNBC. The analysis is grounded in framing theory and previous research on media responsibility, bias, polarization, and crisis exploitation. Through a qualitative text analysis of 29 articles and televised segments from the two cable channels, the study investigates how victims, perpetrators, and political violence are constructed through language and content. The analytical framework is structured around three main categories: framing of the victim, framing of the perpetrator, and language and tone. The findings show how both news channels emphasize the victims’ political identities, use emotionally charged expressions to varying degrees, and distribute blame and responsibility in ways that reflect their ideological orientation. The results indicate that Fox News and MSNBC reinforce different narratives about threat, responsibility, and political conflict depending on whether the victim can be understood as a “friend” or “opponent” relative to the channel’s ideological position. In doing so, the study contributes new insights into how ideologically profiled media frame contemporary cases of political violence and what implications this may have for democratic public opinion.