Disability in the news: Assessing the frames used by the UK Press in their coverage of disability issues

Abstract

Framing theory has become a vast area of research in political communication.
Framing is used by journalists as a way of shaping and organising content.
Subsequently, they have the ability to influence how audiences view the realities
around them, by contributing to how frames come to be understood. This study
attempts to apply framing theory and disability theory to UK press coverage of
disability issues. To achieve this, it analyses two leading UK broadsheets, The
Guardian and The Daily Telegraph, for the identification of frames, the language used,
the valence of frames, and the sources cited. It was found that the UK press continue
to embody „traditional‟ media models when portraying issues of disability. This study
contributes to understandings of the extent to which news media are moving forward
with „progressive‟ representations of disability, yet highlights how far they still have
to go to understand the „realities‟ of disability, and the need for wider attitudinal and
societal change.