ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the main idea of framing as well as the core problems of the approach. It provides an overview of the research on media framing of political scandals. The chapter suggests that an approach on how to assess two general frames often used in scandal coverage: the attack frame and the defense frame. There is evidence that media coverage of political scandals—defined as “intense public communication about a real or imagined defect that is by consensus condemned, and that meets universal indignation or outrage” —has increased during the last decades. Framing theory has also been applied to research on political scandals, namely media coverage of political scandals. There is a striking difference between the picture of the plagiarism scandal as conveyed by BILD and that of the other newspapers. By shaping the interpretation of a scandal, the media can influence public discourse and citizens’ knowledge, attitudes, and behavior.
