Effects of Frame Repetition Through Cues in the Online Environment

Abstract

Research has shown that message frames can shape a reader’s subsequent judgments on political issues. In the online news environment, additional cues outside the story may be present that can affect the power of the frame. This online experiment investigates the role of repetitive cues in the framing processes using news editorials and their accompanying recommended headlines that repeat the editorial’s frame. Results suggest that regarding issue-related attitudes and emotions, consistent frame repetition reinforced the effects of the original article when the frame’s relevance to the readers was high but undermined the article’s impact when the relevance was low. Implications for framing studies and online news consumption are discussed.