Framing the PDAF scam: A Comparative Frame Analysis of the Philippine Daily Inquirer’s and Philippine Star’s Coverage of the 2013 PDAF Scam
Framing the PDAF scam: A Comparative Frame Analysis of the Philippine Daily Inquirer’s and Philippine Star’s Coverage of the 2013 PDAF Scam
Abstract
The Priority Development Assistance Fund and other pork barrel funds are subjected to criticism and seen as instruments of corruption. In 2013, one such case of the PDAF being used as an instrument of corruption, the so-called PDAF scam, was brought to light by the media. To find out how the media covered this issue, this thesis examined the articles published by the Philippine Daily Inquirer and Philippine Star, two of the leading newspapers in the country. Using McCombs and Shaw’s Agenda-Setting Theory and De Vreese’s Framing Theory of Media, the researcher assessed how media outfits constructed the narrative of the PDAF scam.
Content analysis of the relevant articles from the two newspapers revealed the frames used in constructing the issue. The two newspapers mostly framed the scam in a simplistic manner, pinning the blame on a few individuals while providing little in the way of context.
Boado, N. (2015). Framing the PDAF scam: A comparative frame analysis of the Philippine Daily Inquirer’s and Philippine Star’s coverage of the 2013 PDAF scam, Unpublished Undergraduate Thesis, University of the Philippines College of Mass Communication.
Key words: PDAF scam, pork barrel scam, Philippine Daily Inquirer, Philippine Star