框架概念與公共關係策略－－有關運用媒介框架的探析

Media Framing as Public Relations Strategies

本文旨在以框架概念為理論基礎，討論公共關係工作如何制定策略。公共關係理論的三個主要學派過去均輕視媒體運作的概念化過程，忽略此一領域理論建構的重要性。本研究以近日來曾在媒體長篇累牘報導的臺北市「十四、十五號公園預定地拆遷事件」進行個案分析，討論如何尋找事件框架以及如何呈現媒介框架。「框架」在本研究中定義為「個人或組織對社會事件的主觀解釋與思考結構」，而新聞媒體則是社會議題的「競爭場域」，是各種社會框架競相爭取進入的公共領域。由於社會及開放空間，不同組織可透過社會事件、符號活動、或甚至人物劇本，爭取在新聞媒體取得主導解釋社會意義的唯一力量。本研究在個案分析中發現，框架除了具有核心意旨外，並有相對與層次關係：即框架必然延伸出反面與上下的對應框架。由此觀之，任何社會運動或公關組織人員的首要工作，在於從社會議題之眾多論述中，發現相關面向，並選取最適合組織進行運作之框架。這項選取過程不但牽涉到組織本身的立場，也與議題的相對立場、目標對象的框架、以及新聞媒體框架有所牽連。一個「好的」框架應具有較佳結盟潛力，動員效果也應較佳。本研究隨即討論使用框架的注意事項，包括確定主要命題、鋪陳命題、結合歷史情境、善用對比等。本研究認為，框架概念對公關工作具有啟發作用，不但顯示了實務工作的理論架構，亦呈現理論的應用層面，未來應持續受到學術研究與實務界的重視，深究其與語言的互動關係。

Framing analysis has been a growing area of research in mass communication that deals with how the messages are 'framed' in news coverage. Past research has implied that frames are closely linked to the ideas and scripts as aid in the construction of meaning. Gamson, for example, defined frames as the focus of concern or controversy that suggests what the issue is about. He also suggests that frames may be located by identifying the central organizing idea in a news story. In this short essay we continue our exploration of the concept of framing by examining how it may be applied in public relations. A recent news event was case studied with the following research questions in mind: how a frame may be developed by the pr strategist? What is the inner structure of the frame? In terms of frame competition, how a frame may be linked with other frames available in an event? We first conducted a content analysis of the news coverage of the event, and identified major frames that have appeared. By following our earlier presumption that each frame has its own core ideas which may be perceived as the theme of the discourse, we further proposed that each frame always encounters an 'opposite' meaning that may be termed as 'anti-frame,' and these two may be generalized to a higher level to form a more abstract meaning of the 'microframe.' In the latter part of this paper, we then submitted steps that may be involved in developing a frame in a social event. For example, an attack strategy should be adopted if the frame attracts the highest degree of consensus from both the public and the media. Otherwise, more conservative tactics should be taken to absorb the opposite meaning with an aim to form the macro-frame. In the conclusion we recommended pr practitioners to conduct detailed analyses of social events in order to recognize both frames that are hospitalized and alienated. It is hypothesized in the paper that the more familiar with the situation the better chance to be successful in winning the competition of framing.