Framing of Parliamentary Electoral Narratives in Bangladesh: A Content Analysis of Leading National Dailies
Safayat Hossen and Jebunnesa Juthi
Assistant Professor, Mass Communication and Journalism Discipline, Khulna University, Khulna, Bangladesh
BSS (Hons), Mass Communication and Journalism Discipline, Khulna University, Khulna, Bangladesh
Abstract
This study employs content analysis to examine how Bangladeshi national dailies framed the narratives of Bangladesh’s 12th National Parliamentary Election. Data were collected from four prominent Bangladeshi national dailies named Bangladesh Pratidin, Prothom Alo, The Daily Star, and Daily Sun. This study was guided by framing theory. Findings reveal that around 95% of the news articles were presented as hard news, focusing on daily events, while only 5% were classified as soft news, providing a more analytical or interpretative view of the election placed on front and inside pages. The conflict frame was the most dominantly used across all newspapers, followed closely by the intimidation and election conspiracy frames. In contrast, the issue, game, human interest, and economic frames were among the least used, suggesting a media focus on political tensions, unrest, security threats, and electoral manipulation rather than on policy discussions, campaign strategies, economic development, or personal voter experiences. While minimal differences were observed in overall framing techniques, the order of the fourth and fifth most-used frames varied slightly. Such findings contradict many of the prior studies and demand further investigation.
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