Abstract:
This study analyzed print media framing
of the 2015 Sri Lanka Presidential Election
coverage. A total of 603 news stories
and editorials published in two leading
newspaper “Daily News” and “Daily
Mirror” published during the period of 21st
November 2014 to 13th of January 2015
were selected for this study. The study
considered the postulates of “Agenda
Setting” and “Framing‟ to examine the
2015 election. The study focused on the
Equivalence frame, Game frame, Interparty
relation frame, Issue frame and Emphasis
frame. The following questions were asked:
Was there a difference in the editorial
coverage of selected English newspapers?
What were the dominant issues discussed
in the Presidential Election coverage?
Which election frame got the maximum
newspaper coverage? Which newspaper
performed the watchdog role regarding
the coverage of Presidential Election
2015? Which newspapers favored to
which candidate, regarding his campaign
leading up to the presidential election?
Overall, the findings of this study revealed
that the Equivalence frame was the most
dominant frame used in the coverage of
the 2015 Sri Lanka Presidential Election.
Issues of Peace (Terrorism) and Corruption
were the most discussed in the coverage
of the 2015 Presidential Election. Also, the
researcher investigated the consistency
of editorial policy and the watchdog role
played by the selected press. Newspaper
coverage can have a positive or negative
impact on the image of an individual. The
study reveals that the two organizations
framed the information differently. Media
played the roles of informing, persuading,
educating, and acted as the agenda setter
to its audience by putting more emphasis
on some issues.
