Introducing the NewsFrames Platform

NewsFrames Platform is a collaborative online space that incorporates different people, data, methods and tools aiming to understand the way in which stories are framed in media; identify possible biases in news coverage and in ourselves; and explore new and innovative models to produce more accurate and comprehensive content.

It is guided by analytical methods and informed by the bridge-building principle that characterizes Global Voices. Used together, NewsFrames opens the opportunity for people to be surprised both by data and by another’s insightful perspectives.

Tools, Methods and Projects

The NewsFrames platform combines a variety of tools with rigorous, journalistic methods to provide a space to work on projects that explore framing. For a quick guide:

NewsFrames Methods

Data doesn't just speak on its own: raw data and analytical tools require human review and interpretation. Working on remote, distributed teams can make the prospect of following processes even tougher.

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NewsFrames Tools

The NewsFrames platform uses different tools, some of which are:

Media Cloud: an open-source platform designed for studying media ecosystems, and developed by the MIT Center for Civic Media and the Harvard Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society.
Bias Prism: an experimental collaboration around Natural Language Processing algorithms with Georgia Institute of Technology's that helps detect possible bias in news coverage.

Tools that we are also experimenting with include;

Zotero: a research tool that collects research in a single interface so that it is easier to access, organize and share.
Check: an online tool that structures investigations, gathers communities online, and allows to streamline common tasks.
Checklist: an error-reduction tool that aims to improve the writing process in journalism.

Get Started With NewsFrames Tools >>

NewsFrames Projects

The News Frames team has developed a series of projects, each with its own set of approaches and insights, but all guided by the principle of bringing people, data, methods and tools closer together to analyze how stories are framed by media, and to produce a more accurate and comprehensive content. Some of the on-going projects in place so far are:

Culture Shots look at framing patterns in news coverage on cultural themes, in a small, easy-to-swallow dose.
The Fabricated News stories seek to clarify the concept of “fake news” and to explore its international dimensions.These stories initially focus on suspected cases of fabricated news, understood as as instances in which false information is passed off as factual, either on media outlets or on social media. More resources that help clarify this concept can be found here.
The Framespotters series looks at the way in which different topics, such as harassment, moral values, and language in politics, are framed in media.
Rising frames aims to apply the tools and skills of data analysis to explore how media is covering topics and issues relevant for marginalized groups, such as indigenous communities, to then collaborate with these groups to respond to media coverage from their own perspectives. You can find examples of these efforts in our Reframed Stories series.

The main goal of this platform is to facilitate collaboration among the Global Voices community, as well as other journalists, researchers and community members who want to work around the question of news framing to better understand how these frames affect the way in which we make sense of each other and the world.

Don’t hesitate to contact us at newsframes@globalvoices.org if you have any questions or want to get involved. We are here for you!

Updated March 28, 2018 17:05 GMT