Examining the role of narratives in policy agenda setting amid a "manufactured crisis"

Open Access
- Author:
- Smith, Michael Forrest
- Graduate Program:
- Public Administration
- Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy
- Document Type:
- Dissertation
- Date of Defense:
- October 09, 2020
- Committee Members:
- Bing Ran, Dissertation Advisor/Co-Advisor
Bing Ran, Committee Chair/Co-Chair
Beverly Ann Cigler, Committee Member
Younhee Kim, Committee Member
Elizabeth Jean Tisdell, Outside Member
Steven Ames Peterson, Committee Member
Bing Ran, Program Head/Chair - Keywords:
- public policy
narratives
agenda setting
crisis
legitimacy
Narrative Policy Framework
Multiple Streams Framework - Abstract:
- Narrative elements and strategies have long been recognized as significant inputs into policymaking, but little research has occurred to date linking the use of these tools directly to agenda setting. Using the Narrative Policy Framework and Multiple Streams Framework as theoretical foundations, this exploratory research examines through qualitative content analysis narratives policymakers employed amidst a partial shutdown of the United States government from late December 2018 through January 2019. Using a typological map of news media accuracy and bias from Ad Fontes Media, a sample of 100 articles from seven programs on four different broadcast networks were coded using a coding worksheet inspired by that used in Shanahan et al.’s study of a Cape Cod, MA, wind farm project. The worksheet tracked codes developed a priori based on narrative elements and strategies as conceptualized in the Narrative Policy Framework, as well as emergent codes identified in a grounded-theory-like manner. Interview transcripts were coded on two separate occasions and coefficients of agreement were calculated for each code. Only those codes demonstrating agreement were analyzed. The data reveal new story lines that expand the Narrative Policy Framework’s plot element and reinforce existing literature on the importance of group cohesion, suggesting shared messaging among political actors and coalitions is important for determining a narrative’s efficacy at advancing or blocking an issue from the decision agenda. The research also suggests narratives play an important role in constructing the legitimacy of problem definitions, focusing events, the political environment, and policy alternatives. The paper offers a new model for conceptualizing the role of narratives in agenda setting as theorized through the Multiple Streams Framework, including the introduction of four legitimacy checkpoints at which evaluations are made and are theorized to influence an issue’s prospects of reaching the decision agenda.