News media framing on abortion in the post- <i>Dobbs</i> era

We apply framing theory to investigate how the news media framed the issue of abortion after the 2022 Dobbs decision. We conducted a rigorous content analysis of 1607 local news stories in states with abortion bans or restrictions that went into effect in the first year post-Dobbs. Our results uncover several key findings. First, we found that local news relied on thematic frames far more frequently than episodic frames. Second, when local news articles used episodic frames the stories featured women with wanted pregnancies who needed an abortion as part of emergency medical care. Third, our study showed that women journalists were more likely than men journalists to use thematic frames, but women and men were just as likely to use episodic frames. Our results illustrate how public discussion via local news outlets unfolded in the first year after the Dobbs decision. Our results contribute to multiple literatures on news media influence, frames, as well as coverage of issues that disproportionately affect women.