(In)direct framing effects: the effects of news media framing on public support for Turkish membership in the European Union

News framing can exert a strong influence on public opinion. Following a media content
analysis, this article investigates the effects of news framing on support for membership of
Turkey in the European Union. A first experimental study (n = 304) showed a significant
difference in the level of support for Turkish membership between respondents who
were exposed to a positively valenced news frame and respondents who had received a
negative frame. The results of a second survey-embedded experimental study (n = 1,632)
corroborated the first study, and tested the hypothesis that frames affect the importance
of certain considerations and that the valence of the news frames also directly affects
opinion. Negative news frames yielded stronger effects than positive news frames, and high
political sophisticates were more affected by positive framing. The study demonstrates
that (change in) public approval of Turkish EU membership is contingent on the elites’ and
the media’s coverage of the issue in interaction with individual characteristics.