PRO-GUN VERSUS GUN CONTROL ISSUE POSITIONS: RESPONSIBILITY FRAMING IN NEWS COVERAGE OF MASS SHOOTINGS, ATTITUDES CHANGE, AND CIVIC ENGAGEMENT INTENTIONS

Abstract

Mass shootings have become a pressing public issue in the U.S. and have drawn increasing media attention. This study explored responsibility framing, content structures, and localization in news reporting in relation to audience responses to mass shooting news. Guided by Framing Theory, Transportation Theory, and Construal-Level Theory, an online experiment was conducted with 486 U.S. adults. Responsibility framing, content structures, and localization were manipulated between subjects; message variance was manipulated within subjects through three fictional text-based news reports about mass shootings in a grocery store, a high school, and a music festival. Results showed a selective and context-dependent pattern of effects. Individual-level responsibility framing increased individual-level causal and treatment responsibility attributions, whereas structural-level responsibility framing did not significantly increase structural-level responsibility attributions. Narrative news increased narrative engagement, the discrete emotion of fear, and fear of crime. Psychological proximity was positively associated with fear of crime and civic engagement intentions, but localization in news reporting did not significantly increase psychological proximity, and mediation through psychological proximity was not supported. However, structural-level responsibility framing combined with a national news perspective produced higher psychological proximity and perceived newsworthiness, suggesting that nationally situated structural explanations may make mass shootings feel more like a broader public-safety problem than isolated tragedies. Theoretical contributions and professional implications for mass shooting news coverage are discussed.