News Media’s Democratic Functions in Public Education: An Analysis of Newspaper Framings of Public School Closures

Abstract

Many school districts have closed public schools, despite opposition. The controversial nature of closures has inspired extensive newspaper coverage. This article addresses two questions: How do newspaper media frame public school closures? To what extent does this coverage fulfill media’s democratic functions? I examine coverage of school closures in 13 cities between 2005 and 2013. Across coverage of pre-closure catalysts, decision-making processes, and anticipated impacts, newspapers foster a conflictual framing, reducing plural meanings of schools to dichotomous arguments. This analysis reveals how media do not maximize their democratic functions and raises questions about newspapers’ influence in education policy making.