Ott and Aoki (2002) analyze several media outlets' coverage of the Matthew Shepard murder. They apply Burke's Grammar of Motives to framing analysis in order to examine the larger issue of how media framing influences public attitudes.
1. A scapegoat must be consubstantiated with the community
As Ott and Aoki (2002) point out, scapegoating alienates and sacrifices one member of a community in order to purify a shared problem. This process of scapegoating requires a sacrifice of someone who shares similar characteristics with others in society. It requires consubstantiation between the scapegoat and the community prior to the sacrifice.
2. Scapegoats are a feature of the tragic frame.
Media's use of the tragic frame drives the scapegoating process by contributing to the alienation, sacrifice, and reunification steps.
3. The tragic frame does not allow communities to learn from a shared mistake.
Ott and Aoki (2002) argue that media use of the tragic frame limits society's ability to learn and grow as a result of tragedy. They advocate media use of comic frames, which allow correction of a behavior without alienating and sacrificing an individual's action from the group's action.
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