Framing as Naming: Actor Visibility in CNN and Al Jazeera English Live-Update War Reporting

Abstract

Actor naming is a framing decision that comparative research rarely examines systematically in live-update war reporting. This study compares primary actor visibility in CNN and Al Jazeera English headlines during the first month of the Hamas-Israel war, from 7 October to 7 November 2023. Based on framing theory and Entman’s four framing functions, the analysis applies a frozen ten-category codebook to 6,578 valid coded headline units. Outlet differences are assessed using Pearson chi-square tests, Pearson residuals, and Wilson 95% confidence intervals. Actor distribution differs by outlet, χ²(9, N = 6,578) = 198.85, p < .001, Cramér’s V = .174, with a modest association persisting after headlines without a recoverable primary actor are excluded, V = .187. CNN gives greater relative visibility to Hamas armed actors, Israeli military actors, and U.S. officials. Al Jazeera English foregrounds United Nations and international actors, Arab states, and Israeli civilians. These findings identify actor naming as a distinct analytical entry into framing. Within the same live-update genre, outlets can construct systematically different patterns of actor visibility that aggregate frame counts alone cannot capture.