Linguistic Analysis of News Title Strategies in Media Frame—A Case Study of “The Mueller Investigation” in the News Titles of The New York Times and Fox News

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

The paper explores frame formation strategies in the media through an analysis of headlines covering the Mueller Investigation in both the New York Times and Fox News. The study is relevant to the proposed journal and is well-written. The sample utilized is also robust.

While the abstract is well-organized, it is notably lengthy, nearly equal in length to the introduction. The idea is to have a slightly shorter abstract. Although the introduction is well-constructed and organized, it would be beneficial to incorporate the main research results, as outlined in the abstract.

The literature review, although solid, could be slightly enhanced, considering the paper references only 20 works. Incorporating insights from classic authors such as Gregory Bateson and Gaye Tuchman would enrich the review. Additionally, when discussing the varied interpretations of framing in sociology and psychology, it is advisable to cite specific authors supporting these perspectives.

Footnote 5's information could be seamlessly integrated into the methods and data section for improved coherence.

The presented results are interesting and hold scientific merit. Making minor adjustments can enhance the overall impact of the paper.

Author Response

Thank you for giving the review! Please see the attachment.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 2 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

This is an interesting paper that has potential, but is not yet publishable. I am not an expert on framing analysis, but I do know that the literature is vast, and even though the author makes some of the key citations here, I believe there’s much more that should also be referred to. In speaking to fundamental differences between mainstream, center-left media compared to the right-wing media sphere, the author might refer to Benkler et al.'s work on "network propaganda." Moreover, a further discussion is needed for why we should use framing analysis to bring out differences between two inherently different media. The author notes the latter point in passing, but one liberal leaning newspaper compared to an extremely right-wing cable news channel would be expected to generate a lot of these differences based on structural distinctions, as well as ideological ones. There needs to be more discussion of this for the results to make a meaningful contribution. To this last point: there’s not a lot here that is super surprising, and if there is, it should be expanded on in the conclusion. The author never really addresses the "so what?" question, which would make the paper much stronger. I wish the author well in making revisions.

Comments on the Quality of English Language

The writing is fine overall but rough and awkward in places.

Author Response

Thank you for giving the review! Please see the attachment.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Round 2

Reviewer 1 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

Dear Editor,

I believe the paper is ready for publication.

Regards

 

Reviewer 2 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

The revisions made do improve this paper, though I think there is still room for further improvement.

Comments on the Quality of English Language

It's fine overall, though it would benefit from a bit of editing.