War in Ukraine: how the conflict was framed in online U.S. news media coverage

The framing of events and issues by news media has been shown to have influence over what policymakers and the public deem important, as well as how to think about them. Therefore, understanding how news is framed by U.S. mass media is important to the fabric of American society. The U.S. is a leader among nations globally and often sets the tone and precedence for international policy and foreign aid, which can have significant effects on the outcomes of international conflicts and crises response. With that in mind, this study examined how U.S. news media framed the initial stages of the war in Ukraine through the constructs of space and time, starting with Russia’s initial invasion into the country Feb. 24, 2022, through the beginning of May that same year. News coverage of the conflict was found to have largely centered on the immediacy of events and the international implications of a war in eastern Europe involving one of the world’s superpowers.