PMH/Is any press good press?: Framing media content and the reunion(s) of Take That: 2005–2010

One method utilised in the field of media relations is the practice of framing. Within its sociological application, framing posits that as information is compartmentalised into a specific ‘frame’ and disseminated from the sender to the receiver, the point of view the receiver takes will be generally in line with that of the frame. Framing can be a critical tool to ensure that an organisation’s/artist’s key messages are covered in the preferred manner in the press, and that certain storylines or ‘spin’ are avoided in future reporting.

Using a media content analysis, this paper seeks to uncover trends and the way framing affected media coverage in two key time periods in Take That’s reunion: 2005–2006 and 2010. It also identifies the idea of the ‘controlled reunion’ versus the ‘uncontrolled reunion’, and uses the theoretical notions of framing as support.