Not so revolutionary after all: the role of reinforcing frames in US magazine discourse about microcomputers

This study investigates the role of media discourse in the hegemonic process by which the microcomputer became a common and trusted appliance in the US during the early years of the technology’s adoption: the 1980s-90s. Using critical discourse analysis along with framing theory, analysis of four cases from consumer magazines—two advertisements and two editorial feature stories—revealed that a device heralded as ‘revolutionary’ was in fact presented using rhetoric that incorporated and legitimized traditional values, roles, and practices, such as capitalism. Any frames that potentially challenged existing social structures and power relationships were secondary and ‘superframed’ by the reinforcing frames.