Legitimating organisational decisions A study of media framing of the Australian Government's legitimacy strategy and public opinion on the war in Iraq

• Published in: Journal of communication management (London, England) Vol. 10; no. 3; pp. 274 - 286
• Main Authors: Rice, Stephen K J, Bartlett, Jennifer L
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Emerald Group Publishing Limited 01.01.2006
• Subjects: Australia; Business communications; Contemporary problems; Content analysis; Decision making; Framing; Government; Information sources; Iraq; Iraq War-2003; Legitimacy; Media; Media coverage; News; Politics; Press releases; Prime ministers; Public opinion; Public opinion surveys; Stakeholders; Studies; War; Weapons of mass destruction; Websites; Australia
• ISSN: 1363-254X; 1478-0852
• DOI: 10.1108/13632540610681167

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate how organisations seek to legitimate their decisions by tracking the relationship between press releases issued by the Australian Government to support their involvement in the Iraq war, media framing of news stories about this issue, and public opinion. Design/methodology/approach The study uses a qualitative content analysis of government press releases and media coverage, and the results of Newspoll opinion polls. Findings The study showed that despite shifts in the framing of the stories, public opinion remained almost constant. Research limitations/implications Given these results, the authors suggest that media content does not necessarily change public opinion on a particular issue. Practical implications Using media coverage as a reflection of either the organisation's legitimating attempts, or of public opinion may provide an inaccurate account of the legitimacy of an organisation's decisions. Originality/value This study provides evidence that media content does not reflect the legitimacy of an organisational decision nor has a direct influence on public opinion.