Subordinate Frames:

Broadcast news content routinely features eye-catching graphics and dramatic music alongside any substantive issue coverage. Though seemingly innocuous, these market-driven aesthetic choices may provoke emotions about the topic and ultimately influence public opinion, issue salience, or political outcomes. This paper explores the possibility of subordinate frames in news media, defined as (1) innately non-rhetorical aesthetic devices that are (2) emotionally stimulative and (3) enlisted to serve apolitical primary goals (e.g., audience engagement) while also producing secondary political effects. Three randomized controlled trial experiments (N = 847) utilizing a video-driven survey instrument demonstrate that thematically congruent variations in background music and title graphics in otherwise neutral media coverage of homelessness vary the audience’s emotional response and influence attitudes about the topic. Additionally, I observe small shifts in voter support for housing policy proposals when the video includes sad music or red title graphics. These findings have important implications when examining increasingly polarized media landscapes, decentralized editorial practices, and the role of artificial intelligence in news media content creation.