Framing and Agenda Setting following the Mass Shooting Terror Attack in Christchurch, New Zealand

Despite thousands of gun-related deaths and injuries in the last decade, the United States federal government has yet to enact comprehensive gun reforms. Meanwhile, New Zealand recently experienced the deadliest mass shooting in its history, and within one week, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern had announced major reforms. This paper analyzes the Prime Minister's response and her power in shaping the discourse of the event in the immediate aftermath of the shooting. It focuses on her public statements in the six days that followed the event, and analyzes them with the concepts of framing and agenda setting.