Center for the Study of Democracy

This study examines how ideologically opposed social movement organizations, the National Organization for Women (NOW) and Concerned Women for America (CWA), get media coverage during critical moments of the abortion debate. I analyze how organizational structure and identity facilitate or constrain a social movement organization's ability to get mainstream media coverage. Specifically, I use the social movement framing literature to analyze how the organizations strategically construct media frames and packages in response to opposition, the tactics they use to get media coverage, and the relative success of each organization's efforts in mass media outlets. The analysis suggests that an organization's media strategy matters, but that organizational structure and organizational identity color these strategies.