I have selected two articles- an news story that appeared in the Denver Post and a news that appeared in the Yuma Pioneer. Both discuss the same bill- Senate Bill 170. The bill, which is currently awaiting vote in the Senate Committee on Appropriations, will allow undocumented students to attend publicly funded Colorado universities for in-state tuition costs.
In the Denver Post article, the proposed legislation is framed in a negative light. This begins in the lead in which the article describes the students as "illegal immigrants," an inflammatory term that instatly makes the issue about immigration rather than education. It later uses language that presents the bill as poor and even unsavory. It later describes amendments that will make the bill more "palatable" rather than "bi partisan" or "realistic." Towards the end of the piece the reporter says that groups that support tighter restrictions on immigration oppose the bill, again framing it as an immigration, rather than an education issue.
The second piece, on the other hand, which was taken from a supporter organization's website, presents the bill in a more favorable frame, discussing how it will be beneficial to local students. The reporter uses the term "undocumented workers" rather than "Illegal aliens or immigrants." He says that the bill faces an "uphill battle" almost aligning himself with the bill and its sponsors, and also notes in the first parpagraph that the legislation would be a "big boost" for local students. He enumerates the optimism of supporters and only makes a feeble attempt to present the opposition in the very last paragraph, without quotes or mention of any strong argument against the bill.
Read both the stories
Denver Post (Mainstream)
http://www.denverpost.com/search/ci_11829605
Yuma Pioneer (Not Mainstream)
http://www.coloradoimmigrant.org/article.php?id=297
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