Framing: Fire Crews Leave Coyote in Lake Michigan

On March 3, 2009 a Chicago fire department received a 911 Emergency phone call regarding an animal that was stranded on a piece of broken ice on Lake Michigan. The department scuba team was sent out to rescue the animal, which was originally thought to be a dog. When the team got to the animal, they realized that it was a coyote, not a dog, and chose not to rescue it. Officials say the department divers were unprepared to encounter a wild animal, however animal advocates dispute it. This article created a lot of controversy between people agreeing with the department's choice in abandoning the coyote versus the people who believe that the coyote should have been saved- regardless of its wild stature. 

I found this original story with the Chicago Tribune. The article was short and to the point and did not use any visuals. The article used sources that expressed different sides to the controversial story. The article quoted the men involved with the rescue team who chose not to save the coyote, as well as the bystanders walking along the beach as it happened. The story creates multi-perspectives because of the diversity in the sources questioned. Also, the language used in the article helps to re-create the story and almost compensates for the lack of visuals. For example, words used to describe the lake were "frigid" and "ice covered". Although this particular article linked to no further video footage, photos, or additional websites, photos were taken during the attempted rescue from an overhead helicopter and sent to local news stations. 

I compared the framing of this story with a blogging website called "The Outdoor Pressroom", which was responding to the article found in the Chicago Tribune Forum. The website gives a little bit of foreground to the actual article but is more of a tease for the real story. This seems to be the point of the site, since the article's short description leads straight to a blogging link. The blog has over 100 comments- all different- but it is more bias compared to the Tribune. Most people who blogged backed up the idea that the coyote should have been saved. A post I especially liked from a blogger named, Amy, read: "Why does the animal have to be someone's pet in order to help it? Wild or domestic, if an animal needs our help we should find a way to help it. That's the beauty of being human, we have the resources to help others (even animals)." Again, this blog did not use any visual aids and was more of a connected site for viewers to go after reading the article. The language used within the blog was a large range since many bloggers were upset with the turnout of the attempted rescue. To get their agitated points across, many viewers used all CAPS to write or used multiple exclamation points or question marks at the end of sentences to depict their frustrations and anger. 

Links:

Chicago Tribune- coyote article 

The Outdoor Pressroom- coyote blog