One of the most important ways in which stories favor one perspective or another is in how they are framed. Which "side" of an issue does a story begin with? How is that side presented? After story selection itself (deciding which stories to report on and which to bypass), framing is one of the most important decisions journalists make. I thought of that when reading this highly informative piece in the Chicago Tribune:

If ever Carol Gaetjens becomes unconscious with no hope of awakening, even if she could live for years in that state, she says she wants her loved ones to discontinue all forms of artificial life support.

But now there's a catch for this churchgoing Catholic woman. U.S. bishops have decided that it is not permissible to remove a feeding tube from someone who is unconscious but not dying, except in a few circumstances.

People in a persistent vegetative state, the bishops say, must be given food and water indefinitely by natural or artificial means as long as they are otherwise healthy. The new directive, which is more definitive than previous church teachings, also appears to apply broadly to any patient with a chronic illness who has lost the ability to eat or drink, including victims of strokes and people with advanced dementia. ...

Gaetjens, 65, said she did not know of the bishops' position until recently and finds it difficult to accept.

"It seems very authoritarian," said the Evanston resident. "I believe people's autonomy to make decisions about their own health care should be respected."

The story goes on to explain this directive from the bishops and how it would affect Catholic hospitals.