“WHAT WAS OURS IS NOW THEIRS”: A TEXTUAL ANALYSIS OF PUNK ROCK PRESS
COVERAGE IN ROLLING STONE, 1994-2014
ELLEN BERNHARD DEPARTMENT OF CULTURE & COMMUNICATION, DREXEL UNIVERSITY
What is Pop Punk?
•  “[Pop punk] aimed to please the audience more than to
enlighten or collectivize it, and…songs tended to be lyrically
simple and often deliberately silly.” (Thompson, 2004)
•  “If punk were meant to be egalitarian, it was pop punk that
actually cut through all the spit, spikes, and politics to
connect with the hearts of the masses.” (A.V. Club, 2014)
Framing & Frame-Changing
•  “Frames are organizing principles that are socially shared
and persistent over time, that work symbolically to
meaningfully structure the social world.” (Reese, 2001)
•  “…the news media often reframe the event by
emphasizing different attributes of the event…in order to
keep the story alive and fresh.” (Chyi & McCombs, 2004)
Methods
•  Research question: How has media framing of punk
evolved over time?
•  Search term: “punk”
•  181 articles from Rolling Stone online archive
•  Pilot study of 38 articles
Major Themes in Coverage
Pop Punk as NOT Punk (early-mid 90s)
•  “[Green Day are] not punk rock but a remarkable
simulation.” (Mundy, 1995)
•  “Green Day are accused of playing the kind of punk rock that
could probably be purchased at the Gap.” (Mundy, 1995)
Pop Punk as the New (Attractive?) Face of Punk (2000s)
•  “…the three members of Blink-182 resemble Eagle Scouts
more than rock stars.”(Edwards, 2000)
•  “We’re kind of like Fisher-Price: My First Punk
Band.” (Blink-182’s Tom DeLonge in Edwards, 2000)
Pop Punk is all Grown Up (early-late 2000s)
•  “According to Revelations, the end is nigh when a punk band
rides in a limousine.” (Edwards, 2000)
•  “It feels like Green Day are not just celebrating their return to
the top of the charts; they’re leading a rock & roll resistance
movement.” (Hendrickson, 2005)
Blink-182, rollingstone.com
Green Day, rollingstone.com
Conclusion
The media have utilized frame-changing to transform the public’s
impression of punk and pop punk
•  Consistent coverage throughout timeframe
•  Bands are seen as attractive, likeable, non-threatening
•  Nostalgia as a major frame in 2014: does this signify the end?