DRAMATISM IN FRAMING CORRUPTION NEWS IN ONLINE MEDIA: A Study on Kompas.id

Abstract

The detention of Anas Urbaningrum serves as a pivotal discourse in Indonesia’s anti-corruption narrative, offering a rich site for analysis of sociopolitical communication. This study explores the dramaturgical nuances of the framing of corruption news on Kompas.id. Drawing upon Kenneth Burke’s Theory of Dramatism, the research examines how media outlets construct reality not merely as a neutral transmission of facts, but as a symbolic performance designed to evoke specific audience interpretations. Methodologically, this study employs a hybrid analytical framework that integrates Pan and Kosicki’s framing analysis with Burke’s Pentad analysis (Act, Scene, Agent, Agency, and Purpose). Data were gathered through a rigorous process of news archiving and in-depth interviews, with validity ensured through methodological triangulation and data triangulation. The findings reveal that in the pursuit of high web traffic, Kompas.com strategically curated specific Scenes to dramatize the facts surrounding Urbaningrum’s detention. In terms of the Act, the framing oscillates between portraying the Corruption Eradication Commission’s (KPK) institutional rigor and highlighting Urbaningrum’s humanistic side. The Agents involved are depicted in a complex web, in which the Agency of his detention is consistently linked to internal conflicts within the Democratic Party. Consequently, the Purpose of this discourse shifts; instead of solely signifying a triumph for national anti-corruption efforts, the narrative nudges the public to perceive Urbaningrum as a "political victim." This study concludes that media dramatization can obscure legal accountability by reframing judicial processes as political theater. As a recommendation, future research should transition from media framing to a direct analysis of Urbaningrum’s own communicative dramatism to understand how subjects navigate their public personas amidst legal crises.