The aim of this study was to identify and analyze the ways in which images and reactions of the public are described and framed in media articles and reports. Reporting from six major events affecting the Swedish public was studied using a thematic method of analysis. The results show three dynamic interrelated processes at work simultaneously in framing the public: identification, characterization and evaluation. A significant contribution of this study is the emphasis on how this often subtle and implicit framing influences the portrayal of human reactions, thus possibly influencing the expectations and evaluations of both the public in general and crisis managers in particular.