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Framing Terrorism Framing Terrorism Framing Terrorism The News Media, the Government and the Public Edited by Pippa Norris, Montague Kern and Marion Just ROUTLEDGE NEW YORK AND LONDON Published in 2003 by Routledge 29 West 35th Street New York, NY 10001 www.routledge-ny.com Published in Great Britain by Routledge 11 New Fetter Lane London EC4P 4EE www.routledge.co.uk Copyright C 2003 by Taylor and Francis Books, Inc. RoutledgeisanimprintoftheTaylorandFrancisGroup. This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2004. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be printed or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or any other information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Framing terrorism : the news media, the government, and the public / edited by Pippa Norris, Montague Kern, and Marion Just. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-415-94718-9 (alk. paper)—ISBN 0-415-94719-7(pbk.: alk. paper) 1. Terrorism and mass media. 2. Terrorism in mass media. 3. Terrorism—Press coverage. I. Norris, Pippa. II. Kern, Montague. III. Just, Marion R. P96.T47F73 2003 303.625—dc21 2003043126 ISBN 0-203-48484-3 Master e-book ISBN ISBN 0-203-57762-0 (Adobe eReader Format) CONTENTS Preface vii Introduction 1 Framing Terrorism 3 PIPPA NORRIS,MONTAGUE KERN,AND MARION JUST Part I: Generating Terrorism Frames 2 Terrorism,Censorship and the 1st Amendment: In Search of Policy Guidelines 27 DORIS A. GRABER 3 Clausewitz in the Age of CNN: Rethinking the Military-Media Relationship 43 ROBIN BROWN 4 Framing the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict 59 TAMAR LIEBES AND ANAT FIRST 5 Paramilitaries and the Press in Northern Ireland 75 TIM COOKE Part II: Comparing Terrorism Frames 6 Framing the US Embassy Bombings and September 11 Attacks in African and US Newspapers 93 TODD M. SCHAEFER 7 CNN and al Jazeera’s Media Coverage of America’s War in Afghanistan 113 AMY E. JASPERSON AND MANSOUR O. EL-KIKHIA 8 Framing Muslim-Americans Before and After 9/11 133 BRIGITTE L. NACOS AND OSCAR TORRES-REYNA r vi Contents 9 Framing World Opinion in the Elite Press 159 FRANK LOUIS RUSCIANO Part III: The Public’s Response 10 Explaining 9/11 183 MICHAEL W. TRAUGOTT AND TED BRADER 11 Public Opinion Among Muslims and the West 203 PIPPA NORRIS AND RONALD INGLEHART 12 Rallies All Around: The Dynamics of System Support 229 PAUL BREWER,SEAN ADAY,AND KIMBERLY GROSS 13 Fear and Terrorism: Psychological Reactions to 9/11 255 LEONIE HUDDY,STANLEY FELDMAN,GALLYA LAHAV, AND CHARLES TABER Conclusion 14 The Lessons of Framing Terrorism 281 MONTAGUE KERN,MARION JUST,AND PIPPA NORRIS Select Bibliography 303 List of Tables and Figures 313 List of Contributors 317 Index 323 Preface The events of 9/11 cast such a shadow over America that,in their immediate af- termath,we shared with people viewing or reading about these events elsewhere the shock of the attack,the sorrow for the victims and their families,dismay for the death and destruction,and anxiety about the implications for world affairs. Time,however,has given us all the opportunity to reflect upon the meaning of these events. As scholars of political communications,putting these events in a broader perspective requires us to address a series of questions surrounding how terrorism is commonly depicted by journalists covering terrorism in the U.S., and elsewhere,such as the Middle East,Northern Ireland,or Africa. In particu- lar,how are interpretative frames about terrorism generated and to what extent are they reinforced by the news media? Do common news frames shape patterns of media coverage of terrorism in different contexts and cultures,including the United States,the Middle East,and Africa? Do conventional news frames about terrorism have the power,as many assume,to affect public opinion,including perceptions of risk and security in America? These are the core issues explored in this book. The editors of this volume owe debts to many friends and colleagues. The idea for the book developed from a colloquium,“Restless Searchlight: Terrorism, The Media,And Public Life” held at the John F.Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University,in August 2002. The meeting was co-sponsored by the Political Communication section of the American Political Science Association and the Joan Shorenstein Center on the Press,Politics and Public Policy and was offered as a Short Course by the American Political Science Association. We are most grateful to all these organizations,especially the support of Darrell West, Steve Livingstone,Alex Jones,and Nancy Palmer and the invaluable assistance of Eric Lockwood and Edith Holway for attending to the practical arrangements for the conference. We would like to thank Dean Joseph S. Nye,Jr. of the John F. Kennedy School,who shared our enthusiasm and gave the conference keynote address. We would particularly like to thank the panel discussants,chairs,and col- leagues at this meeting for providing many critical suggestions and thought- ful feedback to the authors. Among those who participated,we would like to acknowledge the contributions of Sean Aday,Ted Brader,Paul Brewer, Robin Brown,Erik Bucy,Karen Callaghan,Cynthia Coleman-Sillars,Darren W. Davis,Mansour el-Kikhia,Timothy J. Fackler,David P. Fan,Richard Flickinger,Nathalie J. Frensley,Tracey Gladstone-Sovell,Doris A. Graber,Kim Gross,Amy E. Jasperson,Alex Jones,Christopher Kelley,Michael A. Krasner, r viii Preface Regina G. Lawrence,Steve Livingston,Maria Teresa Martinez,David W. Moore, Brigitte Nacos,Joseph S. Nye Jr.,John Peterson,Andrew Rojecki,Frank Louis Rusciano,Todd M. Schaeffer,Frauke Schnell,Brian D. Silver,Katina Stapleton, Oscar Torres-Reyna,Michael W. Traugott,Gabriel Weimann,Darrell West, William R. Wilkerson,Lars Willnat,Liana B. Winett,and Gadi Wolfsfeld. Most chapters were originally presented in draft form at this colloquium,although a few chapters were specially commissioned to improve the overall balance of the volume. This book would not have been possible without the encouragement and stimulation provided by colleagues at the Joan Shorenstein Center on Press, Politics and Public Policy and the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University,the Department of Journalism and Media Studies at the School of Communication,Information and Library Studies,Rutgers Univer- sity,and the Department of Political Science at Wellesley College. Lastly we greatly appreciate the support of Eric Nelson and colleagues at Routledge. Introduction CHAPTER 1 Framing Terrorism PIPPA NORRIS MONTAGUE KERN MARION JUST The events of September 11 ricocheted around the world from satellite to satel- lite. News spread instantly from the New York studios to London,Rome,and Moscow and from al Jazeera’s airwaves to Islamabad,Riyadh,Baghdad,and Kabul. The al Qaeda catalyst triggered massive coverage in the Western news media with hundreds of stories highlighting the grief,suffering,and shock of the victims and their relatives; condemnation by the Bush administration and public officials; speculation about the underlying causes and possible conse- quences of the events of 9/11; and expressions of sympathy from world leaders. Months later,the reverberations and aftershocks triggered by these events con- tinue to impact international relations,domestic policy,and public opinion. The specter of al Qaeda operations bringing a new form of terrorism to the world has sparked a major debate over the definition of terror,its social and political roles,the ethics of counter-terrorism operations,state complicity,the dangers of future terrorist activities,the failure of democracy in Middle Eastern states,and the underlying reasons fueling religious fundamentalism. 1 One important issue arising from these events is the role and effects of mass media coverage of terrorism.2 Journalism often attracts controversy,not least where news coverage becomes part of the contest to define the social meaning of events. Reporting terrorism—whether the destruction of 9/11,suicide bombers in the second Intifada,or violence in Chechnya—raises significant questions about how far news coverage can meet journalistic standards of ‘balance’,‘truth’ and ‘objectivity’ in cases of extreme political conflict.3 Debate has centered around two questions. First,does media coverage err on the side of group terrorists,lending them legitimacy and credibility,as well as unintentionally encouraging further incidents through a ‘contagion’ effect?4 Alternatively,do journalistic conventions err instead on the side of governments,due to an over- reliance upon the framework of interpretation offered by public officials,secu- rity experts,and military commentators,with news functioning ultimately to reinforce support for political leaders and the security policies they implement?5 To understand the news coverage of terrorism,this book theorizes that the events of 9/11 can best be understood as symbolizing a critical culture shift in the r 4 Pippa Norris, Montague Kern, and Marion Just predominant news frame used by the American mass media for understand- ing issues of national security,altering perceptions of risk at home and threats abroad. We argue that what changed,and changed decisively with 9/11,were American perceptions of the threat of world terrorism more than the actual re- ality. Systematic evidence provided by the U.S. State Department indicates that the actual dangers from international terrorism have fallen
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