October 3, 2002
Researchers: Magazines silenced opposition voices after Sept. 11
Journalists covering the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and their aftermath were unwittingly complicit to government and military communication strategies to rally public support, according to findings by UW researchers.
A content analysis of news coverage in the five issues of Newsweek and Time published immediately after the attacks found that the newsmagazines minimized voices of opposition and instead focused on American unity, highlighted the importance of core American values, shifted blame away from the U.S., emphasized the U.S. role as the only superpower on the international stage, and demonized the enemy. David Domke, an assistant professor of communication, and the three graduate students who conducted the analysis refer to such language as national-identity rhetoric. The Bush administration, they say, used such language to restore public confidence and rally support for a war on terrorism.
Further, they found that while government and military officials used this nationalistic language more than people in other segments of society, journalists’ reports closely mirrored those comments and, relatively speaking, ignored the comments of nongovernment opinion leaders — interest group leaders, think-tank researchers and university professors — who were more apt to offer critical analysis.
“I would encourage journalists to seek out and pay attention to nongovernment opinion leaders,” Domke said. “These individuals are still within the culture, which I think makes them realistic sources, but they have a range of viewpoints that won’t be found in government.”
A total of 210 stories were analyzed over five weeks of coverage and a significant majority of the national-identity rhetoric could be attributed to U.S. government and military sources. For example, 94 percent of U.S. government and military sources placed blame for the attacks squarely on the terrorists compared to only 58 percent of nongovernment opinion leaders and 80 percent of average U.S. citizens. And of discourse that made reference to American values, 81 percent of U.S. government and military sources affirmed those values whereas only 51 percent of nongovernment opinion leaders referred to American values in a positive manner, 29 percent were neutral and a full 20 percent were critical. The pattern of more positive and affirming statements by government and military officials continued throughout each of the national-identity topics Domke and the students identified and analyzed.
The fact that journalists’ language paralleled that of the government and the military rather than the critical analysis offered in other circles is alarming, Domke says, given what we now know about official communication practices during previous conflicts like Vietnam and the Gulf War.
“When there’s not anybody else in government who will be a voice of opposition,” he said, “our evidence suggests that the press is essentially a conduit for the government to say whatever it wants and get that information to the public.”
Based on public opinion polls in the weeks and months after Sept. 11, which showed unprecedented approval levels for President George W. Bush and sustained support for a war on terrorism, the strategy seems to have worked well.
Journalists’ language paralleled that of government and military officials for at least three key reasons, Domke says. First, most journalists at U.S. news outlets are American citizens and likely to possess many of the same cultural values and beliefs that others in the nation possess. Any reporting they do is filtered by this cultural perspective.
A second factor, Domke says, was that a high level of political bipartisanship for the American effort led to a one-sided discourse among government elites, offering the news media fewer than normal alternative perspectives within government. And, finally, industry economic pressures and the need to engage the public likely encouraged the news media to echo nationalist sentiment. Consider, for example, the number of news outlets that incorporated the colors of red, white and blue into their promotions during this period.
“You can’t expect journalism to be in deep contradiction with other democratic institutions, particularly at a time of crisis. If it’s not a time of crisis you might expect a little more critical evaluation. Unfortunately, though, it is exactly the times of crises when we need journalism to keep a wary eye on government.”
Domke presented the findings at a recent Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication conference in Miami. Co-authors were graduate students John Hutcheson, Andre Billeaudeaux and Philip Garland.
Campus to commemorate 9/11 with events, free museum admission
The UW will mark the one-year anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks with several campus events.
The campus community is invited to gather at noon in Red Square on Wednesday, Sept. 11 to reflect on the tragedy. People are encouraged to bring a flower to place at the base of the Broken Obelisk sculpture.
Written reflections and thoughts can be brought to the event as part of the ASUW-sponsored “Eternal Messages” project. The messages will be collected and placed inside a time capsule that will be buried at the Sept. 11 memorial bench near Thomson Hall. The capsule will be buried on Oct. 11 along with a commemorative tree planting.
The Simpson Center for the Humanities will mark the anniversary with a series of open-ended discussions about the effect and the aftermath of Sept. 11. The events will be from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. in 206 Communications on Sept. 7, Sept. 14, Sept. 21 and Sept. 28 and space is limited. For information about becoming a participant contact Liz Lyell at 206-285-5962 (eblyell@earthlink.net ) or Lyall Bush 206-682-1770 (lyall.bush@humanities.org).
The Henry Art Gallery and the Burke Museum of Natural History will offer free admission and will remain open until 8 p.m. on Sept. 11.
