-Caveat Lector- http://www.disinfo.com/pages/article/id1591/pg1/ us terrorist attacks: news frames and filters by Alex Burns ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) - September 22, 2001 . . . there is rarely even any cognizance that the media's rendition is itself "framed." Only if multiple similar events are compared is it made evident that conscious choices guided the media's coverage. Many news frames appear to be natural, unforced, perhaps even self-evident ways of reporting a story. ~~ Susan D. Moeller [1] Media coverage of geopolitics has changed in the post-Cold War era. News editors and journalists have struggled with the emergence of geoeconomics, changing political alliances, and information/issues overload. In the aftermath of the US terrorist attacks (11 September 2001), journalists have also focused on techniques to foresee Low Intensity Threats like industrial espionage and terrorism. Since Low Intensity Threats instantly emerge and impact on media coverage, following a surge-peak-regress curve, editors and journalists have devised Foresight capabilities that were previously the domain of corporate strategy divisions and government intelligence agencies. Information-gathering capabilities are upgraded, global news flows are tracked in real-time, flashpoints and hot-spots are monitored, non-linear patterns and systems are identified, multiplistic and open scenarios are formulated, and vast amounts of data are analyzed. Just as media resources have been shifted to handle Low Intensity Threats, media conglomerates have developed subtle news frames and filters to micro-manage and profile their audiences. Internalized by news journalists and editors, these filters become part of individual beliefs, the organizational cultures, and news media values. Since filters and frames are ways to "chunk" information and "perceive" issues, they effectively "control" the context of Low Intensity Threats and how we react to specific incidents. By examining different news filters and frames, we may understand the US terrorist attacks with greater depth, and hopefully gain insights into how to identify and prevent future tragedies. Moeller's Four-Stage Assassination & Terrorism News Cycle In her excellent book Compassion Fatigue: How the Media Sell Disease, Famine, War and Death (New York and London: Routledge, 1999), author Susan D. Moeller identifies a four-stage news cycle on assassination and terrorism events. The first stage focuses on the initial event, constantly replaying key imagery and soundbites [2]. This stage captures the audience's attention and holds their gaze. During coverage of the US terrorist attacks, the most replayed footage was of the second plane crashing into the World Trade Center towers. In the second stage of the news cycle, the dominant story becomes disclosing the perpetrator's identity and seeking justice: "who is he (or who are they), what was his motive, what threat remains and what is the response of the authorities." [3] During coverage of the US terrorist attacks, this stage included speculation about Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden's involvement, identifying the autonomous terrorist cells and their members, FBI investigations of Florida-based flight training, analyses of biological and chemical warfare attacks, the possibility of a terrorist attack on Boston, and President George Bush's overtures to the Taliban to surrender Osama bin Laden to US law enforcement authorities for prosecution. The third stage involves funerals and public mourning. [4] Media coverage shifts back to the audience, creating a psychological space to express grief and purge negative emotions. During coverage of the aftermath, this stage included funerals, candle-lit vigils, the search for missing persons, patriotic and solidarity events, and the psychological effects of the damage. The fourth stage creates a sense of closure, Moeller claims "when the media reassert the supremacy of the established political and social order." [5] This has been conveyed through the press statements by government officials, the continued Congressional and Senate sessions, and the reassertion of patriotic US social values. Moeller believes that mainstream media coverage tends to favor the status quo and marginalize opposing interpretations and viewpoints, using sensationalistic images and judgmental language to make visible a Manichean moral code (a technique reliant on 19th century melodramatic conventions) that will be familiar to the receptive audience. "By repeating and reinforcing words and images, the news frames a certain construction of events and works to make others invisible." [6] Moeller also identifies five different types of visual imagery that are prominent in news coverage of assassinations and terrorist activities. These five types are: 1. Images of the event. 2. Images of the terrorists "accompany stories detailing the motives . . . typically certify their fanaticism by showing them with a crazed expression, wild eyes and disheveled hair and clothing." [7] 4. Pictures of farewells, funerals, religious ceremonies, and public mourners. 5. Pictures that re-establish that civil order and the government will continue to function, and that despite changes caused by the events, the status quo will continue. Moeller finally offers a perspective on how parallel stories about the media itself, such as the comparison between Internet usage and television viewers, emerges from the different lead-times between broadcast and print sources. [8] Moeller believes that this technological pressure on news-gathering means that journalists are replacing in-depth analysis and objectivity with anecdotes and narratives, and that storytelling and opinion pieces prove more popular with audiences than weekend news analysis and trend pieces. [9] The convergence of news management techniques, faster news-gathering cycles, 24-7 technological innovations, and greater geopolitical complexity means that "the media in their reporting on terrorism tend to be judgmental, inflammatory, and sensationalistic." [10] During coverage of the US terrorist attacks, aspects of this convergence were observable, yet we must look deeper into news culture to witness the long-term implications and systemic roots that are driving these changes. Endnotes: [1] Susan D. Moeller. Compassion Fatigue: How the Media Sell Disease, Famine, War and Death. New York and London: Routledge, 1999. p. 164. [2] Susan D. Moeller. Ibid. p. 160. [3] Susan D. Moeller. Ibid. p. 166. [4] Susan D. Moeller. Ibid. p. 166. [5} Susan D. Moeller. Ibid. p. 167. [6] Susan D. Moeller. Ibid. p. 170. [7] Susan D. Moeller. Ibid. 172-173. [8] Susan D. Moeller. Ibid. p. 165. [9] Susan D. Moeller. Ibid. pp. 167, 169. [10] Susan D. Moeller. Ibid. p. 169. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ http://www.ctvnews.com/content/sitesections/1/810529.asp http://www.slip.net/~knabb/PS/gulfwar.htm http://www.zendik.org http://www.consortiumnews.com/Print/091701a.html http://www.iht.com/articles/33456.html http://www.securityfocus.com/news/257 In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. 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