Framing of the 2003 U.S.-Iraq War Demonstrations: An Analysis of News and Partisan Texts

Abstract

This study examines press coverage of pro- and anti-war demonstrations before and during the 2003 U.S.-led Iraq war. Computer analysis revealed the existence of partisan master frames in texts by pro- and anti-war organizational groups, and that news articles about each group reflected the frames of the group in question more so than the opposing group's frames. An examination of cues of legitimization and delegitimization in the news articles showed that cue words of delegitimization were used more in anti-war articles than in pro-war articles.

The Internet and Anti-War Activism: A Case Study of Information, Expression, and Action

“…In the period leading up to and during the initial phases of the Iraq War, Fox News was critiqued for taking an “overtly patriotic approach” in their reporting on the war (Sharkey, 2003). Likewise, Massing (2004) found the coverage on MSNBC to be “mawkishness and breathless boosterism.” Systematic content analyses of press coverage of pro‐ and anti‐war demonstrations before and during the Iraq War found that U.S. news media tended to delegitimize anti‐war groups while legitimizing pro‐war groups (Luther & Miller, 2005). In light of these critiques, it is suspected that all other things being equal among the respondents, television news viewing had a suppressing effect, due to greater identification with the status quo and decreased likelihood of political participation.…”

Governmental control of the Internet and WikiLeaks: How does the press in four countries discuss freedom of expression?

“…As a number of studies (e.g., Bennett, 2008;Entman, 2004;Luther and Miller, 2005;Nossek, 2004) have Imre et al…”

Desecration, Moral Boundaries, and the Movement of Law: The Case of Westboro Baptist Church

“…Lost, however, was the irony of opponents of the group routinely condemning WBC's right to free speech while exercising their own-a "patriotic paradox" (Beil 2008). Nationalistic frames prevailed above others in the post-9/11 era, and the idea of dissent was equated with a betrayal of patriotism (Dardis 2006;Luther and Miller 2005;Welch 2009). The general revulsion evoked by WBC's actions made the group a convenient symbol of traitorous dissent, and assisted in marginalizing more serious dissent about foreign wars.…”