Iraq, 9/11, and the Mediated Presidency of George W. Bush

Abstract

<jats:p>George W. Bush’s presidency has been marked by aggressive media management efforts that have generated mixed success. This article examines how Bush and his White House media team sought to manage the media largely by framing the president primarily as a wartime commander-in-chief. This article discusses the administration’s media strategies designed to secure more positive news coverage and employs a content analysis of network news coverage of Bush during key periods of his presidency to examine their effectiveness. The findings demonstrate that the White House enjoyed relatively positive news coverage in the months after September 11, 2001 and during the combat phase of the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq. At many other times during his presidency, though, the Bush tendency to over-promise led to highly critical news coverage. As the distance from 9/11 increased, the tone of coverage turned increasingly negative.</jats:p>