Patterns of Media Coverage of the
Terrorist Attacks on the United States
in September of 2001

Presented to the

Learning from Disasters Workshop

12 December 2001
Sponsored by the National Science Foundation
and organized by the New York University
Institute for Civil Infrastructure Systems

Christine M. Rodrigue, Ph.D.

Department of Geography
California State University
Long Beach, CA 90840-1101
1 (562) 985-4895
rodrigue@csulb.edu
https://home.csulb.edu/~rodrigue/
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My normal area of research lies in the analysis of various media as they report natural disasters and hazardous situations and affect public perception and agency response. Unlike a disaster of natural origins or of technological accident, however, this event is equally a crime and an act of war. I agreed to do an analysis of one newspaper's coverage of these incidents and their aftermath (Figure 1).

I am utilizing the online edition of the Los Angeles Times, which dominates the region in which I live. So far, I can present preliminary results on the first six weeks of articles that the L.A. Times deemed important enough to put on the front page. These are the standout events for those six weeks.

I have coded 288 such articles, slotting them into categories common in coverage of other disasters and a few unique to this disaster (Figure 2). The main concerns of the stories break down into ten principal categories, plus miscellaneous and unrelated categories. Three categories garnered the most overall front page attention from the L.A. Times during the first six weeks: Military, Investigation, and Reactions, categories one would expect of a war, a crime, and a disaster, respectively. The L.A. Times' attention shifts through time, however, as one would expect (Figure 3).

The first week's coverage is dominated by four concerns: Investigation, Reactions, Military, and Restoration. Coverage during the second week focusses on Reactions, Military, and Investigation. The third week's front page coverage is the most diverse in concerns, with five main themes: Mitigation, Reactions, Restoration, Diplomacy, and Military. During the fourth week, concerns narrow to Diplomacy and Military. The fifth and sixth weeks are largely confined to Military and Investigation. The first non-attack related items show up on the front page on the third week, making up 9% of the coverage, increasing to 44% by the fifth and sixth weeks.

Looking at these more critically (Figure 4), one finds that the disaster story experienced daily in the lives of New Yorkers and Washingtonians has become more of a war story. The military-related coverage takes up 31% of the first six weeks of overall coverage. Disaster-related stories did dominate for the first three weeks of coverage, but they gave way to the war story for the last three weeks. I worry about whether this emphasis on war coverage may deprioritize the needs of New Yorkers and Washingtonians in recovering from these horrible events.

As often seen in the coverage of any disaster, the context of the events of the 11th is poorly drawn out. Only four stories appeared in the front page of the L.A. Times about the geopolitical background that produced such suicidal and homicidal men.

Sensationalism is evident in the obsessively repetitive imagery of the plane striking the South Tower on television and on the front page graphics of newspapers, including the L.A. Times. Anthrax has been sensationalized, too, amplifying public concern far above the actual numbers of people exposed, sickened, and killed, and leading to pressure on physicians for wanton prescription of Cipro.

Despite the expectations of media criticism literature and to its credit, the L.A. Times has covered impacts on businesses and impacts on workers in roughly equal numbers of front page stories.

For people involved in clearing the rubble, restoring the full functionality of New York, rebuilding the World Trade Center, and trying to mitigate the risk of any similar event, your disaster stories are being gradually submerged in the stories of war. While the war takes more and more media attention away from your needs, your needs are not just gradually fading away at this point. You have to work to get the media to focus on your needs.

Based on my work with other hazards and disasters, I would recommend the following (Figure 5):

First, those of you in non-governmental and victim advocacy organizations are in a position to play to the media's need for human drama by generating "newsworthy" events, including demonstrations.

Second, government agencies and NGOs can actively cultivate personal relationships between particular reporters and particular representatives of your organizations. A great example of this is the relationship of national media with seismologists Kate Hutton and Lucy Jones of Caltech and the USGS, respectively. Many journalists want to do a good job and do appreciate knowing who the experts are.

Third, look into using the Internet to generate public interest in and support for your needs. Other work of mine has shown the stunning efficacy of Internet organizing in public risk debates. While the web is all the rage, it's e-mail, listservers, and news groups that offer the possibility of exponential expansion of your message to reach an audience of a size and geographical scope once the domain exclusively of national media conglomerates.

 

Figure 1: Timeline of Standout Events

Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 Week 6 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ WTC/Pentagon plane-bombings XXXXXX Airports reopen XXXXXX Stock markets reopen XXXXXX ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ First hate-killing in L.A. XXXXXX First peace protests XXXXXX First celebrity fund-raiser XXXXXX ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Pakistan allies with US XXXXXX First unrelated story on front page XXXXXX First report of Special Forces in Afghanistan XXXXXX Northern Alliance assistance/aid XXXXXX ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Anthrax in Florida XXXXXX First airstrikes XXXXXX ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Anthrax in New York XXXXXX First errant bomb kills non-combatants XXXXXX Anthrax in DC (Daschle) XXXXXX ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Anthrax in New Jersey XXXXXX First ground force military engagement XXXXXX Shift of bombing from cities to battlefields XXXXXX ------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  Figure 2: Categories Covering Main Concerns, Front Page Stories, First 6 Weeks, Los Angeles Times
------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Context (geopolitical background to Islamist movements and the bases of their hostility to the United States) Diplomacy (alliance-building efforts by the United States) Impact (economic and social disruptions in normal functioning) Incident reporting (straightforward descriptions of plane crashes, anthrax appearances) Investigation (FBI investigations of hijacking suspects, financial underpinnings of Al Qaeda, anthrax sources) Military (military strategy, reports on airstrikes, reports of ground troop deployments) Mitigation (security measures, legislation authorizing new police powers, use of National Guard in airports) Reactions (emotions, demonstrations, patriotism, hate-crimes, loss of investor confidence, drop in air travel and tourism) Response (search and rescue, body recovery, volunteerism) Restoration (restoration of air service, opening of markets, rubble removal, the resumption of normal life routines) Other related stories (e.g., risk assessment, memorial services, Afghan-American media, victim toll, bus and plane crashes originally believed to be terror- ism-related) Unrelated stories (e.g., Israel-Palestine, Northern Ireland, sports, Los Angeles local politics) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Figure 3: Major Themes, First Six Weeks of L.A. Times Front Screen Coverage
------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1st 6 weeks Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 # % # % # % # % Context 4 1.4 0 0.0 1 1.9 0 0.0 Diplomacy 23 8.0 1 1.9 2 3.8 6 13.0 Impact 20 6.9 5 9.4 4 7.7 4 8.7 Incident reporting 5 1.7 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 Investigation 37 12.8 11 20.8 8 15.4 3 6.5 Military 52 18.1 9 17.0 12 23.1 5 10.9 Mitigation 13 4.5 1 1.9 1 1.9 8 17.4 Reactions 33 11.5 10 18.9 16 30.8 6 13.0 Response 15 5.2 5 9.4 4 7.7 4 8.7 Restoration 19 6.6 8 15.1 2 3.8 6 13.0 Other related stories 11 3.8 3 5.7 2 3.8 0 0.0 Unrelated stories 56 19.4 0 0.0 0 0.0 4 8.7 Sums 288 100.0 53 100.0 52 100.0 46 100.0 Week 4 Week 5 Week 6 # % # % # % Context 2 4.2 1 2.2 0 0.0 Diplomacy 10 20.8 2 4.3 2 4.7 Impact 3 6.3 1 2.2 3 7.0 Incident reporting 1 2.1 1 2.2 3 7.0 Investigation 3 6.3 5 10.9 7 16.3 Military 8 16.7 10 21.7 8 18.6 Mitigation 1 2.1 2 4.3 0 0.0 Reactions 1 2.1 0 0.0 0 0.0 Response 0 0.0 1 2.2 1 2.3 Restoration 3 6.3 0 0.0 0 0.0 Other related stories 3 6.3 3 6.5 0 0.0 Unrelated stories 13 27.1 20 43.5 19 44.2 Sums 48 100.0 46 100.0 43 100.0 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1st 6 weeks Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 # % # % # % # % War story 89 30.9 11 20.8 1 28.8 19 41.3 Crime story 40 13.9 11 20.8 8 15.4 3 6.5 Disaster story 103 35.8 31 58.5 29 55.8 20 43.5 9/11 related 232 80.6 53 100.0 52 100.0 42 91.3 Sums 288 53 52 46 Week 4 Week 5 Week 6 # % # % # % War story 19 39.6 15 32.6 10 23.3 Crime story 6 12.5 5 10.9 7 16.3 Disaster story 10 20.8 6 13.0 7 16.3 9/11 related 35 72.9 26 56.5 24 55.8 Sums 48 46 43 -------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Figure 4: Media Criticism
------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The disaster story has become more of a war story: The military-related categories of Military, Diplomacy, and Mitiga- tion comprise 31% of the six weeks of front page coverage The context of the attacks is poorly drawn out: 1% of stories explore the geopolitical causes of terrorism Sensationalism: o Graphic images of the second plane crashing into the WTC o Anthrax and risk amplification On an equitable note: Impacts on businesses and on their workers received roughly equal coverage The transition in focus from the disaster to war may deprioritize the needs of New Yorkers, Washingtonians, and Americans in general in recovering from these awful events ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Figure 5: Recommendations
------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Play to media need for human drama by generating "newsworthy" events, including demonstrations This is appropriate for victim advocacy organizations and for some non-governmental organizations Cultivate personal relationships with particular reporters Great example: Kate Hutton and Lucy Jones, the seismologists that media turn to whenever there's a major earthquake Most reporters want to do a good job and appreciate knowing who the respected experts are Look into using the Internet to get your stories out The web is all the rage but it's limited in effectiveness by its reliance on actively searching readers E-mail, listservers, and news groups are far more effective Forwarding of messages can result in exponential expansion of pas- sive recipients to a level once enjoyed only by major media conglom- erates You can control the content of the messages without media filtering ------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Maintained by Dr. Christine M. Rodrigue
First placed on the web: 12/09/01
Last revised: 12/09/01