Post-9/11 Policy Discussions of Human Rights and Freedoms

Abstract

During the years following the attacks of September 11, 2001, American leaders were forced to confront a substantial number of contentious dilemmas involving civil liberties in the context of terrorism. Previous scholarship has made clear that exposure to threatening information may result in significant decreases in the public’s willingness to support expansive civil liberties guarantees, yet few researchers have systematically examined the content of information transmitted to the public during these debates. This study employs a computerized content analysis to investigate differences in broadcast media coverage following the reporting of significant post-9/11 security/rights dilemmas. The analysis focuses on two key periods: the reporting of President Bush’s authorization of warrantless NSA wiretapping in late 2005 and the 2009 proposal by President Obama to close the Guantanamo Bay detention facility. Findings suggest that broadcast sources diverged significantly in the amount of threat conveyed to the public during the reporting of key security/rights dilemmas.