Page 31 - Mass Media, Mass Propoganda Examining American News in the War on Terror

Public Trust, Media, and the "War on Terror" 2 1

media outlets like the New York Times, Washington Post, and Los Angeles Times
are also included, primarily because they set the tone and agenda for reporting
coming out of locally-based newspapers, as well as for national and local prime
time television news programs, and cable and radio news.
Some might argue that to deal with American media in the singular (the
media "is," rather than the media "are") is somewhat misleading in that media
are not a homogenized system. Many media outlets allegedly take radically dif-
ferent positions on current events than others do. For example, many citizens
prefer to distinguish between papers like the New York Times (labeled "liberal'),
as opposed to papers like the Washington Times or Fox News (labeled "conser-
vative"). Distinguishing between such mediums does reveal some important
differences between various mass media institutions. What this plural framing of
the mass media misses, however, are the substantive points in which "liberal"
and "conservative" media outlets agree, such as the legitimacy of the Iraq war
(at least in terms of promoting democracy and stability). As this work focuses
overwhelmingly on the ways in which mainstream media outlets are similar, it
naturally adopts a definition of mass media from a singular perspective.
The mainstream American media is contrasted, collectively, with other na-
tional media systems, such as those in Britain, Australia, and the Middle East.
Aside from the American-non-American distinction in my analysis, I also create
a dichotomy between the corporate U.S. media-using a variety of synonyms
such as the "mainstream press," and the "establishment press" (or just "the me-
dia") used to describe it, and American Progressive-Left media (non-corporate
media), or the "independent media." As will become more apparent, American
Progressive-Left media (as opposed to Right leaning media outlets) serve as a
countervailing force against mainstream media in that they focus most stridently
on questioning the legitimacy of U.S. foreign policy.

The Importance of Framing

Aside from mass media, other important concepts in media studies used
throughout this book include framing and propaganda. The process by which the
ideological viewpoints and narratives in the mass media are presented as "real-
ity" can be explained, in part, as framing. Framing of the news refers to much
more than a simple slant or bias of each individual story. Framing is the means
by which an entire social reality is constructed. The narratives adopted by use of
one frame over another inevitably influence how news consumers view impor-
tant issues. The way a reporter, editor, or media institution chooses to fi-ame the
news is representative of their preferred worldview. The manner by which media
institutions portray the Iraq war (whether reinforcing or questioning it) reveals
much about that organization's stance in regards to the conflict. By rendering
the war in Iraq as a struggle against terrorism and a quest to democratize the
Middle East, those working within the corporate media are essentially sending
the message: "This is what I believe, this is what I stand for," whether they
choose to acknowledge it or not.