Selling Fear: Counterterrorism, the Media, and Public Opinion by Br. Nacos, Y. Boch-Elkon, R. Shapiro - Article Example

Critical analysis of attached article on Media Student’s Name: Instructor’s Name: Course Code: Date of Submission: Critical analysis of attached article on Media Title Gadarian, SK 2011, Selling Fear: Counterterrorism, the Media, and Public Opinion, by Brigette Nacos, Yaeli Boch-Elkon, and Robert Shapiro, Political Communication, vol. 28, no.4, pp.468-471. Topic The article highlights the media operations in the United States of America especially in connection with counterterrorism and politics and how they influence public opinion. Emphasis is laid on the role of media in reporting of the 9/11 terrorist attacks (Gadarian 2011, p.468). In the article, the media is brought out as an essential player in information dissemination and its influence thereof. However, the events that arose in 2001 attacks brings out media as “government’s little helper” and sucking up to the administration (Gadarian 2011, p.468). In the article, the importance of fear in the public circles and its role in political outcomes is also highlighted with a lot of emphasis on the 2004 United States presidential elections. Media coverage on issues is especially looked into with a view of establishing the role it plays in shaping politics and in a big way how politics shapes up the media. The division among media outlets in adopting political opinions is divided into conservative and liberal angles where the conservative and liberal media covers more on Republic and democratic political views, respectively. The inclination of Republicans and Democrats views on matters of war in Iraq and terrorism is also highlighted (Gadarian 2011, p.468). The article sort of displays some interconnectedness of political opinion especially on the incumbent government and how it influenced media opinion and ultimately the shaping up of the public opinion. The extent of public opinion influence was based on the extent and partisan selectivity of the media in the political landscape (Gadarian 2011, p.469). In some instances the media chose to downplay important issues in favor of framing their coverage on the incumbent administration’s opinions especially on counterterrorism matters. The policy statements and strategies of the Bush administration therefore went through without in-depth analysis (Gadarian 2011, p.468). Context The article is a political communication which implies that it is in the field of political science and communications; political science as a social science concerned with studying of states, government and politics while communications being an art mostly based in understanding the behavior of the listeners. As shown in the article political science and communication are employed together are employed together by politicians in a way so as to influence the citizenry in adopting their opinion even at instances that the opinion may not be right. Politicians instill belief in the public in running the government. They combine policy, law, history, psychology, economics and international relations in putting their opinions across. The article tries to bring into context the link between influential politicians, the media and the public opinion (Gadarian 2011, p.468). The content of the article focuses more on terrorism crisis and war on Iraq and their influence on the United States 2004 presidential elections (Gadarian 2011, p.468). The analysis also focuses on the environment in which media operates in during the time of reporting and how it shapes up their coverage (Gadarian 2011, p.468). The content of the paper revolves around the September 11th 2001 terrorist attacks (Gadarian 2011, p.469), the 2005 Hurricane Katrina events (Gadarian 2011, p.470) and the politics of 2004. Structure The article is a secondary paper with a formal structure. The structure of the paper has been formatted in a way that ideas flow is consistent and where need be comparisons. Emphasis is laid on the main issue throughout the paper that enables the reader to understand the interconnectedness of politics, media and the public opinion. The paper also introduces a structure whereby it guides the user on where and how the materials in the article may be used and the copyright of the writer. The preliminary of the article indicates that it can be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes. The paper goes on to offer evidence levels where the author indicates succinctly instances she found strong and weak evidence. The paper is structured in well laid paragraphs that are crucial in systemization of the ideas being presented. The paper also has included in-text citations and materials that the reader can further consult for deeper understanding of issues. It goes further to include the conclusions that the writers reached and the reference list of the sources that were used in writing it (Gadarian 2011, p.468-471). Style The paper has adopted a formal style of writing where variety of sentence structures has been used. The style of the paper quite emphasizes on further reading which enables readers to trace the opinions presented in it or connect the opinions to other articles. The style makes reader to want to read more and more and become informed of the subject matter. That is why the paper has been targeted more on scholars in the research and teaching fraternity. The choice of words and sentence structure provides clarity and persuasive nature of content presented making the reader to follow through (Gadarian 2011, p.468-471). Argument The paper puts across the argument that media coverage was a replicate of the majority of government officials’ viewpoints and concentrated on the voices of these officials in shaping the public opinion. The book goes further to outline what happens to media coverage during times of crisis like terrorist attacks by exploring both how elite voices and news structure itself matter for public opinion. Both the mass media and the opposition party faced incentives to stand behind the president. This ultimately narrowed the range of opinions available to the public through the mainstream media at a crucial time for democracy (Gadarian 2011, p.469). Another argument that the paper brings to light was the lack of survey questions on terrorism prevention and preparedness which was a clear indication that the mass media’s and the government administration’s disregard of these topics because they were not seen to fit well into a dramatic storyline of good versus evil. The overall opinion trends in the business of the media and government was divided by gender, race and partisanship (Gadarian 2011, p.470). Further, the author argues that Iraq war was stage managed by the government of Goerge Walker Bush. News coverage that featured warnings of future terrorism by both bin Laden and the Bush administration put the public in a state of fear that ultimately allowed the administration to pursue its preferred counterterrorism policies, including the war in Iraq, in the name of keeping the country safe. The general approval of U.S. in Iraq by U.S. citizens enabled the government to remain unaccountable (Gadarian 2011, p.470). Evidence Using content analysis of the survey data of news coverage of the 2004 U.S. presidential election the author suggests that conservatives who use conservative media were more likely to name terrorism as the most important problem facing United States, while liberals who use liberal media were more likely to name the Iraq war as the most important problem. The author analyzed the content of a sample of Bush- and Kerry-endorsing newspapers as well as FOX News and CNN transcripts (Gadarian 2011, p.468). The author also offers fascinating evidence that partisan selectivity exists and is an important force in media politics. The author further cites that fragmented news media environment, partisan media outlets have the opportunity to focus on different stories as well as frame those stories differently. The author goes on to say partisan news viewers are particularly good at picking up on partisan cues, which in turn affect their answers on surveys. In the paper it’s proposed that in order to come to grasp with the dynamic changes in media over the past decade (Bennett, Lawrence and Livingston 2007 p.1). Evaluation including reviews and citations The article shows a great deal of creativity in use of models in explaining social complexities, for instance the indexing model of media coverage and elite-media-opinion model (Gadarian 2011, p.469). The article also helps the reader in understanding the politicians, media and public opinion. The paper offers materials and examples of instances where politicians and media have influenced the public opinion (Gadarian 2011, p.469). The article exposes the media operations in reporting terrorism related matters and offers a challenge into whether the media in the United States can undertake unbiased reporting (Gadarian 2011, p.469). Conclusion The paper creates a basis of understanding what transpired in the wake of 9/11 events. Media reporting, political influence and shaping of public opinion is highlighted in the American society. The article has used formal language particularly good for scholars in undertaking further research into the subject matter while at the same time creating awareness and interest into the politics, media and public model. Reference list Bennett, L, Lawrence, G, and Livingston, S 2007, When the press fails: Political power and the news media from Iraq to Katrina, Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press. Gadarian, SK 2011, Selling Fear: Counterterrorism, the Media, and Public Opinion, by Brigette Nacos, Yaeli Boch-Elkon, and Robert Shapiro, Political Communication, vol. 28, no.4, pp.468-471. Read More