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Framing ISIS:

A Comparat ive Analysis of TIME and New sw eek


Magazines’ Coverage of a Global Threat
Abbey Little
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Mia Moody-Ramirez
Department of Journalism, Public Relations, and New Media
Baylor University - W aco, Texas
INTRODUCTION
Framing Theory
Goffman (1974)
● We make sense of the world around us through both natural and social
frameworks, which are both important in developing our interpretation of life.

Entman (1993)
● Journalists can quickly package a story for their audiences by framing a
problem.
TIME and New sw eek
TIME: Newsweek:
● World’s most widely circulated ● Second largest weekly
and longest-running newsmagazine in the United
newsmagazine States
● Previous Literature: ● Previous Literature:
○ Rosas-Moreno, Harp and ○ Schwalbe (2013)
Bachmann (2013)
○ Paragas (2004)
“The deliberate creation of exploitation and fear through violence or the
threat of violence in the pursuit of political change. [It] is specifically
designed to have far reaching psychological effects beyond the
immediate victim(s) of the terrorist attack. It is meant to instill fear
within, and thereby intimidate a wider ‘target audience’ that might
include a rival ethnic or religious group, an entire country, a national
government or political party, or public opinion in general.”
- Hoffman, 1998
Development of ISIS

US presence in
Afghanistan Syrian conflict

Sept. 11, 2001 Death of Osama ISIS


bin Laden
ISIS
“Framing the Islamic State on Al Jazeera English and the BBC websites” by
Mohamed Satti (2015)
● Eight emergent frames
● Comparative Analysis
● Only relevant search result
METHODOLOGY
Comparat ive Cont ent Analysis
TIME and Newsweek, accessed t hrough subscript ions:
● 32 magazine issues
● 63 magazine articles

Dat e Range:
● Issue of each magazine released after the Paris, France attacks (Nov. 13, 2015)
● Issue of each magazine released before the Brussels, Belgium attacks (March 22, 2016)
Art icle Select ion
TIME:
● TIME magazine Vault

● 15 issues
○ Nov. 16, 2015 - March 21, 2016

● 540 articles → 84 articles


○ Keyword search: ISIS, IS, IL,
Daesh, terrorism, Islam, Muslim

● Final Sample: 33 articles


Art icle Select ion
Newsweek:
● Newsweek Archive Database

● 17 issues
○ Nov. 20, 2015 - March 18, 2016

● 275 articles → 71 articles


○ Keyword search: ISIS, IS, IL,
Daesh, terrorism, Islam, Muslim

● Final Sample: 30 articles


Frame and Tone Analysis
● Preliminary Frames:
○ Aggressive Nature of ISIS
○ Islamic Fundamentalism
○ Religious Differences and Intolerance
○ Crimes Against Humanity
○ Desire for Peace
○ Religious Tolerance
○ Aggressive Nature of Coalition Forces
○ Humanitarian Efforts

● Tones:
○ Positive, Negative, Neutral
RESEARCH
QUESTIONS
Research Quest ion # 1

What frames emerge through the coverage of ISIS in


both TIME magazine and Newsweek magazine following
the November 2015 France attacks?
Research Quest ion # 2

What is the dominant tone of the coverage of ISIS in both


TIME and Newsweek?
Findings and
Discussion
Frame and Tone Cat egorizat ion
Percent ages of Frames
Aggressive Nat ure of ISIS
TIME: Newsweek:
“After the shrines are exploded, the
“If you are not able to find an IED or
sites themselves are bulldozed and
a bullet, then single out the
wiped clean [by ISIS] in order to
disbelieving American, Frenchman or
physically erase their memory.”
any of his allies. Smash his head
with a rock, or slaughter him with a – The New Monument Men Outsmart ISIS
(Nov. 20, 2015)
knife or run him over with your car.”
– How to Beat ISIS (Nov. 30, 2015)
Islamic Fundament alism
TIME: Newsweek:
“They attack in the name of God and “[The group is destructive and] wants
while the recruits themselves may be to force people to choose sides
killed, their ideas and motivations live [either] for or against them.”
on.” – To Defeat ISIS, Know Thy Terrorist
– Kamel Daoud: ISIS’s Lineage of Terror (Dec. 11, 2015)
(Nov. 30, 2015)
Religious Differences and Int olerance
TIME: Newsweek:
“Every Muslim is a terrorist.” “Total and complete shutdown of
Muslims entering the United States.”
“There is no way of knowing how
many ISIS agents will be hiding “[The harsh statements are only
among them.” validating] Al-Qaeda and ISIS.”
– An American Muslim Community – Donald Trump: The American Stereotype
Shares Its Story (Dec.28, 2015) Europeans Love to Hate (Dec. 25, 2015)
Crimes Against Humanit y
TIME: Newsweek:
“Mama, were kids killed?” “[Terror and ISIS] can hit anywhere,
– The Hardest Question: Explaining the Paris
at any time. And in doing so, [it] can
Attacks to My Child (Nov. 30, 2015) bring your way of life to a halt.”
– San Bernardino Shootings Signal new Tactics
in Terror (Dec. 18, 2015)
Desire for Peace
TIME: Newsweek:
“Many in the world know that a “Our media tells us that Ukrainians
strong France, faithful to itself and and Russians should hate each
master of its own destiny, is other, but see how hatred kills
indispensable to world peace. Let us innocents. We weep with you
stand together.” brothers and sisters.”
– Marine Le Pen: How France Will Conquer the – Putin’s Crash Test: Downed Russian Jetliner
Enemies of Liberty (Nov. 30, 2015) Could SIgnal the President’s Next Big Strike
(Nov. 20, 2015)
Religious Tolerance
TIME: Newsweek:
“A man fumbled with his cell phone “Christians and Muslims are brothers
and read ‘Assalam Alaykum’ (peace and sisters. Together we must say
be to you). He explained he had no to hatred...perpetrated in the
practiced it ‘so that if he saw a name of a religion or of God himself.”
Muslim lady, he could greet her – Big Shots: Brothers and Sisters
peacefully and respectfully.” (Dec. 11, 2015)

– An American Muslim Community Shares Its


Story (Dec. 28, 2015)
US Effort s
TIME: Newsweek:
“What the world needs from Obama “We will look for you, we will find you
is not his chilly acceptance, however and we will kill you.”...Marco Rubio
but a stirring call to action.” – To Defeat ISIS, Know Thy Terrorist
(Dec. 11, 2015)
– How to Beat ISIS (Nov. 30, 2015)
Int ernat ional Communit y Against ISIS
TIME: Newsweek:
“We need to work with Russia, Syria “Keyboard warriors- some on
and Iran as well as other foreign government payrolls, others working
powers including the United States on their own time- are trying to
which are fighting radical Islam.” degrade and destroy the group’s
– Marine La Pen: How France Will Conquer the
online propaganda efforts.”
Enemies of Liberty (Nov. 30, 2015) – Can Hackers Western Security Services Win
the Online War Against ISIS? (Dec. 4, 2015)
Middle East Migrant s and Refugees
TIME: Newsweek:
“I want my neighbors to know the “...likelihood that amid the refugees
Syrian people are not terrorists. We would be soldiers of ISIS, ready to
are against ISIS. We don’t support attack.”
them. They are a criminal
organization. Syrian citizens are the “...the strain of Islam that leads
ones paying the price.” young men to fight be eliminated.”
– Syrian Refugees in the U.S. Feel a Backlash – Paris Attacks Show 9/11 Changed Everything
(Dec. 14, 2015) and Nothing (Nov. 27, 2015)
Conclusions
Research Quest ion # 1, Frames
Frames: 111 t ot al frame ment ions
● 6 present from literature, 3 new emerging frames
● Dominating:
○ Aggressive Nature of ISIS → 29 mentions
○ U.S. Efforts → 23 mentions
○ Islamic Fundamentalism → 17 mentions
Research Quest ion # 2, Tones
Tone: 111 t ot al frame ment ions
● Negative → 82 frames
● Neutral → 16 frames
● Positive → 13 frames
Limit at ions and
Furt her Research
Limit at ions and Furt her Research
Limit at ions:
● No available hard copies/ No PDF versions of TIME in Vault
● Issues were not available

Furt her Research:


● Comparison of TIME USA and TIME Europe’s coverage of ISIS
● Frames of ISIS as the Syrian conflict grew
● Dig deeper into why/ how the coverage of ISIS in the two newsmagazines
varies (facts and figures vs. personal stories)
Quest ions?

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