'One Nation Controlled by the Media'. The Role of the Media in America after 9/11

Bachelor Thesis from the year 2016 in the subject American Studies - Miscellaneous, grade: 1,3, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (Amerikanistik), language: English, abstract: After the shocking events of September 11th American peoples' lives seemed to change tremendously. In reaction to the attacks, the Bush Administration initiated a "War on Terror" meant to prevent such atrocities from happening again in the future and to stop terrorism once and for all. There was widespread support for the war and after a modest start into his first term as president of the United States, Bush had now also gained far more citizen approval. To maintain steady support, the Bush Administration itself developed effective strategies such as using the media and its power to reach the biggest part of the population. Bush's ideological and patriotic rhetoric in his reaction to the events of 9/11 aimed at positioning himself as a strong leader and this image was mostly supported by journalists. This role of the mass media in contributing to the administration's goal to gain support for its decisions and interests is highly discussed among scholars. Many are convinced that media coverage was influenced by politics and the administration's manipulation and that it therefore also helped to "sell" the administration's second war in Iraq to the American public. But by doing so, the media also neglected its most important task, namely acting as an agent between the public and the government and representing public interest. Through supporting and spreading Bush's strategic use of ideologies and misinformation, the media helped to discourage critique before it could even form. Therefore, I argue that through the Bush Administration's powerfulstrategic manipulation of the mainstream media and the public, critical voices did not even stand a chance to initiate change. By giving up its former purpose, the media has become nothing more than a tool for the government to gain more support for its