Counterterrorism and Counterpublic Responses: The First Twenty Four Hours After a Foiled Plot

• In Event: War and Terrorism in the Media

Abstract

This study examines comments posted in the immediate aftermath of a foiled terrorist bombing. Responsible journalists limited reportage to confirmable facts about the episode. However, commentators related the incident immediately to larger themes: the nature of Islam; the morality (or immorality) of tactics in the “Global War on Terror;” adequacy (or inadequacy) of liberal or conservative understandings of terrorist threats; effectiveness (or ineffectiveness) of law enforcement activities; government action (or inaction) on immigration; and characteristics of the local community that, from the perspective of commentators, enabled the terrorist plot to proceed as far as it did. Data are drawn from 325 postings in the 24 hours following publication of news of the incident and analyzed using methods developed in news framing studies. Theories concerning counterpublics and moral provide a framework for understanding the rapidity and intensity of social response in the absence of detailed factual information

Authors

• Robert Thomas Cadigan, Boston University, Metropolitan College

• Laurielle E. Altman, Boston University, Metropolitan College