If nothing could prepare the American populace for the events of September 11, 2001, then the same could be said of the network news media. Networks scrambled to maintain television signals as their towers lost power. Reporters strained for words to describe the confusion, chaos and horror unfolding around them. Anchors struggled to decipher images and events streaming in real time. For a few hours, television coverage of these events was remarkably raw. Single cameras sat focused the World Trade Center towers. Television stations cut between New York, Washington DC doing little more than reporting events as they happened, carefully shying away from interpretation of the events, or speculation as to their causes.

By the evening, this relatively unedited view gave way to more interpreted, stylized news stories. Now, in addition to live coverage, American viewers were given prepared video segments, stories, and montages. The plane hi-jackings and disasters were given a title, thus framing them in American terms. Television journalists sought out human-interest stories and looked for themes and meaning in the days events. Within 24-36 hours, it became apparent that these were evil acts perpetrated by cowards who lurk in the shadows unto an innocent America, and that war was not a choice, it had already begun.

These interpretations and framing of events certainly play an important role in how we perceive events. However, perhaps equally important are the hundreds of editorial decisions that television journalists make from moment to moment. What images do they select to depict people from the Middle East? What sound accompanies shots of Americans compared to shots of citizens of the Middle East? Because we perceive images that are shown in succession as related - questions surrounding how the network media are presenting images become important. Perhaps most critically, the nature of the images presented, what is included in the "story," and what is left out can have important ramifications for how we interpret what the fundamental issues are in an event.

Questions to Consider

• Although there is a range of ways that the network television media is portraying events, already there are examples of news footage that present a very troubling picture of how these events are being presented to the American public. Examine these video feeds from CNN.
  Three sample CNN feeds:
  1. America Grieves
  2. Palestinians Celebrate
  3. Iraq Responds
• How are Americans, Palestinians, and Iraqis represented?
• What is missing from these representations?
• Where did these images of Palestinians come from?
• Do they appear to be connected to these events?

Transcripts from "Palestinians Celebrate"
These pictures of Palestinians celebrating the terrorist attacks on the United States horrified all of those who were watching. Palestinian leaders were quick to point out that these were only isolated incidents by what they called an ignorant few. Chairman Yassir Arrafat immediately condemned the attacks.

"We are completely shocked completely shocked. Unbelievable." Later Arrafat was seen giving blood, in a symbolic gesture of solidarity with America. Arab allies, the Iranian president and even Libya have strongly condemned what has happened saying that it violates Islamic principles. But on the streets of all these counties anti-Americanism has been building. Moderates are being eclipsed by extremists after almost a year of violence in the Middle East. The Palestinian in (can't tell) in Israel

"We don't wish for the destruction of the American people." Said this man. "We just want the destruction of Bush and Congress because they support Israel."

Experts in radical Islamic terrorism say masterminds like Ossada bin Laden have cleverly manipulated a real sense of grievance into a willingness by some to become human instruments of mass murder.

Ossada bin Laden has been, in the Muslim world, capitalizing on very sensitive issues that mobilize the whole Arab and Muslim community: The liberation of Jerusalem, American troop presence in Saudi Arabia; of course the fate of the Iraqi people suffering under sanctions. This gathered momentum after the gulf war when bin Laden bitterly complained about US troops in Saudi Arabian troops invited by Saudi Arabian leaders to defend against the Iraqis and yet condemned by bin Laden and extremist Islamic preachers for quote desecrating holy sites.

In addition, Muslims all over the world have been enraged by a decade of continued bombing against Iraqi military installations and crippling sanctions that have ended up hurting the iraqi people more than their intended target: Saddam Hussein and his regime.

Experts say terrorism cells manage to operate in America's Arab allies such as Egypt and Saudi Arabia as well as Europe and North American.

Fearful of a backlash, mainstream Moslem leaders here in Europe are trying to explain that this war on American civilians is a crime that can never be justified as religious duty.

"The position of Muslim community in the UK, as I'm sure in different parts of the world is I'm sure is very clear. We condemn absolutely and unequivocally the atrocity that has been committed. We believe that the people, the perpetrators of this heinous crime are outside the pale of civilization."

So now British and other world leaders are calling for a global alliance to combat a global network of terrorism. To arrest them cell by cell, shut down their financial support and make it more difficult to forge travel documents. There are no quick fixes they say, just a long, sustained, and difficult campaign.

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