Evaluating the Framing of Islam and Muslims Pre- and Post-9/11: a Contextual Analysis of Articles Published by the New York Times

Media plays an integral role in forming public perceptions on matters of all dimension, varying from small, entertainment tidbits to wide-ranging world affairs. This research examines how the New York Times framed the keywords Muslim and Islam before and after the 9/11 attacks. Qualitative and quantitative content analyses were used to evaluate articles published 30-days before and after 9/11/2001. The objectives of this research were to explore media depictions and framing techniques employed by the New York Times along with analyzing and comparing descriptive text surrounding the words Islam and Muslim.