The 9/11 Decade Media Discourse: Content Analysis on Correspondents’ Reports in Al Jazeera Online

Adopting the theory of second level agenda-setting, this study interprets the main themes in 18 articles extracted from a special report on the 9/11 Decade in Al Jazeera online. The main aim of this study is to acknowledge that media agenda-setting theory is applicable to the contents in the Correspondents’ Reports articles from Al Jazeera online regarding the post 9/11 decade. It also aims to raise awareness that the discourse of Terrorism Alertness and Fear themes are frequently used in these articles. Qualitative media content analysis is conducted and themes are analyzed to investigate the most frequent themes used under the topic and affective attributes category within the articles, collectively. The two objectives of this study are a) to determine the most frequent theme used collectively in the category of topic of post 9/11 decade articles in Al Jazeera online; and b) to investigate the most frequent theme used collectively in the affective attributes category of post 9/11 decade articles in Al Jazeera online. Each article is analyzed through five categories of themes, which are Terrorism Alertness, Political Allegiance, Justification of Iraq War, Fear, and Hope. Phrases that are associated with the themes are extracted and structured in tables. Results are then discussed according to the objectives of the study, based on past literature and the authors’ interpretations. Results show that the most frequently used theme under the category of topic is Terrorism Alertness, which was used 44 times. Meanwhile Fear, which was used 64 times, is the most frequently used theme under the affective attributes category. This study is highly significant for the media, society, policy makers, as well as the realization of fourth generation warfare. A knowledgeable society could make use of media content for better understanding of an issue, while the media could use it to more effectively shape public opinion. In the context of media and information warfare studies, this study is significant in acknowledging the fourth generation warfare and realizing the contradictory aspects of war and peace journalism, in that even a decade after the 9/11 attacks there is still a war for freedom from terrorism and fear for the society, and recognition that media is an instrument of warfare.