Patriot Act Coverage Focuses on Concerns for Individual Liberty

Newspapers focused on concerns for individual liberty over national security during the debate surrounding the controversial Patriot Act, according to a recent study published in Newspaper Research Journal.

Examination of four major newspapers showed a strong emphasis on the legal issues surrounding the law, which was passed in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks.

Researchers Weimin Chang and Ralph Izard concluded that media kept a watchful eye on the government as the debate over the Patriot Act raged across the country.

The study also shows articles often cited sources that were critical or skeptical of the law, as opposed to federal government officials.

Chang is an associate professor in the Cheung Kong School of Journalism and Communication at Shantou University, and Izard is the Sig Mickelson/CBS Professor in the Manship School of Mass Communication at Louisiana State University.

The study appears in the fall 2009 issue of Newspaper Research Journal.

Contacts: Sandra H. Utt e-mail: nrj@newspaperresearchjournal.org or Elinor Kelley Grusin e-mail: egrusin@memphis.edu.

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