Terrorism and news of Africa post-9/11 coverage in The New York Times

Abstract

Western media coverage of the world decreased considerably in the post-Cold War world. The terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001 and the western response appeared, to a limited degree, to have contributed to some renewed media interest in the outside world – primarily the parts of it that were seen as threatening western interests. But to what degree has this applied to Africa, a part of the world that has been perhaps most consistently marginalized by both policy-makers and the media? Did media coverage of Africa in the West rise following 9/11? If so, to what degree was this rise attributable to issues of terrorism or the response? Furthermore, was coverage of Africa related to terrorism focused primarily on western concerns or did they apply to a broader variety of terrorism in Africa? With a particular focus on the United States, this study aims to answer these questions using quantitative analysis of coverage of Africa by The New York Times pre- and post 9/11.