The Morality of May 2, 2011: A Content Analysis of U.S. Headlines Regarding the Death of Osama bin Laden

Abstract

Following the death of Osama bin Laden in the late hours of May 1, 2011, many print newspapers throughout the United States and the world ran front-page coverage of his death the following day. Although public support for bin Laden's death was largely consistent, newspaper headlines across the country varied in their presentation of the story, from “Got the Bastard!” to a more stoic “bin Laden dead.” Content analysis derived from the model of intuitive morality and exemplars (MIME) was applied to explain variance in headlines as a function of the dominant political philosophy found in different areas of the United States—philosophies rooted in moral salience structures. The MIME suggests a reciprocal relationship between basic motivations underlying moral judgment for distinct audiences and media content produced for those audiences. Consistent with predictions, findings suggest that newspapers in conservative-leaning regions presented the story as a patriotic “killing” (an emphasis on authority and loyalty), whereas newspapers from liberal-leaning regions were more likely to present it in terms of justice restoration (an emphasis on fairness and reciprocity).