LAUSR

This study investigated the portrayal of the Arab Spring by conducting a qualitative framing analysis of editorials and columns in two elite U.S. newspapers: The New York Times and The Washington Post. Most opinion writers on the Arab Spring in the The New York Times and The Washington Post were either journalists from the news organizations themselves or ex-officials and scholars at various U.S. institutions. Thus, these papers reflected the viewpoints of political elites in portraying the Arab Spring. They largely advocated principles that accentuated the liberalism paradigm of international relations, such as democracy, international cooperation, and economic independence. These papers placed great emphasis on the possible impact of the Arab Spring on the U.S.’s continued deterrence of radical Islam and terrorism, but essentially none on the possible impact these events might have on the U.S.’s continued dependence on Middle East oil. The opinion journalism of U.S. elite papers is largely determined by journalists, ex-government officials, and scholars within the ʻmedia organizationalʼ and ʻsocial institutionalʼ levels, as well as American ideologies and interests on the ʻsocial systemʼ level.