The effects of media framing on student beliefs and values concerning detainees, civil liberties, and national security in the United States after September 11, 2001

This study examined (1) the perception of an intended dominant meaning in a mediated message, and (2) the effects of media framing on student beliefs and values concerning detainees, civil liberties, and national security in the U.S. after September 11, 2001. Randomly assigned groups were shown a 20-minute video taken from actual footage shown on network cable news and re-edited to favor either a national security or civil liberties perspective.; Comparison of pre- and posttest scores on an attitude survey revealed significant differences on the strength of national security and civil liberties beliefs and values between groups, suggesting that attitudes were strengthened or weakened by the treatment they received in the direction of the media flaming. The influence of framing varied by topic. The importance of national security and civil liberties remained unchanged before and after treatment, suggesting prior beliefs and values are also influential. Taken together, these results suggest that framing is a complex and contextual dialectic between message creators, messages, cultural and situational context, and message receivers, well suited for interdisciplinary inquiry and discourse.; A synthesis of various existing conceptions and relationships between beliefs, values, attitudes, and opinions is offered. Geographical, historical and situational influences surrounding the events of September 11, 2001 are discussed as well.