Challenging a Master Narrative: Peace Protest and Opinion/Editorial Discourse in the US Press During the Gulf War

Abstract

A textual analysis of an archive of US newspaper articles published during the first two weeks of the Gulf War reveals that three interpretative news frames—the Enemy Within, Marginal Oddity and Legitimate Controversy—dominated press coverage of antiwar protest. Salient textual characteristics (themes, metaphors, argumentation strategies, tone, syntactical and lexical choices) of each frame are discussed, particularly as they were manifested in opinion/editorial commentary. The differential treatment of different voices (moralist, utilitarian, radical) within the peace movement is also analyzed, showing that some perspectives tended to be relatively privileged over others; but more important, the movement as a whole was placed on the defensive in press discourse, compelled to defend its own legitimacy. These patterns of press discourse are related very broadly to America's `master narrative' of war, a narrative which had been threatened by the Vietnam experience.