Framing the Orlando Shooting: An Act of Hate or Terror? The representation of American Muslims and Islamic Extremists in Traditional and New Media

Abstract

In the hours after the Orlando shooting, the media widely reported on the event. People where indecisive if the shooter’s motives had terroristic or homophobic roots. This thesis will examine how traditional media platforms The New York Times, The Washington Post and The Los Angeles Times and new media platforms Huffington Post, Vice News and Buzzfeed News framed their news reports by their choice of stylistic features, and how this contributed to the representation of Islamic Extremists and American Muslims in the media. Nowadays, most newspapers have their own websites, causing traditional and new media to become intertwined. Still, the traditional media platforms preferred the frame of an act of terror performed by an Islamic extremist, contributing to a negative image of Muslims in the media, whereas new media preferred an act of hate towards the LGBTQ-community or tried to include both sides of the story.