Shifting frames of the Palestinian movement in U.S. news

For over two decades now Palestinians have engaged in multiple forms of protest against the Israeli government, from the spontaneous acts of individuals to the collective bargaining of formal political agencies. However, the vast majority of US citizens have only limited resources for interpreting these events (Gamson, 1992). Few have any first-hand experi-ence of these protests or of the Palestinian experience in general. Moreover, the stereotypical depiction in the US entertainment industry of the generic ‘Arab ’ as a terrorist provides a distorted form of media discourse to the frameworks of US observers, limiting comprehension of the Arab world and of terrorism, and perpetuating a climate of fear among Arab-Americans (American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, 1998; Shaheen, 1984), particularly following the events of 11 September 2001. As a result, the framing of the Palestinian cause in the US news media plays a central role in how US residents understand and interpret Palestinian injustice claims. In the absence of positive depictions of the Palestinians in the US news media it is extremely unlikely that their political interests will resonate with many in the US. In this study we explore changes over time in how the US news media have framed the role of Palestinians, in relation to different actions taken by the Palestinian movement and its participants in support of Palestinian interests. Content analyses are used to explore recognition and framing o