Popular Culture Review
100
Notes
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
In January o f 1995, just prior to the Oklahoma City bombing, Congress began debate on a
comprehensive package o f counter terrorism legislation. This pre-bombing collection o f laws
would be altered as a result of the attack and subsequently become law just over a year after the
bombing. O f the six issues listed herein, five pre-dated the bombing and only the death penalty
was added to the original package. Details on the process o f alteration and history of these individual
issues can be found in Ballard (2000).
In order to conduct this analysis the study used existing video records from the Vanderbilt Television
New s Archives collection o f network nightly newscasts. The collection is abstracted, including
time sequence, based on story level descriptions. In this analysis, reported percentages are based
on the amount o f story time in ten-second intervals divided by the actual length o f the complete
broadcast.
These three groups were isolated because o f their influence, expert status, and accessibility to the
media. They represent categories o f policy elites that are generally thought to most influence the
development o f public policy (Domiioff 1967, D om hoff 1970, Dom hoff 1978, Dom hoff 1980,
Dom hoff 1983, Dom hoff 1986, Dom hoff 1987, Domhoff, 1990, Quadagno 1984, Skocpol 1979,
Skocpol 1980, Skocpol 1985 ).
In some cases speakers were interviewed multiple times during the week o f broadcasts. This was
the result o f the need to address the changing facts of the case and the speakers’ positional
qualifications (expertise on either legal or terrorism issues). These frequencies only represent a
count o f how many representatives from each group appeared.
They included DOJ head Janet Reno, current FBI associates Weldon Kennedy and Louis Freeh
plus ex-FBI associates Victoria Teonsing, Buck Re veil, and James Fox. The other four included
ATF head John McGraw, FEMA head James Witt, DoD head William Perry, and Ray Kelly, a
former NYC Policy Commissioner. Kennedy led this group with nine instances of coverage during
the week; Reno was covered in seven cases, and McGraw, Revell, and Fox had multiple instances
o f coverage. The others were each covered by the media on single occasions.
President Clinton, First Lady Hillary Clinton, House Leader Newt Gingrich, Senate leader Bob
Dole and House member Steve Stockman did not have a direct political tie to Oklahoma. Oklahoma
Governor Frank Keating, First Lady Cathy Keating, Oklahoma Senator Don Nichols and Oklahoma
City Mayor Ron Norich all held positions directly related to this state at the time o f the bombing.
President Clinton had 18 incidents o f coverage.
The use o f the term speaker in this section refers to the total pool o f on-story interviewees.
Works Cited
American Broadcast Company 1995a. Nightly newscast from April 19, 1995. New York: ABC News
Incorporated.
— . 1995b. Nightly newscast from April 20, 1995. New York: ABC News Incorporated.
— . 1995c. Nightly newscast from April 21, 1995. New York: ABC News Incorporated.
— . 1995d. Nightly newscast from April 22, 1995. New York: ABC News Incorporated.
— . 1995e. Nightly newscast from April 23, 1995. New York: ABC News Incorporated.
— . 1995f. Nightly newscast from April 24, 1995. New York: ABC News Incorporated.
— . 1995g. Nightly newscast from April 25, 1995. New York: ABC News Incorporated.
BaUard, J. D. 2000. “ Terrorism and political policy: Crisis and policy making indicators in the
media during legislative action. Unpublished doctoral dissertation. Las Vegas: University of
Nevada, Las Vegas.
Bruck, P. A. 1992. “Crisis as Specular: Tabloid News and the Politics o f Outrage.” In Raboy, M. and B.
Dagenais (eds). Media, Crisis and Democracy: Mass Communication and the Disruption of Social
Order. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
Columbia Broadcast System 1995a. Nightly newscast from April 19, 1995. New York: CBS News
Incorporated.
— . 1995b. Nightly newscast from April 20, 1995. New York: CBS News Incorporated.