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Popular Culture Review
documented in this article can provide the reader with an insight into what is
happening today and why certain policy elites, especially agency managers, are so
active in their pursuit of new powers and authority. What has changed since the
time frame of this analysis (1995/1996) is the level of hegemonic debate and
importance of the issues. A comparison between the two time frames does not
imply an equality of impact between the two events. The Oklahoma City bombing
was a far smaller and less damaging incident with respect to the legitimacy of the
United States government and its pohcies. The current crisis is different in that the
challenges presented by this act of terrorism have affected both the political and
economic structure of this society. The result is that this article may understate the
intensity of the co-optation of the media by these agencies and the role that the
media plays in supporting the legitimacy of existing relations of power. A systematic
examination of the current pohcies being enacted and the debates that have just
ensured would be welcome. Such an analysis will take an extended period of time
to conduct but has the potential to further illuminate this important area of study.
Introduction
This paper discusses the impact of certain interviews broadcast during a week
of nightly newscasts related to the Oklahoma City bombing. The analysis focuses
on how the coverage in the media may have influenced the pohcy discussions
surrounding the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 (AEDP).
The analytical expectation was that various influential policy making groups
(business, special interest, and state managers) would use the opportunity afforded
them by the intense media coverage of this act of terrorism to advocate for specific
legislative policies.
Coverage intensity was examined first to estabhsh the critical time frame for
media interest in the Oklahoma City bombing story, and then to locate a logical cut
off point for the coverage analysis. Coverage analysis was conducted to see who
appeared on these broadcasts during this critical time frame and how the pohcy
issues were framed during these interviews.
After the extent of pohcy ehte participation was identified, the content of the
actual broadcasts was analyzed to identify discourse relative to specific pohcy
issues incorporated into the AEDP. The issues include pohcies designed to curb
fund raising activities by terrorist groups; immigration issues related to terrorism;
computer issues that tie to this particular antiterrorism legislation; concerns over
potential nuclear, biological or chemical terrorism; debates related to explosives
and their use by terrorists; and lastly, death penalty reform. The impetus for this
discussion was to investigate how, and if, the media influenced the AEDP pohcy
process and what effects the massive amount of media coverage had on the