The Syrian conflict constitutes one of the most covered events in this century. Although the coverage of the Syrian uprising and civil war alternated between periods of saturation and silence, it is indisputable that they received an enormous amount of media attention. The Syrian Conflict in the News analyses the coverage of the Syrian conflict in the New York Times, the Washington Post, and the Wall Street Journal, focusing on how the three newspapers framed six key events in Syria from March 2011 to April 2018, including the Ghouta chemical attack, the Russian intervention in Syria and US-led airstrikes. Gabriel Huland argues that US foreign policy dominates the frames of the conflict, which suggests that mainstream newspapers are excessively indexed to elite narratives. In the United States, the Syrian crisis prompted an intense debate about the appropriate degree of US involvement in the civil war and how the country should behave in the face of growing Russian and Iranian influence in the Middle East. The overreliance on elite narratives resulted in the underrepresentation of local voices and other players who were in a more advantaged position to devise solutions to the conflict. By analysing the frames of the Syrian uprising and civil war in three mainstream newspapers and the relationship between media and international conflicts, The Syrian Conflict in the News sheds light on crucial aspects of the crisis currently pervading US journalism.

Gabriel Huland is a Lecturer in International Relations at the University of Bath, UK. His published articles have appeared in the Journal of Communication and Media Studies. He holds a PhD from SOAS University of London and prior to academia, he was a practicing journalist.

List of Figures
List of Tables
Foreword
A Note on the Referencing Style
Introduction
Why Framing Matters
Can News Reports Be Objective?
Changing Times for US Newspapers
The Plan of The Book
1. Media, Foreign Policy and International Conflicts
The Public Dimension of Foreign Policy
International Conflicts in Us Media
The End of the Cold War and the CNN Effect Hypothesis
Reporting the Syrian Revolution
The Cascading Activation Model
The Coverage of the Iraq War: A Return To Cold War Journalism?
2. The Beginning of The Syrian Uprising (Period I)
The NYT Supports Obama's Noninterventionist Approach
The WP Urges Obama to Support the Protests
The WSJ Criticizes US Engagement With The Syrian Regime
3. The Eastern Ghouta Chemical Attack (Period II)
The NYT Highlights the Debates Inside the Obama Administration
The WP Calls for a Strong Response Against Assad
The WSJ Urges the US to Attack Syria
4. The Expansion of ISIS in Iraq and Syria (Period III)
The NYT Supports Military Intervention Against Isis
The WP Opposes Arming Local Groups to Fight Isis
The WSJ Blames Obama for the Instability in the Middle East
5. The Beginning of the Russian Intervention in Syria (Period Iv)
The NYT Highlights the Contradictions of Obama's Policies
The WP Claims that Obama's Policies Failed
The WSJ Fears Russian Expansionism
6. The Fall of Eastern Aleppo (Period V)
The NYT Relays a Neutral Frame of Obama's Syria Policy
The WP Criticizes Obama's and Trump's Views on Syria
The WSJ Focuses on the Incoming Trump Administration
7. The US-UK-French Airstrikes Against Syria (Period VI)
The NYT Opposes the Airstrikes
The WP Considers the Airstrkes Insufficient
The Wsj Adopts an Advisory Tone Toward Trump
Conclusion
The Syrian Conflict and the Crisis Of US Journalism
Appendix
Identifying News Frames
Selecting and Analyzing the Dataset
Bibliography
Index