Semester

Fall

Date of Graduation

2005

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Type

MS

College

Reed College of Media

Department

Reed College of Media

Committee Chair

Ivan Pinnell.

Abstract

In the wake of terrorist attacks in New York and Washington on September 11, 2001, the United States government hurriedly passed the USA PATRIOT Act. This legislation gives the Executive Branch sweeping new powers that could undermine the Bill of Rights and violate civil liberties in the name of national security. The media itself is protected by the First Amendment right to a free press and relies on other civil rights as well. This study is an attempt to gauge the print media's response to the Act by examining newspaper editorials about the PATRIOT Act since 2001 and determining their level of support or nonsupport and other qualitative findings.

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