The Story of Charlie Hebdo: An Analysis of European and American Newspapers1

Abstract

The attack on Charlie Hebdo was widely spread throughout the world. It caused the reactions of politicians, celebrities and journalists. Journalists treated the attack on the editors as an attack on freedom of speech. On the other hand, the attack led to the political debate on terrorism on both sides of the Atlantic. The thesis put by the author says that the same event is the starting point for spinning two different stories. The aim of the article is to present an American and European narrative of the attack and its consequences. Research answers the questions such as: How narratives were constructed? What are the most commonly used media sources? Did materials contain additional explanations? Did they contain different points of view? Whose interests it represented? Because of access to sources of analysis were subjected to newspapers and online news sites.

DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2015.v6n2s5p353