Reading the Mohammmed Cartoons Controversy; An International Analysis of Press Discourses on Free Speech and Political Spin

The publication of 12 caricatures about Prophet Mohammed in a Danish newspaper led to a unique global media event during February and March 2006. This research report traces how the incident was debated in the mainstream press in 14 countries all over the world. It looks how the event was framed and interpreted by editorial writers, columnists, and other authors. The report shows how one of the fundamental values of western media - freedom of speech and freedom of the press - was defined and negotiated in the news media themselves, and how these definitions and negotiations were related to the political and cultural contexts in which journalists operate. The research also looks at how the positions on this dominant frame of understanding were connected to other explanations such as the presumed „clash of civilizations" as a political spin.