This article analyzes the framing of Norwegian media coverage of the war against terror
in Afghanistan with special emphasis of the coverage of the Norwegian military presence
in Afghanistan. Two main issues are discussed: 1. How was the start of the war covered
in the media in October 2001? 2. In what context was the Norwegian military presence
covered? The two newspapers analyzed are Aftenposten and VG. The choice of these two
newspapers was made to include Norway’s largest and potentially most influential morning
paper (Aftenposten) and its largest tabloid, as well as largest newspaper (VG). Quantitative
as well as qualitative methods are used to analyze the coverage. Both Aftenposten’s
and VG’s coverage on the first day of the war in Afghanistan are dominated by pro-US
framing and the use of Western sources. The pro-US framing is more obvious in
Aftenposten than in VG.