<jats:p> This qualitative study explores the use of the term “war on terror” by the Bush administration, the framing of news stories about terror and terrorism, and the social construction of reality about the war. News transcripts from the ABC, CBS, and NBC network evening newscasts were content analyzed to identify dominant themes from a total of 966 stories in the first 3 years following the 9/11 attack. The findings suggested that terrorism dominated news coverage during the period under study. George W. Bush presumably adopted the phrase “war on terror” as a mechanism to build support for administration policies, and television news coverage of the war appeared to utilize myth-making through acceptance of this political rhetoric. The phrasing was sometimes used as a shorthand device to summarize a wide range of complex issues and events. The three television networks studied here made associations and accepted those of political elites. </jats:p>