Framing Terrorism: The News Media, the Government and the Public

A book that Montague Kern co-edited with Pippa Norris and Marion Just, FRAMING TERRORISM: THE NEWS MEDIA, THE GOVERNMENT AND THE PUBLIC, has just been published by Routledge (August 2003). The book has a comparative international focus. Based on original research undertaken by internationally recognized political science and communication researchers, as well as journalists, it argues that terrorism "headlines matter as much as the act, in political terms. Widely publicized terrorist incidents leave an imprint upon public opinion, muzzle the `watchdog' role of journalists and promote a general `one-of-us' consensus supporting security forces." Contributors to the volume begin by focusing on how government security forces and terrorist groups seek to manipulate the news, including the legal and normative issues of formal and informal censorship and curbs on freedom of the press. They then focus on how journalists construct the news and how the public responds--including "rallying-round the flag", public attention and comprehension of terrorist events, and the public's response to issues of civil liberties and security.
Joseph S. Nye, Dean of the Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government, comments: "What we think we know about terrorism depends in part on how the issue is framed. This book provides a fascinating combination of theory and cases about what the press tells us. Read it to find out what you really know!'

Information about the book is available here.