Media, Terrorism, and Theory

Over the past few years, coverage of terror attacks has featured prominently in numerous media outlets. Drawing on both popular and academic articles, the essays in Media, Terrorism, and Theory: A Reader analyze the larger issues surrounding media's portrayal of terrorism, including terrorism as a media event, war and media, nationalism and media, public responsibility, and journalistic accountability. Renowned contributors from around the world explore these issues as they relate to a global community. From such diverse fields as cultural studies, political science, media studies, architecture, and information science, each brings a distinctive perspective. Answering a growing need to understand media discourse on terrorism, Media, Terrorism, and Theory complements readings in upper-level mass communication courses and will appeal to students and scholars of international media and terrorism.

As terrible as terror is, our media coverage is at times almost as bad. Why is that? What can we do about it? To understand the world today, you need to know the role the media plays as it embeds itself in an unjust system of deception. We need this bold new reader to help us penetrate that story behind the story. It is essential., The volume is a success. A revealing and culturally relevant reader that challenges the conservative—often inaccurate—perceptions that go unchallenged in mainstream U.S. news media. It will improve Americans' understanding of terrorism and should be read by the mythmakers themselves. Essential., The strength of this volume...[is] its ability to move beyond a description of communicative patterns in the war on terror to discussing its theoretical implications for international communications and politics., ...an excellent book....A number of features of the volume stand out....I recomment this book to students, teachers and members of the public interested in engaging with critical issues of media, its treatment of 'terrorism' in the 'war on terror,' and the potentialities of democratic politics in a media age., War has always been reported—on pots and pyramids, in papers and the 'pictures.' In contemporary times a range of high-tech media has been added. More interestingly, we are now standing on a century of communication and social theory that helps us make sense of media, war, and senseless violence. Media, Terrorism, and Theory adds to a growing collection of theoretical treatments of the post–9/11 world and media, drawing on important contributors to this area of inquiry. Comprising carefully selected chapters, it will find its way into many a university course.

Anandam P. Kavoori is associate professor of telecommunications at the University of Georgia. Todd Fraley is assistant professor of communication at East Carolina University.