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Media and Terrorism
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Media and Terrorism
Global Perspectives

Edited by:
  • Des Freedman - Goldsmiths, University of London, UK
  • Daya Kishan Thussu - Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong, University of Westminster, UK, Schwarzman College, Tsinghua University, Beijing, Co-Director, India Media Centre, University of Westminster, London, UK


December 2011 | 336 pages | SAGE Publications Ltd

Have the media contributed to exacerbating the political, cultural and religious divides within Western societies and the world at large? How can media be deployed to enrich, not inhibit, dialogue? To what extent has the media, in all its forms, questioned, celebrated or simply accepted the unleashing of a 'war on terror'? Media and Terrorism brings together leading scholars to explore how the world's media have influenced, and in turn, been influenced by terrorism and the war on terror in the aftermath of 9/11. Accessible and user-friendly with lively and current case studies, it is a perfect student text and is an essential handbook on the dynamics of war and the media in a global context.



 

Des Freedman and Daya Kishan Thussu
Introduction: Dynamics of Media and Terrorism
 
PART ONE: CONTEXTS
Lena Jayyusi
Terror, War and Disjunctures in the Global Order
Christian Fuchs
Media, War and Information Technology
Philip Seib
Public Diplomacy Versus Terrorism
David Miller and Rizwaan Sabir
Propaganda and Terrorism
 
PART TWO: GLOBAL REPRESENTATIONS OF TERRORISM
Toby Miller
Terrorism and Global Popular Culture
Oliver Boyd-Barrett, David Herrera and Jim Baumann
Hollywood, the CIA and the 'War on Terror'
Gholam Khiabany and Milly Williamson
Terror, Culture and Anti-Muslim Racism
Greg Philo
Pictures and Public Relations in the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
 
PART THREE: TERRORISM ON THE HOME FRONT
Daya Kishan Thussu
South Asia and the Frontline of the 'War on Terror'
Elena Vartanova and Olga Smirnova
Covering Terrorism in Russian Media
Stig A. Nohrstedt and Rune Ottosen
WikiLeaks and War Laws
Tristan Mattelart
Television and Immigration in France
Helga Tawil-Souri
The 'War on Terror' in Arab Media
 
PART FOUR: JOURNALISTS AND THE 'WAR ON TERROR'
Justin Lewis
Terrorism and News Narratives
Jake Lynch, Annabel McGoldrick and Alex Russell
Asylum Seekers as Political Spectacle
Dahr Jamail
Media Myth and Ground Reality in Reporting from Iraq
Danny Schechter
Challenging the Media War

Those familiar with the topic will immediately recognise the names of well-respected scholars from the Anglo-American paradigm, including David Miller, Greg Philo and Philip Seib, among the contributors. However, the book goes further in offering a truly global perspective, with contributions by academics, researchers and journalists from geographical backgrounds ranging from the Scandinavian countries to the Middle East and Russia, and with research interests as wide-ranging as the games, film and media industries and peace journalism and cultural studies.

Drawing on these diverse perspectives, the book comes well equipped with the tools needed to unravel the media-terrorism-politics triangle. To mention just the most compelling, those include semiotics (Lena Jayyusi), political theory (Christian Fuchs), inter-sector approaches (Toby Miller, Oliver Boyd-Barrett, David Herrera and Jim Baumann), controversial comparative analysis (Justin Lewis), and the first-hand experiences recounted by journalists Dahr Jamail and Danny Schechter
THE Textbook Guide


Acts of political violence, including terroristic violence, come in different forms, in different parts of the world and perpetrated by different sorts of actors (states, military, insurgents, individuals) who can be motivated by different interests and identities. In today's media environment, the relation between terrorism and media is often no less complex or politically consequential. Historically momentous and deadly as the so-called 'global war on terror' has proved to be, it does not exhaust the complexities of media and terror or their interactions around the world. Media and Terrorism: Global Perspectives intelligently and incisively broadens the discussion, situating it within contexts of global inequality and geopolitical interests, contemporary media environments and strategic and symbolic politics
Simon Cottle
Professor of Media and Communications, Cardiff University



[The book] pulls together so many facts and arguments that it will help anyone grappling with the last eleven years of mayhem, laughingly referred to as the 'war on terror'. Above all it is a long-overdue unscrambling of the deliberate confusions behind the modern use of the word 'terrorism'.

Chris Nineham
Counterfire


A new publication that seeks to not only join but also move forward the established literature on media and terrorism needs to be out of the ordinary. Freeman and Thussu's book 'Media & Terrorism: Global perspectives' appears to be that kind of publication. Marked by smart editorial decision making, this book maps the dynamics of media and terrorism in the era defined by the US as a 'war on terror' with new and interesting academic content, producing an overall package that contrasts positively with the approach and features of many of its forerunners... In sum, this is a unique and interesting book that brings together significant contributions in one place... [and] this book is a must read for students and scholars who wish to understand the relationship between media and terrorism in global context.
Julian Matthews
Internet Journal of Criminology


The fact that the term 'terror' lends itself to such elastic uses makes writing about it rather challenging, especially when the discussion is focused on this very elasticity and elusiveness.. This book engages directly with this challenge, seeking to explore the uses and abuses of this elusive concept [...] This book is a feast of penetrating insights and provocative ideas: densely informative and a pleasure to read, covering as it does the subject from multiple angles and in great depth.

Abdelwahab El-Affendi
University of Westminster

This text is highly relevant to the post 9/11 era of terrorism and the role of the media in shaping attitudes and focusing agendas. It has less of a bearing on conflicts which preceded the explosive growth of social media and digital communications.

Dr Michael Anderson
Political Science , University College Dublin
June 29, 2013

I'm using this book in the international journalism course for MA students. It is highly relevant as it offers a global dimension to the study of media and terrorism.
Ahmed Al-Rawi, Erasmus University Rotterdam

Dr Ahmed Al-Rawi
Department of Media and Culture, Erasmus University Rotterdam
October 9, 2012

I am using selections from this book in my course packet of supplemental readings. It is very applicable to my course in Global Media Advocacy, as well as to a prep course I teach for students doing field work in Hong Kong.

Ms Bonnie McEwan
Milano School of International Affairs, Mgmt and Policy, New School University
September 20, 2012

The book gives a good introductory overview of the different means of communication within irregular warfare. It is neatly broken down into a logical series of topics that are represented in the different parts of the publication. This book shall be used on the new course that shall start in 2013, Mass Media and War: Information, Perception and Influence in 21st Century Conflict.

Dr Greg Simons
Uppsala Centre for Russian and Eurasian Studies, Uppsala University
September 13, 2012

This is an excellent source which puts students in the heart of the contemporary discussion and encourages them to form opinions. It is a great resource for seminars as well as gateways to research.

Mr Paul Matthews
Business Administration , University College Birmingham
August 17, 2012

Adopted another title

Dr Andrew Liaropoulos
Department of International & European Studies, University of Piraeus
August 10, 2012

An interesting book well written but not what I was looking for.

Ms Anne Eason
School of Social Studies, Northampton University
June 8, 2012

Media and Terrorism, co-edited by Des Freedman and Daya Kisha Thussi, is incisive and an added voice regarding the way terrorism is framed in the media.

The book is particularly interesting in the way it looks beyond what the media would have people to believe, especially about people of Islamic faith.

It will be an interesting book for students of media and society who would like have a deeper and varied views about terrorism.

Dr Sam Usadolo
Department of Communication, University of Fort Hare
April 9, 2012

Sample Materials & Chapters

Chapter One


Des Freedman

Des Freedman is Professor of Media and Communications in the Department of Media, Communications and Cultural Studies at Goldsmiths, University of London. He is co-director of the Goldsmiths Leverhulme Media Research Centre and a founding member of the Media Reform Coalition.His publications include, as editor, Capitalism’s Conscience: 200 Years of the Guardian (Pluto, 2021) and, as author, The Contradictions of Media Power (Bloomsbury, 2014), The Politics of Media Policy (Polity 2008), Misunderstanding the Internet (Routledge, 2016, co-authored with James Curran and Natalie Fenton) and The Media Manifesto (Polity, 2020... More About Author

Daya Thussu

Daya Kishan Thussu is Professor of International Communication and Co-Director of India Media Centre at the University of Westminster in London. A PhD in International Relations from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, he is the founder and Managing Editor of Global Media and Communication, a journal published by SAGE. He has authored and edited as many as 17 books. Among his key publications are: Mapping BRICS Media (co-edited with Kaarle Nordenstreng, 2015); Media and Terrorism: Global Perspectives (co-edited with Des Freedman, 2012); Internationalizing Media Studies (2009); News as... More About Author

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ISBN: 9781446201589
£44.99

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