Studies in Terrorism: Media Scholarship and the Enigma of Terror Edited by Naren Chitty, Ramona R. Rush and Mehdi Semati Publisher: Southbound in association with with the Journal of International Communication ISBN 983-9054-38-4. 186 pages.14 X 21.5 cm. Paperback: US$20

This book is the result of a call for papers for a special issue of the Journal of International Communication sent out after the attack on the World Trade Centre and Pentagon. The contributions which were selected for publication include:

• Introduction: Subject(s) of terrorism and media by Naren Chitty
• Terrorism and freedom as oppositional forces: Origins and evolution in presidential discourse by Carol Winkler
• After September 11: Public concern over threat, foreign policy attitudes, and decisions on going to war by Fang Yang and Ronald E. Ostman
• Doubt foreclosed: US mainstream media and the attacks of September 11, 2001 by Oliver Boyd-Barrett
• The alarm function of mass communication: A critical case study of "The Plot Against America, a special edition of NBC Nightly News with Tom Brokaw" by Julia R. Fox
• Beyond the televised endgame? Addressing the long-term consequences of global media inequality by Nick Couldry
• Fight the good fight with all your might: The US, us and them by Annabelle Mooney
• The past as prologue: Osama bin Laden, the embassy bombings, and the ideological origins of America's "War on Terrorism" by Marouf A. Hasian, Jr
• Free speech implications in the wake of September 11 by Amy Reynolds and Brooke Barnett
• Indymedia and "enduring freedom": An exploration of sources, perspectives and "news" in an alternative internet project by Chris Atton

Introduction: Subject(s) of terrorism and media by Naren Chitty

Terrorism and freedom as oppositional forces: Origins and evolution in presidential discourse by Carol Winkler
Pre-Reagan era
Reagan's first term
Reagan's second term
Conclusion

After September 11: Public concern over threat, foreign policy attitudes, and decisions on going to war by Fang Yang and Ronald E. Ostman
International image, threat perception and mass foreign policy attitudes
Protection motivation theory, concern over threat, and public foreign policy attitudes
Data and methods
Concern over threats
Importance assessment of policy choices
Confidence in American capability
Support for war
Analysis and results
Predicting importance evaluation of policies reducing threats
Predicting support for military action
Predicting public support of war
Conclusions

Doubt foreclosed: US mainstream media and the attacks of September 11, 2001 by Oliver Boyd-Barrett
Introduction
Initial discourses
Media strategies

1. Mass mobilisation
2. Vilification of culprit
3. Ignoring alternative sources of culpability
4. The great sell of a 'wartime' president
5. Neglect or manipulation of history
6. Abandonment of journalistic curiosity
7. Assimilating administration propaganda and compliance with controls

Conclusion

The alarm function of mass communication: A critical case study of "The Plot Against America, a special edition of NBC Nightly News with Tom Brokaw" by Julia R. Fox
Functional analysis
Critical case study: "The Plot Against America: A Special Edition of NBC Nightly News with Tom Brokaw"
The alarm function of mass communication

Beyond the televised endgame? Addressing the long-term consequences of global media inequality by Nick Couldry
Introduction
Refiguring what we know
Recharging the debate on the global media landscape
Reduction or intensification?

Fight the good fight with all your might: The US, us and them by Annabelle Mooney
Introduction

1. You, me, us and the war
   Applause
   Dialogue
   "He do the Police in Different Voices" and "The Waste Land"
2. Structure
3. I am the law
   Speech acts
   "Let those who have ears . . ."
   Issue number 1: "Act of war"
   Issue number 2 - War happens between states
   Issue number 3 - State responsibility by association
   Issue number 4 - Is it appropriate self-defence?
   Issue number 5 - Does international law even apply?
   Issue number 6 - Why not use the legal frame?
4. Religion
5. Conclusion: convergence and oppression

The past as prologue: Osama bin Laden, the embassy bombings, and the ideological origins of America's "War on Terrorism" by Marouf A. Hasian, Jr
Central Asian politics, Taliban 'freedom fighters' and the Afghan wars against foreign aggression
How does Osama bin Laden fit into this picture?
The embassy bombings and American representations of Osama bin Laden
Conclusion

Free speech implications in the wake of September 11 by Amy Reynolds and Brooke Barnett
Historical treatment of dissent
Terrorism, congressional legislation and free speech
USA Patriot Act
Response to the USA Patriot Act
Access to information
Access to information after September 11
Conclusion

Indymedia and "enduring freedom": An exploration of sources, perspectives and "news" in an alternative internet project by Chris Atton
Introduction
Background to Indymedia
Indymedia as communicative democracy
Indymedia and September 11
Analytical categories
Intellectuals and mainstream radicals
Native reporters and contributions from groups
Alternative sources
Mainstream and official sources
Making sense to readers
Conclusions