Ruth DeFoster

Gebundenes Buch

Terrorizing the Masses

Identity, Mass Shootings, and the Media Construction of 'Terror'

Beschreibung

Why are some crimes identified as acts of terrorism, while others are not? How are critical terms like «terrorism» and «mass shooting» defined and understood in the 21st century? What are some of the causes of the unique American epidemic of mass shootings and gun violence? Terrorizing the Masses considers the invisible role that the media play in shaping the way we think about terrorism, gun violence, fear, and identity. This book explores media coverage of five mass shootings over a 20-year period, examining the role that race, religion, and gender play in framing some of the most high-profile crimes of American society. The results of this research show that the use of «terrorism» is uneven and inconsistent. Indeed, on a practical level, «terrorism» is an almost meaningless word - it is slippery and ephemeral, and its utility is largely in propaganda. This book succinctly analyzes what «terror» means in the 21st century, how news media use the term, and how journalists cancover tragedy without falling prey to the pitfalls of sensationalism, fear, and contagion. This book is a useful text for courses on media ethics, crime and public policy, political science, terrorism studies, and communication studies.

Autor

Ruth DeFoster holds a Ph.D. in mass communication from the University of Minnesota. Her published research focuses on terrorism, crime, identity and mass shootings. She currently teaches communication studies at St. Catherine University in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Produktdetails

• Frontiers in Political Communication 33
• Verlag: Peter Lang
• Artikelnr. des Verlages: 314271
• 1. Auflage
• Seitenzahl: 248
• Erscheinungstermin: 16. August 2017
• Englisch
• Abmessung: 231mm x 155mm x 18mm
• Gewicht: 460g
• ISBN-13: 9781433142710
• ISBN-10: 1433142716
• Artikelnr.: 48729026

Rezensionen

"In Terrorizing the Masses, Ruth DeFoster analyzes how news media framed five mass shootings occurring over the span of two decades. Given the rarity of these events, DeFoster cogently argues that U.S. news media create the frameworks through which we come to "know" such events and thus determine political, social, and cultural responses to these terrible acts of gun violence. In this important book, DeFoster does not shy away from the difficult questions her analysis raises, particularly in terms of what it is about U.S. culture (and mass shootings, as she takes pains to remind us, are a peculiarly U.S. phenomenon) and its racialized masculinities that create conditions in which such violence continues to occur." -Carol Stabile, Professor and Associate Dean for the Social Sciences, University of Oregon