The media–terrorism symbiosis: a case study of Mumbai attacks, 2008

There has been a long-standing debate among scholars, policy-makers, politicians and journalists about the relationship between terrorism and the news media for whom terrorism is usually a newsworthy story. A primary focus of the debate is to investigate the media–terrorism symbiotic relationship. This paper explores this relationship through a qualitative, thematic analysis of how British TV news channels covered a major terrorist incident after the 9/11 – Mumbai attacks 2008. It examines the interpretive theme of ‘awe, terror and chaos’, and how it is selected, prioritized and developed in the presentation of the events which spread over a period of more than 72 hours. Additionally, it considers the kind of political and organizational factors that might shape or modify the editorial decision-making processes and ideological assumptions that may lie behind such coverage. Ultimately, the study maintains that British TV news outlets play an important role in mediating terrorist messages and focus primarily on images of terror and violence during the coverage of Mumbai attacks. While there are key differences between public and commercial TV news in the style and presentation of coverage, with the former being more careful in approach, the news channels concentrate on televising death and injury and the propagation of chaos and confusion in the affected city.     

Cultural differences in cognitive responding to ads: a comparison of young American and Chinese consumers

This study explored the differences in young consumers' cognitive responses to visual ads across two cultures. In an experiment, 120 college students from the USA and 120 college students from China were exposed to different types of visual ads, and subsequently participants were instructed to recall objects from the ads, and to list thoughts regarding the product/brand meanings. It was found that compared with Chinese participants, participants from the USA recalled more salient objects and generated more product/brand thoughts elicited by salient objects from the ads. Moreover, Chinese participants were more likely to assign a social role to a person recalled from the ads than their American counterparts. These findings suggested that young Americans attended more to salient objects in the ads, and therefore are more analytic than their Chinese participants. Implications for international advertising were provided.     

Visual Agenda-Setting,Emotion, and the BP Oil Disaster

This study seeks to identify the most memorable visual imagery of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill by comparing a content analysis of television images and a survey of the most-remembered images. The study compared visuals from weeks 1 and 6 of the disaster to a survey conducted a year later that asked respondents to freely recall the most memorable images of the disaster. The comparison showed respondents did indeed choose as the most memorable images the visuals coded with greatest frequency in the content analysis. However, the emotions evoked by the oil-soaked animals elevated that set of images to the most memorable—chosen by almost half of respondents. This set of images was number one with the respondents yet number eight in frequency in the content analysis. This study shows a visual agenda-setting effect heightened by emotion.     

Emotional Responses to Televised PSAs and Their Influence on Persuasion: An Investigation of the Moderating Role of Faith in Intuition

This research examines the influence of message recipients' emotional responses to televised PSAs on their attitudes toward the advocated issues. Integrating the affect-as-information paradigm and Epstein's cognitive-experiential self-theory, this research hypothesizes that message-induced emotions will have a greater influence on persuasion for individuals who have a strong faith in intuition than for those who have a weak faith in intuition. Overall, the main hypothesis was partially supported. There is some indication that faith in intuition moderates the influence of message-induced emotions on persuasion such that people with a stronger faith in intuition tend to rely more on experienced emotions when making judgments. The moderating effects of faith in intuition, however, appear to be confined to specific PSAs and discrete emotions.     

Fighting terrorism,making war: Critical insights in the management of information and intelligence

This article reviews and analyzes the essential lessons of information and intelligence management lessons from recent terrorist attacks and the decision to attack Iraq. It draws on evidence from the 9/11 Commission, the Senate investigation of intelligence and the war in Iraq, the Butler Commission in Britain, and other sources. It identifies and explores several themes, including the following: relationship between intelligence work and other information work; inconclusive nature of intelligence; role of executive leadership in successful intelligence work, including the leader's need for information and decision-making style; role of organizational culture and human factors; the need for sound information management practices and systems; and the need to evaluate information for decision making and other actions. The article concludes with a discussion of strategic information management policies and approaches that are essential to improve the nation's information and intelligence management capacity.     

Effects of Negative Political Advertising on Individuals' Cynicism and Self-Efficacy: The Impact of Ad Type and Message Exposures

Prior research has indicated that exposure to negative political advertising can foster among individuals feelings of alienation, distrust, and apathy toward government or the political process. However, investigation regarding the amount of exposure to such advertising and the form in which it is presented remains scant. This experimental study examined the impact of ad type (character based vs. issue based) and amount of advertising exposures on individuals' cynicism and perceived self-efficacy in relation to the government. Results indicated that issue-based attack ads aired during the 2004 presidential election led to greater cynicism and lower self-efficacy than did character-based attack ads. A significant interaction revealed that the difference on the self-efficacy measure was greatest at the highest exposure level, indicating that continual exposure to ads dealing with governmental policies may nurture the perception that the political process is overly complex, which subsequently can decrease individuals' beliefs that they can make a difference.     

Entertainment-Oriented Gratifications of Sports Media: Contributors to Suspense,Hedonic Enjoyment,and Appreciation

This survey study investigated contributors to viewers' hedonic enjoyment, appreciation, and emotional responses to a televised baseball game. There was an indirect relationship between athlete affinity and hedonic enjoyment by way of suspense. This relationship was moderated by the game's outcome such that suspense was associated more strongly with enjoyment when the viewer's team lost. Interest and knowledge of a player was the form of affinity that had a stronger relationship to suspense, rather than the viewers' sense of having a virtual friendship. Virtual friendship and sport involvement were associated directly with appreciation. Enjoyment and appreciation were associated with different emotional responses. Whereas enjoyment was associated with stronger positive and weaker negative emotions, appreciation was associated with stronger positive, negative, and meaningful emotions.     

Anger,fear, uncertainty,and attitudes: a test of the cognitive-functional model

The cognitive-functional model of discrete negative emotions and attitude change (CFM; Nabi, 1999) attempts to bridge the theoretical gap between “emotional” and “rational” approaches to persuasion by focusing on how emotions motivate attention to and processing of persuasive messages. As a first test of the CFM, this study explored the effects of 2 emotions, anger and fear, and 2 levels of expectation of message reassurance, certainty and uncertainty, on attitudes toward domestic terrorism legislation. Results supported a main effect for emotion type, suggesting that anger promotes deeper information processing than fear, and a main effect for reassurance certainty level, with uncertainty promoting deeper information processing. The expected interaction between emotion type and reassurance expectation level was not found. Implications of these findings for the model and persuasion research generally are discussed.     

Picturing terrorism through Arabic lenses: a comparative analysis of Al Jazeera and Al Arabiya

This study examines the coverage of terrorism in two leading Arab news websites, Al Jazeera and Al Arabiya from 11 September 2009 to 10 September 2010. It finds that the stereotype that ‘the terrorist is a Muslim’ continues in terrorism coverage, despite the fact that some terrorists are non-Muslims. However, the two sites manage to send out the message that ‘the majority of terrorism victims are Muslims.’ In addition, the findings reveal that too much media focus is placed on disseminating and supporting official positions and decisions, and humanitarian sufferings from terrorism are seldom brought to the attention of the public.     

Media Memories: The First Cable/VCR Generation Recalls Their Childhood and Adolescent Media Viewing

Seventy undergraduates from 2 U.S. regions, the first generation raised in a media environment expanded by cable and VCRs, recalled childhood and adolescent media viewing in autobiographical essays. These recollections, considered from a symbolic interactionist perspective, reflect the media's contribution to individuals' self-development. Respondents recalled the socializing influences of mediated content that provided characters for imitative preschool play, role models, and topics for adolescent peer interaction. These recollections of childhood and adolescent experiences expressed as autobiography provide clear evidence of the media's long-term influence on development of the self.     

Will the Academy survive 9/11? Scholarship,security, and United States Government policy

This paper examines the direct and indirect impacts of 9/11 on the academy. The USA Patriot Act and other legislative and administrative responses are discussed in relation to previous actions in times of crisis. Cases involving free speech and academic freedom are examined. It is concluded that requirements and procedures for tracking overseas students, along with long delays in processing visas, have had the most direct impact on the academy in terms of on-going administrative requirements and reduced applications and enrollments by international students. Self-censorship appears to have chilled free speech from within the academy. Outside, critics increasingly question the concepts of academic freedom, tenure, and the underlying values and autonomy of the academy. The passing of time without additional terrorist attacks in the United States may result in reduced levels of fear and some relaxation of restrictions; however, this could be offset by continued high level security alerts. The acceptance of increased surveillance in all aspects of society and terrorist attacks throughout the world make it too early to predict the long-term outcome of 9/11 on the academy in terms of enrollment, speech, and academic freedom.     

The meaning of means: the means don't justify the ends

This research examines assumptions underlying the employment of group means in communication research. The vector of outcomes of a group mean typically represents outcomes of different individuals rather than different outcomes of an individual. When the vector represents different individuals' outcomes, the sample mean can violate criteria of unbiasedness, consistency, and sufficiency. This research explores whether different individuals' outcomes should be treated as equivalent to different outcomes of individuals. Data analysis reveals that the necessary assumptions for sample means to well-represent differing individuals' outcomes are often violated in that consistency, sufficiency, and unbiasedness of the sample statistic are not maintained. Therefore, a sample mean cannot be assumed to be a “good” statistic when the response vector represents different individuals' outcomes versus different outcomes of an individual. The implications for communication research are noted. It is recommended that individuals be modeled distributionally and that each individual's estimates be understood in the context of his/her response distributions.     

Emotional Dimensions of Watching Zoo Animals: An Experience Sampling Study Building on Insights from Psychology

Abstract There is little research about how visitors to zoos and aquariums respond emotionally to the animals they experience. The research that does exist has seldom been informed by current psychological literature on affect, which examines the nature and roles of sentiments, moods, emotions, and affective traits. Emotion is multidimensional: it focuses on a person's core goals; directs attention and interest; arouses the body for action; and integrates social group and cultural factors. It is thus a central component of meaning‐making. This article provides an overview of the literature on emotion as it applies to human emotional responses to animals. Informed by this literature, this paper presents results from a research study conducted at a zoo. Subjects (279 adults) were each electronically paged once while viewing one of three zoo animals (snake, okapi, or gorilla). Subjects completed scales on 17 specific emotions, seven items measuring evaluation and arousal, and other scales and responses to the animal. Four patterns of emotions emerged, ranging from “equal opportunity” emotions to “highly selective” emotions. The variables that were most important in influencing emotions were not demographic ones, but the kind of animal, subject's emotionality, relation to the animal, and other items predicted by emotion theory. Implications for biophilia, conservation, and the study of emotional responses to animals are discussed.     

'REDEFINITION OF IMAGE': THE IMPACT OF MASS-MEDIATED TERRORISM

The emergence of media-oriented terrorism led several scholarsof modern terrorism to reconceptualize the phenomenon of terrorwithin the framework of symbolic communication theory. However,the success of media-minded terrorists has been studied mainlyby measures of amount of coverage given to terrorist acts andnot by examining the impact of this coverage on public opinion.The present study sets out to examine the effects of media coverageof two terrorist events on the public's attitudes and perceptions.By means of an experimental design, the impact of press andtelevision reports of two terrorist incidents was studied. Thefindings highlight the ‘redefinition of image’ causedby exposure to media reports and relate media functions suchas status-conferral and agenda setting to the specific caseof mass-mediated terrorism.     

On the Boundaries of Framing Terrorism: Guilt,Victimization, and the 2016 Orlando Shooting

The 2016 Orlando shooting offers an intriguing lens through which to evaluate the boundaries of media frames in the interpretation of terrorism. Using an experimental design (N = 243), the current study investigated the effects of two dominant frames—the homophobic hate crime and the Islamic terrorist frame—on collective guilt, collective victimization, and pro–lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) political action. In addition, political partisanship and social network diversity were evaluated as potential moderators. Compared to the Islamic terrorist frame, exposure to the homophobic hate crime frame increased collective guilt and decreased collective victimization, subsequently enhancing support for the LGBTQ community. Moreover, social network diversity was shown to override the framing effect, as individuals who reported high diversity were more likely to sign a petition in solidarity with the LGBTQ community, irrespective of frame condition.     

Information practices of Canadian Muslims post 9/11

This article explores how the post 9/11 climate has impacted Muslim-Canadians' information practices, including their uses of various information sources, and their attitudes and perceptions regarding their information rights in a post 9/11 world. A survey was conducted in 2004-2005 with 120 participants and supplemented by in-depth interviews. The population consisted of Muslim students enrolled in post-secondary institutions in Toronto, Ontario. The findings highlight Muslims' malaise in a post 9/11 environment; the deep mistrust they hold vis-à-vis the media; the importance they give to media and information literacy skills for all; as well as a call for increased introspection inside the Muslim community(ies). The study contributes to shedding light on a community that has often being talked and written about but not often heard. By soliciting Muslim individuals' perspectives, we enable them to voice their opinions about how the 9/11 events impacted on their lives and how their information practices inform their experiences.     

Effects of Media Use on Audience Framing and Support for Welfare

In this study, I examined cognitive structures consisting of frames that people used in the open-ended responses to a survey question about cuts in welfare benefits. The study shows that patterns of individuals' entertainment and news media use are important sources of frames that people adopt in thinking about an important public issue. In turn, those frames partly derived from the media shape the public's policy preferences beyond controls for individuals' social location, ideology, interpersonal communication, and knowledge. Frames that are related to particular patterns of media use (e.g., increase in differences between poor and rich, need for specific approaches, some will go hungry) have power to alter even deep, ideologically motivated welfare preferences. However, the results suggest that the media's most important role may be in spreading out the field of thinkable solutions to public problems rather than making any particular position dominant in policy decision making.     

The Texas professoriate and public political discourse before and after 9/11

Robert Jensen's critique of the participation of academic intellectuals in Texas in public political discourse after the 9/11 terrorist attacks underestimates what professors have done to inform a politically apathetic public about warfare, American foreign policy, civil liberties, and cultural and humanitarian issues. Jensen undervalues non‐confrontational political strategies and broader forms of intellectual political engagement. Confrontational strategies mobilize citizens inclined to activism, but less overtly political strategies invite larger numbers of citizens to think seriously about politics. Jensen's locally famous post‐9/11 Houston Chronicle editorial is analyzed as rhetorically egocentric and alienating, and ultimately counter‐productive in the post‐9/11 political environment.     

Testing a Mediational Model of Bullied Victims' Evaluation of Received Support and Post-Bullying Adaptation: A Japan-U.S. Cross-Cultural Comparison

What sort of social support best enhances bullied victims' adjustment has yet to be clarified. To explore this support-related aspects of bullied individuals' coping process, a mediational model of social support and adaptation was tested with the data from Japan (n=148) and the US (n=192). The results indicated that emotional support generated positive appraisal, which, in turn, enhanced victims' behavioral and mental adjustment. At the same time, other types of support were found to be less effective or even deteriorative. In addition, these dynamics of supportive communication for bullied victims showed both similarities and differences across cultures. These findings were discussed with reference to the research on bullying, supportive communication, and cross-cultural variations in value orientation.     

Ambivalence Amplifies College Smokers' Negative Emotional Responses to Antismoking Information

Many smoking college students hold ambivalent attitudes toward smoking. Although ambivalence is widely believed to evoke negative affect, little research attention has been paid to how ambivalence may influence emotional responses to persuasive information. Participants in this study (N = 133 college smokers) completed a survey that included a presentation of novel and credible antismoking information. Structural equation modeling analyses showed that pre-exposure ambivalence was positively associated with postexposure negative emotions. Negative emotions, in turn, were associated with greater perceived message effectiveness. Theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed.