Issue Aug 2009: Table of Contents

Media and the myth of radicalization
EDITORS’ NOTE
Andrew Hoskins and Ben O’Loughlin Editors' note

The Second Casualty: Effects of interstate conflict and civil war on press freedom
Fred Vultee

This study builds on recent work that emphasizes the importance of press freedom in restraining international conflict by examining the reverse relationship: Whether conflict has an impact on individual nations' levels of press freedom. It finds that in general, civil wars have a greater negative impact than interstate wars, press systems in democracies are more affected than those in autocracies, and level of conflict is more relevant than the mere presence of conflict.

Don't Shoot the Messenger: Prospects for protecting journalists in conflict situations
Joanne Lisosky and Jennifer Henrichsen

One of the greatest threats to freedom of expression around the world is the violence committed against journalists practicing their profession in conflict situations. During the last twenty years, an alarming number of journalists have been targeted or killed when reporting about war. This situation has prompted several international organizations to offer suggestions on how to protect the messengers who report about war. In this study, the authors provide a historical overview of journalist protection. In addition, the authors explore a number of recent declarations, resolutions, and strategies introduced to protect journalists targeted in conflict zones. One particularly controversial strategy, the Press Emblem Campaign, is examined by interviewing various international stakeholders. The authors demonstrate that while no clear comprehensive method to protect journalists has been universally accepted — greater attention is being paid to this global problem.

"American" in Crisis: Opinion discourses, the Iraq War, and the politics of identity
Amani Ismail, Mervat Youseff and Dan Berkowitz

During the Iraq War, news of the Abu Ghraib prison abuse scandal and the beheading of American citizen Nick Berg disturbed Americans, as they were left trying to negotiate the meanings of these events, wondering what 'we' (Americans) stand for versus what 'they' (Iraqis) do. These events – and the news media's communication of them to the American public – created a situation we call 'nationalistic ambiguity', where occurrences present a mixed message to the public mind about national identity and purpose. This study investigates how opinion columns and letters in U.S. newspapers, which addressed these events, reconciled the paradox of America's mission to liberate a people with the Abu Ghraib prison abuse scandal and the beheading of Nick Berg.

The Cultural Framing Hypothesis: Cultural conflict indicators in The New York Times from 1981-2007
Philemon Bantimaroudis and Eleni Kampanellous

The authors investigated attributes related to a 'cultural framing hypothesis,' the notion that mass media have promoted Samuel Huntington's 'clash of civilizations' theory establishing its 'salience' outside the academic environment. Media salience of cultural attributes can be linked to several public outcomes: (1) an overall attribution of importance – the fact the 'clash of civilizations' paradigm is recognizable and important in the public mind. (2) The theory may be used as a tool for interpretation for whatever conflicts happen around the globe, overshadowing various other plausible and scientifically sound explanations. (3) The theory may be leading to notions of expanded inter-ethnic or 'civilization' identities as described by Huntington. To assess the existence of cultural framing, the authors conducted a quantitative content analysis of five different micro-frames, derived from Huntington's seminal work throughout a 27-year-period. The authors examined two main hypotheses: H1: Cultural frames will be predominantly traceable in media content after Huntington's theory appeared in the early 1990s. H2: Cultural frames will be salient in newspaper content during periods of intense terrorist activities, mainly after the year 2001. Both hypotheses were supported by the data.

“To Northern Israel with Love”: The rhetoric of Israeli advertising during the second Lebanon War
Irit Zeevi

This article deals with the analysis of the advertising rhetoric used in Israeli daily newspapers during the Second Lebanon War. Advertisements made use of war-related content and symbolism to sell their products. In this article I reveal how advertisers make use of the war to promote sales, and in doing so, reveal the values of Israeli society during this unique period in Israeli history. The findings show wide usage of patriotic expressions to market products and services. It seems that advertisers preferred to focus most of their attention on the civilian home front, to a great extent ignoring the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) and its soldiers (unlike accepted practice during periods of military calm). They also omitted mention of the state and its leaders. Additionally, contrary to former practice, advertisers did not make use of foreign (non-Hebrew) words, thus emphasizing Israeli identity.

“The Art of Shoe Throwing
Yasmin Ibrahim

The art of shoe-throwing has captured popular imagination and is here to stay as a form of popular political protest. In a recent incident Chinese premier Wen Jiabao became a near-victim of a notorious flying shoe during his visit to London in February 2009. Shoe throwing has become a celebrated art form ever since an Iraqi journalist threw his shoes at ex-President George W Bush, eternally sealing Bush's last presidential moments with the iconic image of the shoe. Popular acts of communication and protests enter new forms of relationships with audiences and global spectators beyond the political context and the shoe throwing incident is no exception. It has been consummately appropriated into popular culture and entertainment in the multimedia platforms of the Internet, transforming political images and political protests into voyeuristic entertainment for the masses.

Book Reviews

Nitzan Ben-Shaul
A Violent World: TV News Images of Middle Eastern Terror and War (reprint)
Reviewed by Oliver Boyd-Barrett

Susan D. Moeller
Packaging Terrorism: Co-opting the News for Politics and Profit
Reviewed by Hanan Badr

Martin Bell
The Truth That Sticks: New Labour’s Breach of Trust
Reviewed by Steve Tatham

Brigitte L. Nacos
M ass Mediated Terrorism: The Central Role of the Media in Terrorism and Counter-Terrorism, 2nd edn
Reviewed by Greg Simons

Marie-Soleil Frère, with a contribution from Jean-Paul Marthoz
The Media and Confl icts in Central Africa
Reviewed by Paulo Nuno Vicente

Editors:
Andrew Hoskins
University of Warwick, UK
Barry Richards
Bournemouth University, UK
Philip Seib
University of Southern California,

Reviews Editor:
Ben O'Loughlin
Royal Holloway, University of London