Terrorism and the Media

The televised images from the September 11 attacks exemplified how terrorists exploit the news media to get attention, spread fear and anxiety, and expose the weaknesses of the American superpower. September 11 was the culmination of decades of anti-American terrorism that, until the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center, had not been felt on American soil. This book examines the response of the U.S. media, public, and decision makers to major acts of anti-American terrorism during the period from 1979-1994. Focusing on events abroad, such as the Iranian hostage crisis and the downing of Pan Am Flight 103, Nacos describes how terrorists successfully manipulate the linkages between the news media, public opinion, and presidential decision making through the staging of violent spectaculars. A preface examines the dilemmas faced by the government and media in response to domestic terrorism perpetrated by Americans against Americans in 1995. Nacos argues that government acquiescence to mass-media pressure in the wake of the Oklahoma City Bombing, as well as the media's agonizing decision to publish the Unabomber's 35,000-word manifesto, represented a victory for terrorism that could only encourage more terrorism.

ISBN 0231100159   Pages 214 ISBN13 9780231100151 (What's this?)   Volumes 1 Publisher Columbia University Press   Weight (grammes) 344 Imprint Columbia University Press   Published in New York Format Paperback   Height (mm) 229 Publication date 19 Apr 1996   Width (mm) 155 Library of Congress P96.T472U6   Spine width (mm) 15 DEWEY 303.625   Academic level Professional / Scholarly DEWEY edition DC21

		Preface to the Paperback Edition
		Preface and Acknowledgments
1		Introduction: The Calculus of Violence		1
2		Terrorism, the Media, and Foreign Policy		16
3		Terrorists and Their Goals		48
4		The Polls and the Theater of Terror		75
5		Terrorist Spectaculars and Presidential Rallies		94
6		Decision Makers and Their Hard Choices		122
7		Conclusion: Must Terrorists Succeed?		149
		Notes		163
		Appendix		185
		Bibliography		199
		Index		209

Her book is a proverbial breath of fresh air blown into the stuffy catacombs where U.S. policy on this subject is made. The Friday Review of Defense Literature

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