The personal and national dimensions of terrorism victimhood lend the victims their unique moral authority and political legitimacy. The analysis of the news media coverage of victims' campaigns, on issues such as memorialization, criminal justice, hostage crises and peace activism, reveals that the more such campaigns are closer in time, space, and relevance to the attack that the victim-advocates underwent, the greater are their chances for positive coverage. Deferential coverage of victims' campaigns reflects journalism's cultural role as reinforcing common values and myths, including by way of portraying victims as heroes. Where victims' campaigns are less related to the physical memory of the attack and more concerned with the military or legal aspects of terrorism, journalists take on their informational role and employ traditional professional standards. Such standards include subjecting victims to potential criticism, and at the very least "balancing" their arguments with official views. In issues where the victims' arguments seem far removed from their personal experience, their influence over the news media is small. This range of journalistic notions is offered under the organizing mechanism of the Experience-Argument Scale. The two extreme ends of the Scale, the "deferential" end and the "disregarding" end, are where journalism's missions are in danger of compromise. Journalism at the "deferential" end is emotional, reluctant to bring forth opposing opinions, and in effect may contribute to policies that are driven more by trauma than by considered opinion. At the other end of the Scale, journalism is deaf to the victims, and fails to enrich policy debates with the lessons of their experience. The comparative examination of coverage in the U.S. and Israel illuminates the different relationships between press and government in these two cultures, and how local responses to victims reflect the particular local history of terrorism, and the particular notions of nationhood, solidarity and patriotism.

Thesis (MPhil)--University of Stellenbosch, 2002. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The attacks on New York and Washington on September 11 2001 constituted a singular media event. On the front pages of America's newspapers and in its pre-eminent news magazines unfolded, in the immediate wake of the blitz, a portrayal that uncontroversially legitimised claims to American innocence, fomented moral certitude through parallels with previous wars and anticipated retaliation that would soon enough engulf Afghanistan. Showing, first, that accounts of reality are always social constructions, the "framing" of September 11 in America's press will be evaluated with reference to 122 newspaper front pages, most from September 12, some from the day of the attacks, and two American news magazines. The emergence of a discourse of war will be considered, as well as the perpetuation within and without of the press of dominant views on America's role in the conflict. The extent to which this "popular frame" selectively excluded inconvenient truths is illustrated in critiques of john Pilger and Noam Chomsky, and an assessment of the politics of defining "terror". The analysis is placed within the normative framework of orthodox joumalism ethics, particularly the values of impartiality and objectivity, concluding that, in democracy, a responsible media better serves the public interest through sustained criticism than compliant patriotism. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die aanvalle op New York en Washington op 11 September 2001 was 'n uitsonderlike mediagebeurtenis. Direk daarna het 'n uitbeelding op die voorblaaie van Amerika se koerante en in twee voorste nuustydskrifte ontvou wat aansprake op Amerikaanse onskuld sonder omhaal sou legitimeer, parallelle met vorige oorloë in die diens van morele daadkragtigheid sou oproep, en wraakaanvalle sou antisipeer wat kort daarna in Afghanistan sou woed. Met as vertrekpunt die argument dat enige weergawe van realiteit 'n sosiale konstruksie is, word die uitbeelding ("framing") van die aanvalle in die Amerikaanse pers op 122 koerantvoorblaaie, hoofsaaklik van 12 September maar insluitend enkeles van die aanvalsdag self, en in twee Amerikaanse nuustydskrifte hier geevalueer. Die ontluiking van 'n oorlogsdiskoers word bekyk, asook die voortsetting binne en buite die media van heersende sienings oor Amerika se rol in die konflik. Die mate waarin hierdie "populêre omraming" ("framing") ongemaklike waarhede selektief uitgesluit het, word aangetoon in critiques van John Pilger en Noam Chomsky, en 'n oorweging van die politiek agter 'n definisie van "terreur". Die analise voltrek in die normatiewe raamwerk van joernalistieke etiek, veral die waardes van onpartydigheid en objektiviteit, en kom tot die gevolgtrekking dat, in demokrasie, 'n verantwoordelike media die openbare belang beter dien deur volgehou kritiek as deur onderdanige patriotisme.

The purpose of this study is to measure and examine whether terrorism continues to be highly feared and over-predicted, whether exposure to mass or news media influences perceptions of terrorism, whether mass media remains a significant source of information on terrorism related matters and whether people are prepared to act in the event of a terrorist attack. The respondents in this research consisted of a sample of 135 students aged 18 and over, at a participating mid-size university in a southern state, who completed a self-reported online survey on voluntary basis. The findings of the study suggests that the respondents access terrorism related news-media on both weekly and daily basis. Those with frequent access tend to overestimate the likelihood of a domestic terrorist attack and the threat posed by terrorism and tend to show higher levels of fear associated with terrorism. The majority of the respondents indicated average access of news-media of once or twice a week, or no use at all and they tend to not overestimate the likelihood of a terrorist attack, indicate some or no fear in relation to terrorism and tend to have more accurate perception of the current threat posed by terrorism.