Terrorism in the news: A constructionist approach

This thesis examines portrayals of terrorism in the New York Times during the 1990s. Using ethnographic content analysis, I analyze several dimensions of coverage including the emphasis given in articles to violence, the characterizations used to describe terrorists and their actions, the sources of information used in the reports, whether the cause of the terrorists are addressed, and the character of coverage for men and women terrorists. I argue that the portrayals focus on the most sensational and dramatic aspects of terrorism and authority's interpretations of the groups; they fail to provide readers an analysis of causes, contexts, and structural conditions that could enable the public to develop deeper, more nuanced, and critical understandings of terrorism and terrorists. One implication is that the portrayals may work to delegitimate terrorism. Second, the portrayals may result in very narrow and limited understandings of terrorism and terrorists. Finally, the portrayals mask the proliferation of state-sponsored terrorism.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Arts (MA)

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Sociology

Grantor dc:publisher

University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Year

2001

Author dc:creator

• Sharp, Lisa Linn

Contributors dc:contributor

• Robert Futrell

Statement dc:rights

• IN COPYRIGHT. For more information about this rights statement, please visit http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

Language dc:language

English

Identifier

https://oasis.library.unlv.edu/rtds/1300

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:oasis.library.unlv.edu:rtds-2299