Media and the Dissemination of Fear

"This is an outstanding book which will be of interest to media historians and communications scholars around the world. It reveals how fear is incubated, spread and, sometimes, countered through the media in ways that are profoundly illuminating and relevant in the era of Covid."

-James Curran, Professor of Communications, Goldsmiths, University of London

"This outstanding volume traces the impact of fear, uncertainty - and sometimes related - hope, historically, from World War I to the present and the COVID-19 pandemic. More specifically, media reporting is deconstructed in much systematic detail which allows understanding continuities and discontinuities of its complex role, locally, glocally, and globally. A must read for scholars and laypeople alike!"

-Ruth Wodak, Emeritus Distinguished Professor, Lancaster University

"Media and the Dissemination of Fear explores its workings across natural disasters, wars, conflicts and health crises over the past 100 years. Although circumstances may have changed, the exploitation of fear as a means of social control and intimidation has not, and this book speaks to the myriad ways in which its damaging currents destabilize individuals and communities, force widespread compliance and entrench enmity and otherness, particularly in association with populist regimes. A thoughtful, important volume that wrestles mightily with the centrality of fear in contemporary life writ large."

-Barbie Zelizer, Raymond Williams Professor of Communication, Annenberg School for Communication, University of Pennsylvania This book offers a diachronical and inter-/transmedia approach to the relationship of media and fear the media's role in pandemics, wars and other crises, as well as in political intimidation. It points out the historically and transculturally strong nexus between media and fear, which persistently finds ever-new forms with new media, but always follows similar logics.

Nelson Ribeiro is Associate Professor at the Universidade Católica Portuguesa in Lisbon where he is the Dean of the School of Human Sciences.

Christian Schwarzenegger, Dr., is a researcher and lecturer (Akademischer Rat) at the University of Augsburg, Germany

Autorentext

Nelson Ribeiro is Associate Professor at the Universidade Católica Portuguesa in Lisbon, Portugal, where he is the Dean of the School of Human Sciences and Coordinator of the PhD in Communication Studies. Chair of the History Section at IAMCR, his main research interests are media and communication history, transnational broadcasting and political economy of the media.

Christian Schwarzenegger is Akademischer Rat in the Department of Media, Knowledge and Communication at the University of Augsburg, Germany, and visiting Professor at Salzburg University, Austria. His research interests include media and communication history and alternative media. Schwarzenegger is Chair of the DGPuK Communication History Division and Vice-Chair of the ECREA Communication History Section.

Zusammenfassung

This book offers a diachronical and inter-/transmedia approach to the relationship of media and fear in a variety of geographical and cultural settings. This allows for an in-depth understanding of the media's role in pandemics, wars and other crises, as well as in political intimidation. The book assembles chapters from a variety of authors, focusing on the relation between media and fear in the West, the Middle East, the Arab World and China. Besides its geographical and cultural diversity, the volume also takes a long-term perspective, bringing together cases from transforming media environments which span over a century. The book establishes a strong and historically persistent nexus between media and fear, which finds ever-new forms with new media but always follows similar logics.

Inhalt
Chapter 1: Introduction: Media And Fear: Diachronic, Intermedia And Transcultural Perspectives On A Toxic And Functional Relationship During Pandemics, Wars And Political Crises.- Part I: Disseminating And Mitigating Fear During Pandemics And Disasters.- Chapter 2: From Black Death To Covid-19: The Mediated Dissemination Of Fear In Pandemic Times .- Chapter 3: Hebrew Popular Press, Catastrophe Stories And The Instigation Of Fear In Ottoman Palestine.- Part II: Spreading Fear Across Borders: Journalism And Alternative Media.- Chapter 4: Fear-Relations: Word War I, Military Authorities, And The International Feminist Peace Movement.- Chapter 5: Voices For A World In-Between? Exile Media As Transnational Fulcrums Between Confidence And Fear.- Chapter 6: Terror, Fear, Disbelief And Complacency In The Face Of Evil: The Reactions Of The Hebrew Press In Palestine To The First News On The Extermination Of The European Jewry By The Nazis In 1942 .- Chapter 7: The News Media And The Ever-Present Fear In The Israel-Palestine Conflict.- Part III: State Sponsored Fear And Intimidation.- Chapter 8: Fear Of The Spanish Red Danger. Anti-Communist Agitation And Mobilisation In Portugal During The Spanish Civil War.- Chapter 9: Nazi Broadcasts To A Neutral Country: Disseminating Fear In Portugal During The Second World War.- Chapter 10: Fear Of Communism In The 20th Century United States And The Vietnam War.- Chapter 11: Beware Of Terrorists, Spies And Chaos! Stabilization Techniques From The Arab Uprisings.- Chapter 12: Educate Online Through Online Fear: Exploring The Chinese Rumours Online Phenomenon.- Chapter 13: Media Logic, Terrorism, And The Politics Of Fear.