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.
Author(s): Nelson Ribeiro, Christian Schwarzenegger
Series: Global Transformations in Media and Communication Research - A Palgrave and IAMCR Series
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
Year: 2021
Language: English
Pages: 323
City: Cham
Praise for Media and the Dissemination of Fear
Contents
Notes on Contributors
List of Figures
Chapter 1: Introduction: Media and Fear—Diachronic, Intermedia, and Transcultural Perspectives on a Toxic and Functional Relationship during Pandemics, Wars, and Political Crises
Researching the Mediation of Fear
Book Overview
References
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
The Role of Fear in Pandemic Times
Media as Disseminators of Information and Fear in Pandemic Times
Media and Adaptive Forms of Fear in Pandemic Times: Balanced Levels of Fear and Information
Media and Maladaptive Forms of Fear in Pandemic Times: Overfear, Political Instrumentalization, and Conspiracy Belief
Conclusion
References
Chapter 3: Hebrew Popular Press, Catastrophe Stories, and the Instigation of Fear in Ottoman Palestine
On Catastrophe Stories and the Fait Divers News Category
Hebrew Popular Press and Fire Disaster Stories
The Popular Press Covers the Sinking of the Titanic
References
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
Introduction: Fear, Anxiety, and Fear-Relations
Lay Down Your Arms! Bertha von Suttner’s Novel of Purpose and Its Resonance
The Outbreak of World War I as a Breakdown of International Movements
Merging Feminism and Pacifism: The International Women’s Congress at The Hague 1915
Fear-Driven Restrictions Imposed on Feminist Pacifists: The German Case
Fear-Driven Self-Restriction of the Feminist Press
Conclusion
References
Chapter 5: Voices for a World In-Between? Exile Media as Transnational Fulcrums Between Confidence and Fear
Loss of Heimat and Dramatic Experiences of Difference
Exile Media
Austrian Exile in New York
The Austro American Tribune (AAT)
Method and Research Design
Many Lives and Loyalties of Austrians in Exile—Many Fears to Face
Phase 1: A Face of Fear—The Nazi-Terror
Phase 2: Nowhere to Turn Back and a New Face of Fear—The Discrimination of Ethnic Minorities in the USA
Phase 3: Closing Time—The Austrians, the Americans, and the Un-Americans
Conclusion
References
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
Introduction
“Do Not Rush to Pour Jewish Blood into Your Lines!”
The Labor of Soothing
Epilogue
References
Chapter 7: The News Media and the Ever-Present Fear in the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
Introduction
A Brief History of the Conflict
Media and Memory
Studying Media Systems
Data and Method
Fear in the Coverage of the 50th Anniversary of the Six-Day War
German Coverage
American Coverage
Palestinian Coverage
Israeli Coverage
Conclusion
References
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
Introduction
Fear of the Perigo Vermelho [Red Danger]: Salazarist Propaganda Against Madrid
Salazarism’s “Patriotic” Reaction to the Outbreak of the Spanish Civil War
The Airwaves “Artillery”: The Intervention of the Portuguese Radio Stations
Conclusions
References
Chapter 9: Nazi Broadcasts to a Neutral Country: Disseminating Fear in Portugal during the Second World War
Introduction: Nazi Propaganda in Portugal During the 1930s
German Broadcasts to the Iberian Peninsula
The Nazi Broadcasts to Portugal: “Germany Speaks”
Conclusion
References
Chapter 10: Fear of Communism in the Twentieth-Century United States and the Vietnam War
Introduction
Fear of Communism in Twentieth-Century United States
Media Portrayals of Communism and Communists
Vietnam War-Era Media Coverage
Conclusion
References
Chapter 11: “Beware of Terrorists, Spies and Chaos!”: Stabilization Techniques from the Arab Uprisings
Introduction: Politics of Fear, the Internet and the Arab Uprisings
Digital Public Sphere from Empowering the Masses to Empowering Centre
Dynamism, Digital Public Spheres and the Arab Uprisings
Power Centres, Authoritarian Learning and Claiming Digital Territory
Spreading Fear to Counter Anti-police Brutality Discourses
Communicating Fear as a Self-Legitimation Strategy
Case Study 1: The 2011 Moment Beware of Spies and Thugs
Case Study 2: 2013 Moment: 30th June Revolution Beware of Terrorists
Case Study 3: Post-2015 Phase: Beware of Evil Powers
Conclusion
References
Chapter 12: Educate Online Through Online Fear: Exploring the Chinese Rumours Online Phenomenon
Introduction
Between Fake News and Rumours
Who Limits Online Rumours in China?
Three Forms of Crises Caused by Online Rumours
Microblog Rumours and TV Confessions
Educating Through Fear and Cartoons
Fighting Online Rumours in 2012
Fighting Rumours Between 2019 and 2020
Limitations and Conclusions
References
Chapter 13: Media Logic, Terrorism, and the Politics of Fear
Media Logic and Entertainment
Entertaining Fear
Terrorism and the Politics of Fear
Conclusion
References
Index
