Abstract (eng)
Terrorist attacks cause mixed feelings of fear, anxiety, and anger. Terrorist attacks have a high news value, and information and visual material are spread around the globe with the advances of modern technology. Media’s role in transmitting and filtering information is significant. At the same time, politicians are looked up to, and with their mode of communication they may steer the public discourse on terrorism and manage the public fear.
This Master’s thesis asks whether the press coverage of terrorist attacks, including statements from political leaders, contributes to fear management, and what can be said about the discourse on Islamist terrorism. In addition, it is of interest to see if there is international variation in the form of emotion-laden content.
The literature review provides an understanding of terrorism discourse and what implications it has on the society, and the sense of fear and anxiety. Terror Management Theory explains how one may try to overcome the fear of mortality by signifying one’ worldview. This may also lead to clashes with the out-groups. According to Rally ‘Round the Flag effect politicians can take advantage of the public fear and anxiety in hostile crisis situations. On the other hand public fear can be managed and psychological defense mechanisms strengthened.
The methodological approach taken in this paper is Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) by Norman Fairclough in scrutinizing the signals embedded in news reports on three terrorist attacks from 2015. The cases are from Denmark, France, and the United States. What all these attacks have in common is the category of “Islamist terrorist attacks”. Two newspapers with the highest circulation were selected from each country. Analyzing the interrelated layers of text analysis, discourse practice, and sociocultural practice gives an understanding of how news texts are constructed and how they carry a myriad of values and meanings in them.