Securitization as a theory of media effects : the contest over the framing of political violence

The entire dissertation/thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file (which also appears in the research.pdf); a non-technical general description, or public abstract, appears in the public.pdf file.Title from title screen of research.pdf file (viewed on December 14, 2007)Vita.Thesis (Ph. D.) University of Missouri-Columbia 2007.This dissertation proposes a particular form of media framing effect from securitization, a process in which political actors seek to create consensus about security related issues such as terrorism and immigration by portraying them as imminent threats to a state's physical or cultural survival. The dissertation offers a two-stage model, in which securitization is first examined as an effect in news media accounts and then tested in an experiment as an effect of media accounts. A content analysis found that a salient example of securitization, the idea of a "war on terrorism", appeared as a consensual frame in distinct sectors of the media market after the September 2001 attacks. The frame diverged predictably in ensuing years, suggesting that the securitization frame changes in response to news organizations' sense of audience expectations and perceptions of the boundaries of political debate. The experimental portion found that securitization does not affect how accurately audiences comprehend the central point of a story but does appear to produce less attentive processing among those opposed to the government. The absence of securitization, on the other hand, appears to produce more attentive processing among those who consider themselves politically to the right of the media. Emotionally, the frame has no effect on opponents of the government but produces more trust in government among pro-government audiences and those to the right of the media.Includes bibliographical reference

Preparing for Disaster: Social Media Use for Household, Organizational, and Community Preparedness

Social media applications provide conduits for government agencies to promote disaster preparedness. This article illustrates the messaging strategies used by state‐level emergency management agencies in the United States and addresses a range of social units (e.g., households, organizations, and communities). While agencies frequently disseminate guidance on how to prepare for emergencies, strategies generally align with traditional government‐to‐citizen, one‐to‐many communication modes characterized by little to no interaction with the public. This practice denies citizens deliberative conversation with government agencies and short circuits information from citizens and other organizations that might inform an agency\u27s decision‐making. Some interactive tactics observed, however, provide a roadmap to facilitate future dialogue and collaboration

Grammar, context and power: securitization of the 2010 Belgrade Pride Parade

In the wake of the 2010 Belgrade Pride Parade, right-wing extremists portrayed the event as a threat to public morals, while liberals framed homophobia as a threat to democracy. While these moves managed to polarize and mobilize the public, the government didn’t heed their calls to adopt extraordinary measures. The Parade took place on 10 October and the extremists organized unchecked violent counter-demonstrations. By drawing on Securitization Theory, we triangulate content and discourse analysis to understand why these securitizing moves had a low success. Our analysis shows that although both moves followed the grammar of security, they were only partially embedded into the wider discursive context and were not enunciated by securitizing actors with strong positional power