Crisis and the Media

How is ‘crisis’, one of the most resonating words in the modern world, related to the mass media? Is crisis independent of the discourse practices of media text and talk? This book is a collection of studies that brings together current research into the ways in which crisis is constructed and communicated in contemporary media discourse. Studies in this book advance our understanding of crises as social events that are discursively constructed, performed, responded to, but also ‘rehearsed’ as a form of social practice. Relying on the application of techniques of discourse analysis and critical discourse analysis (CDA), including visual analysis, the book provides a wealth of empirical evidence on how crisis is mediated across a range of written, oral and visual media. The book will be of interest to students and scholars of media, who combine an interest in discourse analysis with disciplines as diverse as media and cultural studies, political communication, and sociology.

Martin Montgomery, University of Macau:
We live in a crisis-ridden age, where the crises are complex, carrying real and profound consequences. Our ways of understanding them, however, are defined by discourse – especially the discourses of journalism and the media. This book provides an indispensable guide to the ways in which media discourse is mobilised to make sense of the severe dislocations of our time – whether they be social, political or economic. It is full of timely case studies, illuminated by a rich range of analytic methods; an interdisciplinary triumph.