Note: This is an overview for general audiences. It draws upon remarks Christine made at a Bentley College forum on the attack September 12th (Part I) and on her own Media & Politics class of September 13th (Parts II and III).

Part I: Introduction/The Functions of Government and Media in a Democracy

We are today, more so than at most other times in our lives, conscious of what it means to be American or live in the United States. That said, it will help to understand that two of the major institutions in this country, government and media, are serving different functions right now. Both are necessary and important to our democracy, but at this point in time, they inevitably find themselves working at cross purposes in striving to fulfill their different roles. At times the struggle by one to control information, and the other to gain access to it, will be very visible. When it is not, we still need to be aware that it is shaping what each is saying and doing, or neglecting to say or do, in its communications and its media strategy.

Every government's primary need at a time of crisis is to re-establish order. That means uniting the country and organizing a response that mobilizes specific groups and resources. Accomplishing these goals will require some degree of secrecy, lying or disinformation, face-saving or posturing, propaganda, restricting or limiting freedom of press, other civil liberties and individual privacy. An open and democratic society always trades away some freedoms to provide order. A war-time situation or attack makes more demands of us than peace time. This is an age where borders are permeable: to instantaneous communications, global travelers, and actors who are not bound by physical geography or nation state governance. Remember also that in a democracy, citizens have some say in the decision-making processes that lead to these compromises and trade offs of our own and others' freedoms.

The communications media have a different function in a democracy, and carrying out that role in a time of crisis gives rise to another set of needs, to know and communicate. The press informs the citizenry, helping to make public officials accountable and responsive to the people, and helping to make the public educated and engaged participants in their government. When the country has been attacked or is facing some other kind of crisis, the public's need to know is insatiable, driven by intense anxiety, fear, and suffering. A media environment characterized by instantaneous, visual transmission and dissemination of information, where the news hole is 24 hours around the clock, creates its own set of problems and excesses. These include incomplete and inaccurate reporting, self-serving news hype, and unwitting spread of the particular contagion or panic. It is at once the press' finest and worst hour. A crisis places great demands, stresses and limitations on those delivering the media's news product. The professional standards applied to journalistic ethics and practice, such as checking information and confirming credibility of sources, may be ignored or reduced in the rush to publish. As news consumers we should be patient and reflective about what we hear, see, and repeat to others.

Part II: The Uses of Labels and Stereotypes by Government, Media and Private Groups (forthcoming)

Part III: Stages of Crisis News Coverage, Their Characteristics and Problems (forthcoming)

Christine is a professor of Government at Bentley College in Waltham, Massachusetts.

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