News and Entertainment Media: Government's Big Helpers in the Selling of Counterterrorism

This article explores how mass media depict overt responses to terrorism, such as military actions, and covert acts, such as the torturing of captured terrorists or suspected terrorists in the context of American politics and policymaking. Contrary to most studies of media and terrorism, this paper examines both entertainment and news media's depiction of counterterrorism and how this might affect public and elite perception of the government's responses to the threat of terrorism.