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The BBC, The 'War on Terror' and the Discursive Construction of Terrorism

Representing al-Qaeda

  • Book
  • © 2018

Overview

Authors:
  1. Jared Ahmad

    1. Department of Journalism Studies, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, United Kingdom

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  • Provides much needed empirical insight into the changing nature of the BBC’s representations of al-Qaeda from across the ‘war on terror’ period
  • Synthesises theoretical approaches taken from political communications and cultural studies scholarship, a perspective that provides a deeper level of understanding of the way phenomena such as ‘al-Qaeda’ is made meaningful for British television audiences
  • Provides unique insight into the way BBC journalists and editors themselves have sought to reflect on the difficulties of representing phenomena such as al-Qaeda, and, moreover, the ‘war on terror’ more generally

Part of the book series: New Security Challenges (NSECH)

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Table of contents (7 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-vii
    Download chapter PDF

  2. Introduction: The BBC, The ‘War on Terror’ and ‘Al-Qaeda’

    • Jared Ahmad
    Pages 1-20

  3. Understanding Al-Qaeda as a Discursive Phenomenon

    • Jared Ahmad
    Pages 21-58

  4. The September 11th 2001 Attacks

    • Jared Ahmad
    Pages 59-83

  5. The January 5th 2003 Wood Green Ricin Plot

    • Jared Ahmad
    Pages 85-109

  6. The July 7th 2005 Transport Bombings

    • Jared Ahmad
    Pages 111-139

  7. The May 2nd 2011 Killing of Osama bin Laden

    • Jared Ahmad
    Pages 141-165

  8. Conclusion: A Shifting Enemy

    • Jared Ahmad
    Pages 167-192

  9. Back Matter

    Pages 193-226
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Keywords

About this book

In the years since the September 11th 2001 attacks, the al-Qaeda phenomenon has become one of the most written about, yet crucially misunderstood, threats of the 21st century. But despite the sheer volume of literature produced during the ‘war on terror’ period, few studies have sought to consider the way this entity has been represented within the news media.  The BBC, the War on Terror and the Discursive Construction of Al-Qaeda addresses this significant gap in knowledge by providing an original and much needed assessment of the various strategies used to depict ‘al-Qaeda’, and thus make it meaningful for British television audiences. Drawing on the work of French philosopher Michel Foucault, and focusing on Britain’s most watched and trusted news programme, the BBC’s flagship ‘News at Ten’ bulletin, the book provides insight into both the visual and verbal nature of these representations and the way they have shifted over the course of a ten-year period, whilealso shedding light upon the broader political and social consequences of the BBC’s portrayals. In doing so, the book not only helps to develop a deeper understanding of the complexity of the BBC’s representations, and their various shifts and transformations, but also details the process through which ‘al-Qaeda’ has been pieced together from a range of cultural parts. And how, ultimately, the dominant mode of representation used to portray this entity is one that closely resembles Britain’s own, diverse multicultural ‘self’.

Reviews

“There’s never been a greater need to understand the evolving, complex role of the media in the war on terror, and there’s no better book today for this vital task than Representing Al-Qaeda. Dynamic, sophisticated and balanced in its assessment of the BBC’s terrorism-related coverage, this book provides much-needed insight and analytical nuance to the typical denunciations of the BBC’s bias. Essential reading for anyone interested in al Qaeda, terrorism, the media and the war on terror.” (Professor Richard Jackson, University of Otago, New Zealand, and Editor of Critical Studies on Terrorism and author of “Writing the War on Terror: Language, Politics and Counter-Terroris”)

"Thought-provoking and rigorous, Ahmad's book is an original and useful contribution to our understanding of how the phenomenon of Islamist extremist violence has been portrayed in the media, and how that portrayal has impacted on policy and public conversations. It will be useful for specialistsof security studies looking to broaden their perspectives, and specialists of media studies searching for a serious investigation of one of the most pressing issues of our time."  (Jason Burke, Guardian Africa Correspondent, and author of The New Threat From Islamic Militancy and Al-Qaeda: The True Story of Radical Isla)

“Ahmad documents the rise of security journalism in the UK during the war on terror. In a time marked by uncertainty and anxiety, Ahmad shows how BBC News struggled to offer informed reporting on Al-Qaeda, adding to a public sense of diffused threat. This important research should be read by journalists, citizens and scholars, for we face the same struggle to make sense of ISIS now and we will face other obscure and shifting threats in the future.”  (Professor Ben O’Loughlin, Royal Holloway University, and author of Television and Terror: Conflicting Times and the Crisis of News Discours)

Authors and Affiliations

  • Department of Journalism Studies, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, United Kingdom

    Jared Ahmad

About the author

​Jared Ahmad is a lecturer in Journalism, Politics and Communication at the University of Sheffield, UK.

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