The ‘Communicating the War on Terror’ conference was part of a wider set of research activities co-ordinated by King’s College London with a number of partner institutions within its Economic and Social Research Council funded project on ‘The Domestic Management of Terrorist Attacks’ under the ‘New Security Challenges’ programme.

This web-site now contains details of the conference, including an edited report, as well as other outputs from the wider project. In the first instance this will include the various partner reports provided via the link below. It is hoped in due course to build the site up to contain most of the research outputs, including all papers and reports.

Conference summary report
This report contains just the main highlights. Not all sessions are reported on uniformly due to reporting restrictions. A book based on the conference, published by Palgrave Macmillan, is expected in due course. [pdf format: 471kb]

List of partner reports
Reports by:
Lawrence Freedman
Philip Taylor
Frank Furedi
Lawrence Pratchett
Bill Durodié
Edgar Jones
Paul Cornish
Malcolm Dando
Chris Gilligan

Bill Durodié
Senior Research Fellow
Centre for Defence Studies
revised: 28 May 2005

What should governments tell the public about terror threats?

The US Department for Homeland Security has launched the Terrorist Threat Warning System, while the UK Home Office issues advice on what to do in the event of a terrorist assault. But are governments doing enough to warn us of terrorist threats - or are they being complacent? Some argue that governments give too many warnings, leading to cynicism about the terrorist threat among the general public. What balance should
governments strike between warning us and worrying us?

What is the role of the media in the war on terror?

Many argue that the media is more central to everyday life than in any other period. Governments seek to cultivate relationships with the media, as a way of connecting with and communicating to the electorate. In war reporting, too, there have been striking changes: in Iraq, journalists were embedded with fighting forces for the first time ever. In such a media-focused climate, what role should the media play in times of war and terror? What are the media's responsibilities?