Forum: New Media & Society

Abstract Based on survey data gathered before and after September 11, 2001 (‘9/11’), this study examines the relationship between ‘internet connectedness’ and communicative actions after September 11 2001. The study found that: (1) people heightened their dependency relations with traditional mass media after September 11, regardless of whether or not they had an internet connection; (2) ‘internet high-connectors’ intensified their internet connections, while ‘internet low-connectors’ decreased the intensity of their internet connections; and (3) internet high-connectors participated in a broader range of civic activities in response to September 11 than did internet low-and non-connectors.

The terrorist attacks on the United States on September 11 2001 inspired an outpouring of electronic folklore, particularly ‘photoshops’ (humorous digitally-altered photographs). This material is of two types. One, the newslore of vengeance, consists of fantasies of annihilation or humiliation aimed at Osama bin Laden or Afghanistan. The other, the newslore of victimization, expresses bewilderment at the role of fate or chance in who lived and died on that terrible day. This article analyzes the newslore of September 11 in light of Elliott Oring’s ‘unspeakability’ hypothesis: the material expresses emotions that were too raw to be covered in the news media and thus functions as both an outlet for those emotions and a protest against the decorousness of the press.

How did Americans respond to the crisis posed by the terrorist attacks of September 11 (‘9/11’) in their communicative choices? Proposing the theory of channel complementarity, this article argues that users of a medium who satisfy a particular functional need also use other media types to fulfill that need. Based on an analysis of the data gathered by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press immediately after the 9/11 attacks, it demonstrates that the individuals who communicated via telephone with family and friends about the 9/11 attacks were also more likely to communicate with family and friends on the internet.

National Public Radio’s Sonic Memorial project leveraged the opportunities of digital multimedia convergence to create a national aural memorial of the September 11 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center. Not only did the ubiquity of digital technology empower listeners to act as producers in submitting texts to the Memorial, but it also allowed the Sonic Memorial to bridge radio and new media environments through the creation of a lasting memorial website at www.sonicmemorial.com. While unique in its focus on participatory vernacular aural remembrance, the Sonic Memorial nevertheless shares many attributes of traditional national memorials in its focus on making sense of national tragedy. Despite its uniqueness, the Sonic Memorial privileges certain stories, leaving others unvoiced in its montage of remembrance.