SARAH OATES is Professor in the Department of Politics at the University of Glasgow, UK. LYNDA LEE KAID is Professor of Telecommunication in the College of Journalism and Communications at the University of Florida, USA. MIKE BERRY is a lecturer in the Department of Cultural Studies at the University of Nottingham, UK.

• Introduction Candidate Messages and News Framing in U.S. Elections A New U.S. News Paradigm?: Variation in Election News Coverage Voting with the Heart and Not the Head: The Electorate, Security Fear, and Vote Choice in the United States Candidate Messages and News Framing in British Elections Putting Terrorism in Perspective: The British Electorate and Security Threat Limitless Threat, Limited Choices?: Party Messages and News Framing in the 2003/4 Russian Elections Strong Hands, Not Democracy: The Media Logic of Russian Viewers Conclusions: The Politics of Fear in Comparative Perspective Bibliography