The mass media are of paramount importance in the formulation and transmission of messages about key developments of global significance, such as terrorism and the war in Iraq, yet the key mediating role of translation in the reception of speeches and addresses of figures like Osama Bin Laden and Saddam Hussein has remained largely invisible.

Incorporating the results of extensive fieldwork in key global news organizations such as Reuters, Agence France Press and Inter Press Service, this book addresses central issues relating to the new pressures on translation arising from globalization, analyzing new texts from major news agencies as well as alternative media organizations. Co-written by Susan Bassnett, a leading figure in the field of translation studies, this book presents close readings of different English versions of key Arabic texts circulated in Western media to demonstrate the ways in which a cultural and religious 'Other' is framed in different media.