She has been examining the relationship between terrorism and communications since the 1998 bombing of Pan Am 103, which claimed the lives of 35 SU students, and she is principal author of the book The Media and Disasters: Pan Am 103 (NYU Press, 2004). Her professional career, as a newspaper and wire service journalist, covered more than 16 years and included seven years in Europe as a correspondent and editor for United Press International. She earned her undergraduate degree in journalism from Michigan State University in 1960 and completed a Ph.D. from the same university in 1981.