Terrorism and the Media

Paper Summary:

This paper examines how contemporary terrorism relies heavily on the media and how the modern media has much to offer the terrorist organization. It discusses how media coverage is used not only to convey the terrorist's objectives and political messages, but also to intimidate larger populations and how the media provides a relatively inexpensive and efficient method of relaying their goals. It examines the role of terrorism in the media from five different perspectives through a literature review. Brigitte Nacos, in "Accomplice or Witness" The Media's Role in Terrorism" gives a thorough and insightful view of the role of the modern media in terrorist activities, with a major focus on the Internet. In "Terror TV", Scott Stossel looks at the effect of 24-hour coverage of terrorism on television. Janet Fine's "Arabian Knight Woos West" is a fascinating study of Al-Jezeera, the first Arabic independent news channel in the Middle East, which gained a widespread audience after the events of September 11th. In "Spin Laden", Philip Taylor looks at the ability of Osama bin Laden and other terrorists to manipulate the media in order to take advantage of widespread anti-American feelings around the world. Lance Morrow's "The Gleam of a Pearl" looks at the real-life costs of terrorist coverage, through the tragic death of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl.

From the Paper:

"Terrorist activities are often shocking, brutal, and in complete honesty, make for perfect news stories. Dramatic stories tend to get a great deal of coverage, often to the detriment of other issues. Nacos notes that early evening television broadcasts of ABC, NBC, and CBS carried 2,273 stories on terrorism from 1981 to 1986. This coverage far exceeded the combined coverage of crime, unemployment, poverty, and race issues. Further, she notes that terrorism coverage continued to climb as all-news cable channels created competition for the major news channels. It is certainly likely that the coverage of terrorist issues has skyrocketed since the bombings of the World Trade Center in New York on September 11th."

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