Terrorist Event Paper

1000 Words4 Pages

terrorist event. News is now presented on many different platforms including catch up on demand services and live streaming through portable devices. US and UK based media are heavily regulated by government authorities such as the FCC and Ofcom, however the internet makes it possible for individuals to gain information and distribute it freely. 83% of UK Households had internet access in 2013 (Office for National Statistics, 2013). It could be argued that anyone with a website is capable of being a media journalist online (Kees, 1998). An increase in internet accessibility may lead to an increase in social media. Social Media can provide a network from which the general public to interact with or be exposed to terrorist extremist activity. …show more content…

Terrorist groups have increasingly used social media to further their goals and spread their message (Ross 2007, pp.215-220). The problem is not with why the media covers terrorism, but in how the media covers terrorism. In covering terrorist events the media generally uses two theories agenda setting and framing to make certain issues more important than others. Agenda setting is a theory stating that ‘the more attention a media outlet pays to a certain phenomenon, the more importance the public mentally notes such an issue’ (Jackson 2011, p.77) Framing, on the other hand, is ‘selecting some aspects of a perceived reality and making them more noticeable’, (Hoffman 2006, p.46). The mass media can have a strong tendency to ‘personify’ the events they cover while making their articles more relatable to the general public by humanizing the people involved within the event, this creates an ability for viewers to become more personally involved (Martin 2003, p.79). The better terrorists realise that the more coverage they may receive can be increased by taking further steps to achieve massive publicity and the ability to showcase their power to …show more content…

The terrorists involved, carefully selected the areas in which they decide to carry out their attacks so in order to provide the best media coverage in their advantage. Reporters may cover and report on events which aim to be seen as developing stories ‘live at the scene’ however to some this may also be perceived as disseminating terrorist propaganda. Also the ability of terrorist acts to reach mass audiences can result in a misinterpretation into the actual causes behind the attack, sending the wrong message to the viewer depending on how it is covered (Norris 2003,