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DSC4012 – Terrorism
Terrorism and the Media
Chapter 4
Learning Objectives: Chapter 4
 Discuss the role of the media in constructing social reality.
 Explain the tension between security forces and the media.
 Describe how the media can be viewed as a weapon.
 Explain how news frames are used present a story.
 Describe the special relationship between terrorism and television.
Learning Objectives: Chapter 4
 Explain how the Internet has impacted terrorism.
 Summarize various positions about bias in the news media.
 Define the contagion effect.
 Debate the issues of freedom of the press and censorship.
 Both security forces and terrorists want their version of the story published.
 Each side wants to control the media environment for one simple reason
 THE VARIOUS MEDIA ARE NOT AND ACANNOT BE NEUTRAL;
THEY ARE A WEAPON
SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION OF IMAGES
 Meanings are socially constructed.
 Reporting is part of the social construction of terrorism.
 Terrorists are aware of the power of the media and seek to
manipulate their message through it.
 While the media enhances the power of terrorism, it does not cause it.
 Terrorism involves symbolic communication:
 It is aimed at an audience well beyond the immediate victims of
violence.
 It is designed to communicate specific messages to a select audience
(Jongman).
 It is an effective communication device that governments respond by
trying to send their own messages through the media (Snow).
Passing of Stories
 This is the way human beings share stories; it is not merely the product of
entertaining fiction.
 Consider the following videos.
Passing of Stories
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gcdnf0Ckxmc&feature=related
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3X_KyqGf3w
 United 93 (2006) hijacking ending scene
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 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bA_2teLmm1Q&feature=player_embedd
ed
 World Trade Center (Movie) - WTC collapse
Media Misconceptions
 Media’s presentation of terrorism is dominated by several simplified stories,
presented on 24 hour cable news networks
 Media exaggerates the threat of WMD
 Media uses simple catchphrases to popularize a point
 “Broken borders”
 “War on terrorism”
 Some analysts of the media suggest that their reporting is sympathetic to
governmental positions.
 American media has been criticized for writing reports favorable to security
forces.
Media and Security Forces
 Media social constructions often run counter to governmental objectives and
policies
 Police and military perceive themselves to be the forceful extension of
democracy
 They think reporters are only trying to gather sensationalistic stories
 Embedded reporters
 2003 invasion of Iraq, Pentagon invited journalists to join combat
units
 The results were partially realized
 (After editing reports did not show more favorable general
coverage.)
2003 INVASION OF IRAQ
 “The media is similar to a loaded gun lying in the street, the first person to
pick it up gets to choose how to use it.”—Richard Clutterbuck
Media as a Weapon
 Terrorists recognize the power of the media as a weapon
 Ayman al Zawahiri
 Says any attack, especially if sensational, can dramatize the
struggle.
 He can turn to his own media relations group.
 Uses his own writing to justify terrorism.
 Jihadists are keenly aware of the media’s ability to influence the social
construction of reality
 They seek legitimacy for their movement
 They want to spread their message and increase sympathy for their
militant interpretation of religion
 Their opponents are targeted for intimidation
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News Frames
 Reporting patterns are packaged in segments called news frames
 Purpose is to assemble words and pictures to create a pattern
surrounding an event
 Creates a narrative for a deadly drama
 Characters are introduced, heroes and villains are defined, and
victims become the suffering innocents
News Frames
 News frames help “mediatize” the presentation of terrorism
 Media shapes the way an event is communicated
 News frame is one of the least understood aspects of broadcast journalism
because its complexity goes unnoticed
 Reporting Frame
 A quick, fact-driven report that summarizes the latest information
about a story.
Types of Frames
 Reporting frame
 Dominant frame
 Conflict frame
 Contention frame
 Investigative frame
 Mythic frame
 Campaigning frame
 Superficial, short, and laced with facts
 One authority’s view
 Two sides, with experts
 A variety of positions
 Exposing corrupt, illegal behavior
 Hero stories
 Broadcaster’s opinion
Types of Frames
 Reportage frame
 Community service frame
 Collective interest frame
 Cultural recognition frames
 Mythic tales frames





In-depth coverage with background
Information for viewers
Reinforce common values
Group’s values and norms
Hero stories
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Beating the War Drum
 American television presented only one news frame after 9/11 (dominant
frame)
 Douglas Kellner:
 Patterning the attack as a clash of civilizations
 Suggesting that only a military response would stop future attacks
 Television called in a variety of terrorism experts who reflected the single
view
 Radio was even worse, engaging in sensationalistic propaganda
Do you agree with this perspective?
Beating the Wrong Drum
 Some critics believe the media’s focus is improperly centered on military and
law enforcement action overseas
 Media has virtually ignored domestic security issues
 Nacos’s study after 9-11
 American news media did not believe there was a need to focus on
domestic security
 Televisions’ preference for sensational events
Infotainment Telesector
 Barber calls the twenty-four-hour news networks the “infotainment
telesector”
 Media flourishes on one overriding factor: entertainment
 The infotainment telesector is not geared for depth; it is designed to create
revenue
 Negative effect on homeland security
Television Drama
 Control of the drama pattern was held in a Western monopoly until recently
 Al Manar television presented a sympathetic view of the al Asqa
uprising
 Television makes the viewing audience participants in a terrorist attack
 Television seeks drama, and terrorism provides an unfolding dramatic event
Gender Stereotypes
 Television tends to portray women as minor figures in the male-dominated
occupation
 Nacos presents several images created by television news frames:
 Physical appearance frame
 Family connection frame
 Terrorist for the sake of love
 Women's lib frame
 Women as bored, frustrated housewives
 These gender-biased reports weaken our ability to respond to terrorism
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Media Ownership
 Edward Herman (1999) focuses on the social construction of reality and
political bias
 American media is part of a vast propaganda machine promoting
values and goals of corporations
 David Baron (2004) takes a different approach, suggesting that bias appears
on two levels
 Individual discretion of the reporter
 Public’s desire for the most captivating story
Stereotypes
 Critics suggest that large groups of people are portrayed without depth in
American television
 Critics believe the media is spreading incorrect information about terrorists
 Richard Miniter (2005) identifies 22 misconceptions about terrorism
accepted as truth by most newspapers, magazines, and broadcasters
Internet and Terrorism
 Steganography
 Embedding hidden information in a picture, message, or another piece
of information
 Message can be encrypted, placed in plain text in a hidden file, or sent
on a covert channel
 Terrorist groups use media to present messages and portray images that will
not appear in mainstream media.
 Recruiting and Training
 Salafi-jihadists using Web sites and e-mail to make training manuals
available
 Salafi Movement
 Orthodox Sunni Muslims who impose Islam with force and violence.
 Use Internet sites to provide in-depth theological apologias to justify
religious violence.
As Sahaab versus al Hurra
 Al Qaeda’s underground video network, known as As Sahaab, wages an
effective propaganda campaign using the Internet
 In response, the US launched al Hurra, an Arabic-language 24 hour satellite
station
 Results have been disappointing
 United States has yet to capitalize on the Internet for spreading
propaganda
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Media Ownership
 Tim Groseclose and Jeffrey Milyo (2005) stated that the American media has
a liberal bias
 Fouzi Slisli (2000) says that the American media is full of oversimplifications
and stereotypes
 Baron (2004) says news companies keep major biases out of stories to avoid
risk of lower profits
MINITER’S MEDIA MYTHS
 Miniter believes that all media serve as a source of disinformation
 The primary reasons are sloppy reporting, editors who fail to check facts, and
rumors that are accepted as truth
 Many of these media-based “truths” cannot stand the test of investigation
The Contagion Effect
 Some analysts wonder if media coverage inspires more terrorism
 Many researcher believe that the fear generated by media reporting is
contagious
 Anthrax attack
 Madrid commuter train bombing
 The evidence of a relationship between behavior and media violence is not
conclusive.
Censorship
 Paul Wilkinson (1997) believes that governments face three choices when it
comes to maintaining freedom of the press and combating terrorism:
 Laissez-faire attitude
 Censorship
 Media self regulation
Censorship Debate
 Democracy is threatened when the government openly censors information
 Censorship could do more to damage freedom than the terrorist
attacks themselves
 Others believe that in times of emergency, information must be controlled to
ensure the survival of the state
 America was fighting a new type of war and some form of censorship
was required
 The foundation of Western democracy is based on free speech and
communication.
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Chapter Take Aways
 Television and other media shape the way we view terrorism.
 This creates quite a bit of controversy about the role of the media in
reporting terrorism, and it frequently pits reporters against security forces.
 All sides try to manipulate the media because of its extensive power.
Chapter Take Aways
 This means that there is extensive competition for presenting a point of view
and a news frame, and it leads to charges of biases from all sides.
 This is especially true in television because terrorism is a made-for-television
drama.
 Some scholars have called for limited censorship because the media is so
powerful.