Terrorism and News Media: Overview.

Introduction

The apparent rise in terrorism in the twenty-first century has provoked a global debate about the role of the news media, specifically regarding its duty to inform the public and its responsibility to avoid fostering or encouraging terrorism. Some critics argue that by disseminating either graphic images of terrorist activities or terrorist manifestos and statements, media outlets provide terrorist organizations with the media exposure that they want. Others counter that censoring media content violates the laws and principles of freedom of speech and that the free press encourages debate and provides information so that people can make informed decisions about important issues.

The debate over news media and terrorism includes, contrarily, instances when media coverage incites terrorist violence and when media attention provides inadvertent support for terrorist organization (such as helping terrorists to recruit new members by publicizing their activities or spreading public fear). Significant events in the realm of news media and terrorism include the publication of controversial cartoons by the satirical French magazine Charlie Hebdo, which sparked a debate about whether certain kinds of media inspire violence and terrorism and whether the press should avoid publishing purposefully offensive or inflammatory material. Another area of debate is the broadcast of videos that graphically depict murder at the hands of terrorist organizations. Both of these examples raise questions about the media's role in either provoking terrorist responses or inadvertently supporting terrorist goals.

Understanding the Discussion

Freedom of speech: The right to communicate opinions without censorship, guaranteed in the United States under the First Amendment of the Constitution.

Journalistic integrity: The principle that professional journalism should strive to reduce or eliminate bias in reporting and to provide accurate, honest information to the public.

Propaganda: Information, generally considered biased or misleading, used to promote a political or social cause or position.

Sensationalism: Use of shocking or inflammatory material to provoke interest or increase profits, often at the expense of accuracy.

Spectacular terrorism: Terrorist acts aimed at encouraging a mass-media response by targeting high-profile areas, buildings, or public venues.

Terrorism: Use of violence or intimidation for political goals.

History

Terrorism is a form of violence intended for public display with the purpose of provoking a change in public consciousness or to garner support for a certain political view. Historians have compared terrorism to propaganda, which is information, often biased by design, presented to support a specific political cause or viewpoint. By comparison, terrorism is violence or intimidation in support of a political cause or viewpoint. The distinguishing characteristic of terrorist violence is that it is typically aimed at members of the public or peripheral targets.

Historians have identified terrorist groups as early as the first century, including the Jewish Sicarii that attacked Roman sympathizers in public. In the book Terrorism: A History (2009), historian Randall Law identifies the Fenian Brotherhood in Ireland and the United States, which emerged in the 1850s, as one of the first modern terrorist organizations. Like terrorist organizations of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, the Fenian Brotherhood used explosive attacks in public areas to draw attention to the cause of Irish independence. After the advent and spread of television, the results of terrorist attacks could be filmed and broadcast, providing a new visual type of coverage for terrorists. In the book Violence as Communication (1983), researchers Alex P. Schmid and Janny de Graaf argue that terrorism thrives on media coverage and that the Western news media, with its global reach and tendency toward sensationalism, provides an essential tool for fundamentalist organizations.

The 1993 bombing of New York's World Trade Center has been cited as one of the first attacks in a trend toward “spectacular terrorism,” informally defined as terrorism intended to create a national or international media spectacle. Spectacular terrorist attacks create what terrorism scholar Randall Law calls an “image-event”: a visual display that is memorable, inflammatory, emotional, and easily replicated and shared. Image-events are inherently visually compelling; therefore, they have a tendency to spread through Internet sharing and media. Spectacular terrorism evolved along with the Internet, as video- and photo-sharing services and social media became more prevalent. The culmination of spectacular terrorism in the United States was the September 11, 2001, destruction of the World Trade Center. Video, photos, and other descriptions, depictions, and eyewitness recollections of the event were distributed around the world. From the perspective of terrorists wanting to attract media attention, the September 11 attacks could be considered the most successful terrorist operation in history.

Terrorism and News Media Today

Since September 11, terrorism and the US war on yerror have had major impacts on Western news media. During the same period, newspapers and traditional news media have declined as social media, online news sources, and user-generated content has increased. With its shrinking market, American news media has shifted toward sensationalism in an effort to gain or to maintain consumers. The modern relationship between the news media and terrorism is complex. While media attention is one of the identified goals of terrorism, the news media must also respond to consumer demand; many news agencies claim a right and a duty to provide all available information to consumers without censorship.

In 2007, the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo republished cartoons depicting and lampooning the Prophet Muhammad. Because Islam prohibits iconography, millions of Muslims protested the magazine's publication as racist and offensive. Magazine publishers defended the drawings under free-speech laws protecting “blasphemy” as free expression. The magazine's offices were firebombed in 2011; in 2015, two individuals later linked to Islamic fundamentalism shot and killed twelve people at the magazine's offices. The murders inspired international support for the magazine and debate over the issue of free speech, while anti–Charlie Hebdo protests led to violence in Niger and several other predominantly Islamic nations. The controversial images of Muhammad published by Charlie Hebdo have been reproduced by media around the world, leading to a debate about the publication of inflammatory and offensive material.

Another controversial issue related to terrorism and the news media involved the Islamic State (IS; also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, or ISIS). In 2014, ISIS began using public beheadings of hostages as both a form of intimidation and to further its broader political message. The organization distributed photos of beheaded victims as part of its media campaign, which also included widespread recruiting efforts through social media. In August 2014, ISIS released a video of American journalist James Foley being beheaded; in the days before Foley's execution, ISIS had communicated directly with Foley's family via email. ISIS claimed that the execution was a response to American bombings and the incarceration of political prisoners and as the “language of force” to motivate the United States to “deal with Muslims.”

Thousands of politicians, journalists, and members of the public objected to media publication of ISIS videos as essentially supporting ISIS recruitment and the broader goals of the group. In some countries, distributing or posting videos or photos of ISIS executions has been declared illegal. ISIS propaganda in the United States is technically protected by the First Amendment, and its publication has become controversial. The New York Post incited controversy when it published a photo of Foley reportedly moments before he was beheaded. In 2015, a controversial organization calling itself the American Freedom Defense Initiative created an advertisement featuring an image of Foley, along with what some considered anti-Islamic statements, that was intended for display on subway cars in New York. The image of Foley was removed from the advertisement at the request of the family, and critics argued that the organization's advertising campaign promoted racism and intolerance.

Incidents such as the ISIS videos and Charlie Hebdo publications raise questions about the freedom of the press versus the effect of media coverage. While some argue that the news media's role is to inform and that the public should be given all available information in an unbiased manner, critics argue that media coverage can support, inspire, and encourage violence and urge media organizations to recognize and address potential consequences of material before dissemination.

Bibliography

Beiner, Guy, "Fenianism and the Martyrdom-Terrorism Nexus in Ireland before Independence." Martyrdom and Terrorism: Pre Modern to Contemporary Perspectives, edited by Dominic James and Alex Houen, Oxford UP, 2014, pp. 199–211.

Law, Randall. Terrorism: A History. Polity, 2009.

Schmid, Alex P., and Janny de Graaf. Violence as Communication: Insurgent Terrorism and the Western News Media. Sage, 1982.

Shaheen, Kareem. “ISIS Attacks on Ancient Sites Erasing History of Humanity, Says Iraq.” The Guardian, 9 Mar. 2015, www.theguardian.com/world/2015/mar/09/iraq-condemns-isis-destruction-ancient-sites. Accessed 25 Apr. 2015.