There is a strong relationship between mass media and terrorism in the current era, and this is a fact that cannot be ignored. The reason why this point has some facts is because terrorism cannot exist without the coverage by the media. According to research, terrorism has always been associated with the media. Terrorist groups that include Isia, al-Quaida, Boko Haram, as well as Taliban have enjoyed free media coverage around the globe. Terrorists are smart at taking advantage of media coverage to achieve their goals of recruiting followers, passing their message to the world, and also creating fear. The media is usually fast at broadcasting any news that covers terrorism ( Slocum, 2005) . Most of the media houses do this with the aim of informing and updating the public about the latest news. Most of the media houses air out terrorism news in order for them to attract the attention of their audience and move up the ladder of being the best media house in terms of capturing sensitive stories around the globe.
The famous 9/11 Attack that occurred in the United States was catalyzed by the coverage of the media. The terrorists were successful in threatening the citizens of the country and eventually terrorized them. The coverage of the attack by the media only created more fear and the terrorists took advantage of the situation and victimized the citizens even more ( Archetti, 2013) . There are, however, very few incidences where the media has played the role of minimizing terrorism. Some of the response methodologies that are used by the media to air out the message of the media to the public include the use of newspapers, radio stations, television networks, and social media platforms. The four have been very effective in pushing for the agenda of terrorism around the globe ( Omanga, 2016) .
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
In conclusion, we need to think twice about the idea of covering terrorism as media because this has proven to be a free media platform for them. It is good to inform the world about the cruelties that are carried out by terrorists, but let’s just accept that media coverage does not help in ending this issue. It only worsens it and should stop.
References
Archetti, C. (2013). Understanding Terrorism in the Age of Global Media: A Communication Approach . New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
Omanga, D. (2016). The Media and Terrorism: Editorial Cartoons, Framing and Legitimacy in the Kenyan press, 1998-2008 . Vienna: Lit Verlag.
Slocum, J. (2005). Terrorism, Media, Liberation . New Brunswick, N.J: Rutgers University Press.
