You will conduct an investigation into the causes and consequences of media reporting on terrorism. For example, there are arguments that hold media coverage to be an accelerator of terrorist recruitment and violent activity, while others view accuracy in media coverage of slights and injuries to aggrieved nationalist/group sensitivities as reducing the call for terror tactics responses by disempowered, or “victimized” groups. In this assignment you are to Select 3 news resources’ coverage of terrorist incidents to evaluate, with at least one that is wholly unfamiliar to you.
Address the following questions in your paper:
• Briefly, what role, if any, did media coverage of the terror group or incident play in the incident itself in each of your three cases – that is did the violent act originate in any way due to the media’s role in or coverage of the incident? If so, how?
• Among your three cases, compare the reporting of terrorism violence by the referenced media services. What patterns or themes did you notice?
• To what extent, if any, are the media services biased, or objective in their reporting on terrorism? How might this affect counterterrorism efforts in your view?
• If applicable, in what ways do you find right-wing terrorism covered compared with left-wing terrorism?
Sample Solution
