Terrorism and Media

If there was no media around these events would never have been reported and would have been long forgotten and those at fault would never have been reprimanded for their mistakes. Despite all of their mistakes being made public the police do not wish for a total blackout of media coverage during terrorist events. The police believe that the media can be a very helpful tool in helping them combat terrorism. The media is a powerful tool for vanquishing rumors, clearing up misinformation, and combat fear (Miller 7). While the media can sometimes hinder the police it is also a great asset their for their disposal in combating terrorism. In conclusion, when the media emphasizes terrorist events it helps to facilitate two of the universal goals of terrorist. The first is that the terrorists gain publicity and attention is drawn to their cause. The second is that when the media shows events and over exaggerates it influences public attitudes about the root of their politically motivated violence. Brian M. Jenkins summed up what terrorism is when he said "Terrorism is aimed at the people watching, not the actual victims. Terrorism is theater" (Jenkins, Brian M. qtd. In Nacos 75). Total censorship of terrorist events is not the cure, it will lead to abuses by the police forces handling the cases. The only solution is that the media needs to work out a set of morals that they follow when they are covering terrorist actives. They need to be objective giving equal weight on the terrorist activities and the police forces dealing with the terrorists. They should not place too much emphasis on the police mistakes, while bring them out into the public. The media needs to remain subjective and not let either the terrorists or the law enforcement take control of what they report Theodore H. White sums it up with this statement " ...power in America today is control of the media of communication" (White, Theodore H. qtd. In Nacos 16).