The Media's Coverage of Domestic Terrorism

Headnote

Scholarly interest in terrorism has grown dramatically since September 11. One important line of inquiry within this body of research has been the media's coverage of terrorism. Although there have been several important studies published on this topic, there has been little research examining media coverage of domestic terrorism. This study fills this gap by examining the media's coverage of terrorism in the United States from 1980 until September 10, 2001. The analysis is based on a list of terrorist-related incidents and New York Times articles pertaining to each incident. This study documents the amount and type of coverage received by domestic terrorism incidents, and identifies the variables influencing whether an incident is covered and how much space it receives. The results indicate that most terrorism incidents receive little or no coverage in the news, but a few cases are sensationalized in the press. There are several characteristics that consistently explain which incidents are covered and receive substantial news space. Incidents with casualties, linked to domestic terrorist groups, targeting airlines, or when hijacking is used as a tactic are significantly more likely to be covered and have more articles and words written about them. This study concludes with a discussion of the policy implications of these findings for the understanding of terrorism as a social problem.

Keywords Media Coverage; Domestic Terrorism; September 11

Introduction

The September 11 attacks on America continue to impact important social, political, cultural, and legal issues. The primary way that the public has come to understand the attacks is through the consumption of an overwhelming and steady diet of images, ideas, and explanations provided through various media outlets. It is axiomatic to state that these attacks were an important media event. In fact, several factors combined to make terrorism on September 11 one of the most important news events in history. Some of these reasons include:

* Media Accessibility. The current structure and shared distribution of media technology guaranteed immediate and unfettered access to this event. Photographs, video, and personal accounts were accessed throughout the world instantaneously. The public watched the planes striking the World Trade Center towers over and over again and saw their horrifying collapse.

* News Values. Terrorism generally and the September 11 attacks specifically are consistent...