Does the Media Encourage Terrorism? Essay

Americans have given up some of their freedoms to be protected by the United States, so they have a right to be informed. In the majority of the all the discussion boards, the classmates agreed that the media creates problems. By giving stories more attention than others, the media creates problems. The media tends to focus more on seriously violent crimes more than missing, or kidnapping cases. According to Champion, in the portrayal of both offenders and victims of crimes in the media there is a "significant focus on high profile crimes as well as societal ills related to crime and victimization" (Champion 2007). In addition, the media reports stories that can make money, and to draw viewership. These are important to the media because without the funding the media wont be able to report from different places across the U.S., and without the support of the public looking them, the media will lose its only audience. The media plays a significant role in public safety by keeping the public aware of crime increase, violence, and fugitives. This allows the community to take action to promote their safety. Americans put a lot of trust into the media in hopes that everything they report is honest and fair.

The word ‘terrorism’ can be traced back to the French Revolution and the reign of terror committed against the population of France in the 1790s. During this time, thousands of people were killed and the general population was severely oppressed. Also, some of the first instances of terrorist tactics, such as assassination and intimidation, were witnessed in the killing of prominent officials and other opponents of the Revolution. In general, terrorists aim to incite fear in the population through pre-meditated violent acts and gain publicity as a medium in achieving their goals. Such acts include taking hostages, bombings and assassinations, all of which create fear and compliance in a victim or audience. Terrorism can be distinguished from other types of political violence through its disregard for and intentional harming of innocent civilians. Also, terrorists usually adopt a state of mind where one side is always good and any opposition is bad and deserves to be punished. As a result, terrorists will always have some supporters who share the same radical thoughts as them and thus terrorism, as a whole, will always be accepted as a legitimate use of violence. This is the reasoning behind the famous phrase by Gerald Seymour, “One man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter”(QUOTE

Terrorism has always existed in American policing, and while the groups committing these acts have changed, their intentions have not. Their intentions being to cause maximum fear and scare those who they target into doing and following their ideology. In the 1970’s and 1980’s in America, the main terrorist groups were associated with the environmental movement and race based groups, while other parts of the world were dealing with Islamic extremists, were committing terrorist acts across the Middle East without much intervention from the United States. In fact the group Al-Qaeda, who attacked the World Trade Centers in 1993 and 2001, found its roots in the 1980’s fighting the Soviet Union in Afghanistan with weapons supplied by the Central Intelligence Agency. While the U.S. Federal Law Enforcement agencies knew of these groups, they underestimated the capabilities of lone wolf, small cell, and whole terrorist organizations. This was due to the fact that the Federal Law Enforcement agencies top priority was general crime such as organized crimes and white-collar crime.

Terrorism is something that has been going on since the dawn of mankind, and it will be with us until the very end. Most people know terrorism only as a horrific, inhumane process that is used to inflict harm and fear towards specific ethnic and religious groups. In reality, however, terrorism was actually used in our very own revolution, the American Revolution. You will see that the Boston Tea Party is a superb example of terrorism. American settlers dressed up like Native Americans, parading and shouting down the streets of Boston late at night, all the way down to the docks, boarded the tea ships, and dumped every parcel of tea down the Charles river. This was the start of American terrorism in the American revolution, and it continued through the war as the Americans started using guerilla warfare and attacking major centers for the British military and the British economy.

The main goal of terrorism is to promote fear and insecurity in the public mind all out of proportion to the actual military and economic damage that terrorist groups can inflict. This is why they depend heavily on mass media publicity to spread anxiety and fear, and if the perception of the threat is great enough then there will be greater "willingness to place restrictions on civil liberties to increase safety and

Terrorism is often used in asymmetric power struggles. In this source it said terrorism is, “When a weaker person, or group, is fighting against a powerful nation-state.” Terrorist groups have begun using the internet and media to spread fear. Also, to impact public opinion with their political or social message. Terrorism has been around for a very long time. Resources of the United States and other countries have been directed toward ending terrorism in American and around the world. Two major attacks that most individuals will remember is the 9/11 attack and the Boston Marathon Bombing.

The media is an accomplice to mass shooting because of them naming and describing all the aspects of the crime that was committed. The news stations describe these crimes in details saying exactly what the perpetrator needs to hear to commit a crime just like it. They name the shooter, they describe his characteristics, they detail the crime, they number the victims, and they rank him against other successful attackers. ''The more they identify with the characteristics of the

Terrorism has had a profound affect on the world, as it has inspired fear and despair in the hearts of millions of people. Specifically in the United States, where in certain circumstances U.S. citizens will carry out acts of terror to further their own cause. Domestic terrorism has taken roots in many aspects of society through certain ideological groups, radicalization through media, and by acts of terror that cause immense civil unrest.

The word “terrorism” was first used during the French Revolution when British statesman Edmond Burke used the term to describe the actions of the Jacobin-dominated French government. Under the leadership of Maximilien Robespierre, thousands of people that were said to be enemies of the state were put on trial and then executed by use of the guillotine (O 'Connor, 2006). However, since the inception of the word, it has taken on a new meaning. One can now hear the word “terrorism” and be overcome by anger or even fear. Terrorism now seems to have turned to attacks against a government rather

The mass media affects the spread of propaganda and just encourages group and individual terrorist acts. In a way the media is an ally to terrorists. The media use terrorists to get stories and terrorists use the media to spread fear and panic. The media legitimizes terrorism and their causes because by publicizing their acts, even if not completely true, it will be believed. People say don’t believe everything you hear and read, but once its put out there, the propaganda is already set in our heads.

September 11th changed the lives of many Americans, irrevocably. The horrendous attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon altered the way American’s viewed their positions within the world, not to mention their lives and their safety. The attacks brought terrorism to the forefront of national attention, in every aspect. The government became immediately immersed in an effort to understand and defeat terrorism, and simultaneously, the media, with its perverse fascination with violence and profit-driven espousal to round-the-clock, up-to-the-minute coverage, demonstrated an obsession with the attacks, by broadcasting almost nothing but the latest developments in the search and rescue efforts and investigations

"Freedom of the press is guaranteed only to those who own one." This quote by A.J. Liebling illustrates the reality of where the media stands in today's society. Over the past twenty years there has been an increase in power throughout the media with regard to politics. The media's original purpose was to inform the public of the relevant events that occurred around the world. The job of the media is to search out the truth and relay that news to the people. The media has the power to inform the people but often times the stories given to the public are distorted for one reason or another. Using slant and sensationalism, the media has begun to shape our views in society and the process by which

     The media provides the public political issues, which sets the agenda for political discussion. In theory the media tries to attune themselves to the interest of the public, but “in most instances the media severs as conduits for agenda-setting efforts by competing groups and forces” (Ginsberg, Lowi & Weir, 1999, p. 298). To gain public support, groups and forces need media coverage to promote their ideas. However, the media has great control over which issues they televise. The issues must have media appeal or be considered newsworthy.

Around 50 million people watch CBS, ABC, or NBC every single night in order to obtain information from the day. Since the amount of people watching a news channel every night is so great, the media has had a great effect on the lives of everyone living in the United States. In our state and local government regions, each and every news channel or newspaper is going to take a certain view and stand-point on what the people say, think, and believe. Media effects are classified as direct or indirect, and the Media itself as well as the people behind the headlines can create positive as well as negative publicity. The media also has ways of going about their business and they even have their own terms for what they do, and how it should be

The way in which terrorists have gained publicity is very different. Late nineteenth century Southern lynch mobs and Central American death squads did not even use the media to gain their publicity. They just used their victims as examples to others who might disobey their rules.9 As times changed, terrorists began to publicize their views in books, pamphlets, underground newspapers, etc.