Terrorism and the Mass Media After Al Qaeda: a Change of Course?

After September 11, 2001, U.S. citizens were shocked that over 2,900 people were dead because of Islamic extremists (Kean, et al. "National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States"). More deaths occurred in the Paris and San Bernardino attacks. Tensions between the U.S. and Islamic extremists have not yet subsided. Americans receive information regarding Islamic extremists through the media, from which they form opinions on what the U.S.’s foreign policy with the Middle East should be, which affects military spending. To what extent has the media’s portrayal of Islamic extremists affected U.S. military spending and relations with the Middle East?

Theodore Kaczynski is the name of a man who aspired to be the perfect, anonymous killer in the United States. In 1978, he sent his first homemade bomb to a university in Chicago. He mailed or hand delivered a series of bombs over the next 17 years. The homemade bombs

For instance, documentary filmmaker Adam Curtis argues that the so called “war on terror” is just another Cold War, where there is a good guy and a bad guy. This time however, instead of the bad guy being the Soviet Union, the bad guy is a “phantom enemy” that we assumed to be the worldwide terrorist organization Al-Qaeda. Curtis also does not believe in the description of Al-Qaeda as being a worldwide terrorist organization, centered around one man, Osama bin Laden. Thus, he believes that Al-Qaeda “is more of a world view, a set of ideas around which to inspire a diverse range of political and/or militant, Islamic groups from Africa, the Middle East and Asia” (McLaughlin 193). The propaganda created by the attacks of 9/11, proposed by George Bush and expanded upon by the media, was supported by the suspicion of the rise of Al Qaeda in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as the security measures taken around the world in order to defend against these organizations (McLaughlin 194). The media, by covering the “war on terror” in such detail, had actually been doing exactly what these organizations want, because they feed on the attention given by the nations affected by these

The media, in spite of the fact that it might incite or propagate forceful conduct, can't be considered completely dependable. Rather, it might be viewed as one impact that is working in an aggregate circumstance among numerous others, and is liable to fortify previous social and individual propensities, inclinations, states of mind, practices, convictions, and worth frameworks, which advance threatening vibe and

“In effect, terrorists’ acts should be viewed as “violent language.” For them, the genuine power of terrorism is that it functions as propaganda. The result is behavior modification of the target audience by both coercive and persuasive means (Denton, 2004, p. 4)”. Terrorists use these evil acts to send messages to their victims to emphasize their “Don’t Fuck With Us” axiom and mentality.

Hertsgaard, and Medved discuss about the media’s contribution to the negative image of America. Hertsgaard examines the word “terrorism” and how it is being over used by our media. He explains “media elites never apply to the United States or its

Toyin Jackson Mrs. Borne AP Language and Composition 8 March 2015 Title The teenage mind is one that is easily persuaded due to its lack of full development. Whether it be something as trivial as what shoes to wear or an important topic like determining a college, deliver a persuading case and a teen or

During the Cold War and the War on Terror, the United States of America used the media to depict Soviet and Middle Eastern people as foreign enemies that posed a threat to U.S. national security. The bombing of the World Trade Center on September 11th, 2001 changed the lives of millions of Muslims forever because they began to be targeted by U.S. media corporations. Media corporations started to depict Muslims in the Middle East as terrorists to persuade the American public to wage the War on Terror in the Middle East in order to stop the spread of terrorism and homeland threats, like 9/11, from occurring again. However, even though media corporations portrayed the War on Terror as a justification to defeat terrorism and to protect the

For my issue I will be focusing on the influence of the American mainstream media after the September 11th attacks and during the United States’ international military campaign known as the ‘War on Terror’. On September 11, 2001 otherwise known as 9/11, a series of terrorism where committed in which the Islamic terrorist group Al-Qaeda devised four bomber attacks on U.S landmarks killing 2,977 people (CNN). Shortly after the events of 9/11, George W. Bush enacted the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Terrorist (AUMF) and from his administration declared their own definition and objectives regarding the war on terror. The declaration would create not only a mass media indolent but insight a decade long conflict of fear of security

The aftermath of the September 11 attacks created a dichotomy between the American people and people of Arabic heritage, specifically the Muslims and those who “appear Arab”. How do the aftermaths of these tragedy portray and place a great emphasis on a divide between the “us” and the “them”? My paper will examine the aftermath of the tragics events that occurred in the September 11 Attacks, through the works of scholars and authors to investigate the portrayal and emphasis on the “us” and “them” divide that sprouted from the catastrophe. Douglas Kellner, a theorist in the field of critical media culture, explains that the way the media portrays victims of tragedies is them as weak and the culprits as violent, citing how the media portrayed the Americans as “vulnerable and open” and the terrorists as “violent and capable of causing great harm” (Kellner, 2004).

As a growing majority of middle class families fall victim to the economic devastation of the Great Recession, suffering from prolonged unemployment, depleted job markets and a rising cost of living, the threat of potential terrorist attacks striking America and its interests seems to have faded into the proverbial background of our collective consciousness. With a transfer of power from the hawkish Bush Administration to President Obama and his more diplomatic approach, major media outlets in print, on television and in the blogosphere, which just a few years ago regaled with patriotic fervor while espousing the possible peril awaiting the nation, have all but abandoned their coverage of terrorist activity. This reversal in focus by both individuals and institutions may simply be a natural response to the reduced capabilities of al-Qaeda and other terrorist networks, as confirmed by the leading authority on terrorism and its effects, and national security analyst for the CNN network, Peter Bergen, who observed recently that "the Obama administration has played a large role in reducing terrorist threats by continuing and scaling up many of former President George W. Bush's counter-terrorist methods" (Bennetch 1).

Terrorism in the Media Terrorism can be defined as the use of criminal violence to try to force a government to change. It can also be defined as the use of criminal violence that groups or individuals use to seek revenge and cause heartache amongst those that they want to

That call to action can come in many forms of media and to a global audience. “Terrorist recruitment videos, often released online, have been tailored to appeal to various audiences. A propaganda video, which can still be watched on YouTube of captured U.S. soldier, Bowe R. Bergdahl, compares what seems to be his good treatment under al-Qaeda, to those of U.S.-run prisoner of war camps” (Philipp).

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.

“If the media were not there to report terrorist acts and to explain their political and social significance...terrorism as such would cease to exist” said John O'Sullivan, an editor of the Times of London.1 This is also the way many other people feel about the recent increase in terrorist activity; they feel that the media is causing it. The media is doing this by fulfilling the terrorists' need for publicity.2 Terrorists need media publicity in order to get their views spread to the public.3 Because of this need for publicity, terrorists are committing their acts of terrorism in areas where a lot of publicity will be gained; the United States and Western Europe are the most recent targets. The bombings of the federal building in