Post #3: The Media & Terrorism

“We are in a battle, and…more than half of this battle is taking place in the battlefield of the media.”
- Ayman Al-Zawahiri, 2005 letter from Al-Zawahiri to Al- Zarqawi

“Terrorism is theatre…Terrorism attacks are often carefully choreographed to attract the attention of the electronic media and the international press.”
- Brian Jenkins

What Is Terrorism?
According to terrorism expert Boaz Ganor, “Terrorism is the intentional use of or threat to use violence against civilians or against civilian targets, in order to attain political aims.”

So What Does This Mean?
It means that the effectiveness of a terrorist campaign is based on the ability of a terrorist organization to convey a message and to provoke a response from a target. If these two conditions are met, the terrorist campaign is considered a success, which in turn, will result in the target forcing its government to comply with specific political demands. So, it follows, that the best way to prevent terrorists from realizing their goals is to deny them these two conditions.

The Media in The Past
While the strategy underpinning terrorism has been understood for centuries, the media has continued to play a critical role in facilitating the realization of terrorist objectives. In my Global security class, our professor points to two specific cases that support this assertion. The first occurred in 1893, when anarchists bombed the Barcelona Opera House. In this instance, the New York newspaper, World, published many articles on the attacks and consequently sold more copies than ever. Secondly, in 1968, terrorists gained unprecedented global coverage because the media made use of the first television satellite during the 1972 Olympics.

The Media Today: Has Anything Changed?
Unfortunately, the media is no different today. While it is clear that today’s publicly traded media companies are principally concerned with using controversy to increase their bottom lines, their profit motives are contrary to the national security interests of this country. The American media does a number of things that allow terrorists to achieve their objectives. As I have talked about in my last blog post, the mainstream cable news networks (both CNN and Fox) use ignorant reporting on Muslims in the United States and abroad. This type of reporting only serves to strengthen their resolve to strike against the United States by underscoring the demarcation of “us vs. them.”
The media also emboldens terrorists by the sheer number of stories it runs on specific terrorists. Because we live in the age of the 24-hour news cycle, images of terrorists are popularized unlike ever before in order for the cable networks to fill airtime. But perhaps the most disturbing thing about the media is that it airs unauthenticated tapes from terrorist organizations. I do not understand why news networks do this. It is not as if the terrorists are going to deviate from the traditional “death to America” rhetoric. By showing these tapes, they are not only publicizing the enemy, but it is quite possible that they are instructing other terrorists through secret messages embedded in these tapes.

Concluding Thoughts
I am not saying that the media should not report news on terrorism, terrorists, or terrorist activity. The media’s job is to keep the public well informed on all issues related to their safety and security. However, the it must understand the terrorists’ strategy and the critical role they play in achieving that strategy. I do not believe that there is a clear solution for how to combat this problem. While some have suggested that the government regulate news activities that threaten national security, I disagree. Our government should not be allowed to regulate what the media reports because it could lead to less government accountability. The American people and its government can only recommend that the media exercise greater caution as it relates to the issue of terrorism.