Terrorism and the Media

The media is tasked with the responsibility of passing on the news to the public. The coverage of terrorist activities presents a challenge regarding the way to pass information about terror attacks without causing more adverse impacts on individuals. The manner in which the information is passed is crucial in determining the aftermath of attacks on the victims, first responders, recovery teams, and the general population. The media can avert being labeled as perpetrators and instead protectors by the public considering the way and methods of presenting news The broadcasts by the media have a psychological effect on people. This is because the media presents news to an unusually large audience that is a conglomeration of both victims and non-victims. The psychological effect could be either positive or negative. The latter has been more profound from most viewers. Conducted a study on the people living in New York with regards to their habits of watching television, as well as levels of depression and posttraumatic stress in relation to the September 11 attacks. The victims of the attacks, the rescue team members, and those who watched many images of the aftermath of the attacks on television recorded the highest levels of depression. Mass media can be beneficial to terroristic acts. The terrorists may create fear by broadcasting news regarding terroristic actions and their consequences. Corporations of mass media intend to make their news more attractive and reach a larger audience so that they may get immense profits. The terrorists use different media houses indirectly as tools in spreading fear across a population via in-depth coverage of the terroristic attacks. The results are an enormous rate of fear in the population, suicidal thoughts, high stress levels, and a loss of trust in the government’s ability to protect its citizens. The magnitude of the psychological impact on a person not only depends on the images watched, but also on their type and period of exposure. It is a fact that the levels of stress in those viewing images of collapsing buildings as compared to those watching people jumping or falling from tall buildings are higher. The frequency of repetition of the images will surely influence the psychological effects of viewers and raise the level of depression. The media, therefore, should draw a balance between their efforts making massive profits and the impact of the news they pass on to the public. The news of successful combat of terrorist is a relief to the public that eliminates their fears. They feel safer going to the workplaces, in the trains and vehicles, in their homes, walking in the streets. The media appeases the population passing such information and set more confidence in their government. However, some people are afraid of a possible retaliation by the affected terroristic group. This masks the joy of a successful terrorism defeat. The huge potency that the media carriers being misused as a tool for instigating terrorism needs to be addressed. Unregulated coverage of terrorist attacks could potentially cause more harm to people of the country than a little benefit to the individual media company. The media has not only an ethical obligation, but also a moral one in conveying information to the public. This is because the editors, journalists, broadcasters, and even those who publish online newsletters do determine the outcome of life or death depending on what they choose to report or not to report. The article was prepared and submitted by a professional writer from https://moodle.org/plugins/plagiarism_plagiarismsearch advanced plagiarism checker - Milly Jones.