Terrorism returns to the media agenda

Visibility of terrorism on international TV news, Oct. 1, 2013 – Aug. 31, 2014

New York, September 11, 2014. As the thirteenth anniversary of the September 11th attacks on the U.S. approaches, terrorism concerns are once again strongly visible on U.S. and international TV news; this coverage remains driven by stereotypes that cause more harm than good, according to new research from Media Tenor International. Although there is little media concern regarding potential terrorist actions on U.S. soil, journalists continue to provide extremist outliers the publicity they are seeking.

Discussions of terrorism on U.S. TV news have largely focused on what action, if any, the U.S. should take in response to militant and terrorist groups, such as ISIS and Boko Haram, in the Middle East and Africa. Recent beheadings of U.S. journalists by ISIS were responsible for large shares of the coverage in August.

“The discussion of terrorism on U.S. TV news has really shifted,” says Racheline Maltese, a researcher at Media Tenor. “Domestic attack is no longer in focus, but the emergence of what the media has framed as new terrorist groups abroad is generating alarm.”

“TV journalists can learn a lot from the local section of the newspaper,” says Media Tenor’s CEO and founder, Roland Schatz. “Just as it is important for newspapers to be cautious in how they cover suicide, terrorism-related journalism should also be wary of the copy-cat phenomenon. When covering terrorist threats or actions, it’s important for the media to speak to religious experts who represent both the dominant faith in the area and the religion in whose supposed name the terrorism has taken place. This helps media audiences understand that extremism and violence never speak for any faith.”

For U.S. politicians, concerns about terrorism have been largely negative and may play a role in the next presidential election cycle as President Obama and potential Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton have faced significant criticism.

Media Tenor also found that Muslims continue to receive limited visibility on U.S. TV news and face criticism when they are visible. The actions of Muslims outside of a context of conflict and extremism are almost non-existent in the news.

This research examined all 1,100,030 reports on international TV news from October 1, 2013 to August 31, 2014.

For over 20 years Media Tenor’s mission has been to contribute to objective, diverse and newsworthy media content by bringing together the diverse parties. Media Tenor’s global research projects include analyses of election campaigns, investor relations, public diplomacy, corporate communications and other topics critical to news makers and news audiences.

For more information, please contact Racheline Maltese at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 212-935-0210.