What Guidelines Should the Media Follow in Its Coverage of Terrorist Acts?
The year 2015 was marked for France by both the highest number of terrorist activity and by the occurrence of attacks responsible for the ‘largest number of casualties since the second world war’. Local media’s choices in the amount of time devoted to these attacks as well as in their way of presenting them, mirrored the country’s unpreparedness and lack of experience. Some journalists, forgetting about their civic duty, unwillingly assisted terrorists in endangering the lives of many hostages in crisis situations, as well as those of police forces during their interventions. Others showed unforeseen terror, violating victims’ rights to human decency and paralyzing the public into fear and horror. All ultimately contributed, albeit involuntarily, into publicizing terrorists and their cause.
Article by: Johanna Benhamou
