Project on Media Coverage of Terrorism - A Summary of National Surveys and Other Investigations, 1977-1979 (From Terrorism, Law Enforcement and the Mass Media, P 220-249 - See NCJ-88647)

• NCJ Number: 88652
• Author(s): M Sommer; H Sommer
• Date Published: Unknown
• Length: 29 pages
• Sale Source: National Institute of Justice/; NCJRS Photocopy Services
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

Three surveys that solicited the views of police chiefs and media personnel regarding media coverage of terrorist incidents indicate some common views and some divergent opinions about how such incidents should be reported by the media.

Abstract

In the first survey, more than half of the police chiefs of the Nation's 30 most populated cities replied to a questionnaire about television coverage of terrorism (questionnaire mailed in May 1977). The study found that the chiefs believed television reporters have generally not done a good job of covering terrorism and that live television coverage of terrorist incidents only encourages their replication. Further, the chiefs indicated television journalists should not communicate with terrorists during an incident without police consent. The second study mailed questionnaires to police chiefs and television news directors in the Nations's 30 most populated cities to inquire about their views of the CBS news guidelines. More than half the chiefs, replied, and 35 percent of the news directors replied. Seventy-three percent of the police chiefs and 87 percent of the news directors agreed with the guideline which recommends that journalists should avoid providing excessive platforms for terrorists and should paraphrase terrorist demands. Ninety-three percent of the police chiefs and 81 percent of the news directors agreed with the guideline that proposes no live coverage of a terrorist act. The third study surveyed the attitudes toward terrorism coverage held by police chiefs, television and radio news directors, and newspaper editors in the Nation's 30 most populated cities. The survey found that the police chiefs and the media differ about the coverage of terrorism and disagree about whether media coverage encourages terrorism, whether it is a threat to hostage safety, and whether journalists should communicate with terrorists. The findings suggest a need for research and cooperation to develop a more rational approach to police-press relations in the course of terrorist incidents.