Abstract:

All around the world, various groups resort to acts of violence against civilians to foster fear and suspicion. Governments take advantage of the tragedy to convince citizens to generate public support for their purposes. As such, in the post - September world the media has become the biggest handicap to achieve peace and dialogue because it vigorously fuels the conflict between the West and Islam. Since the media is at the heart of this issue, it is critical to reflect on how the media may be inadvertently contributing to perpetuation of conflicts. This study analyzes the Western media’s coverage of Terrorism since September 11 attacks. The news coverage of recent terrorist events reveals a double - standard and a thematic pattern of terrorism coverage. Media portrays Muslims as working together in organized terrorist cells against a ‘‘Christian West’’ while local terrorism is casted as a minor threat that occurs in isolated incidents by troubled individuals. Thus, understanding how terrorism is presented in media can help to realize how a pattern of media coverage develops, increasing fear and supporting the ‘‘clash of civilizations,’’ which ultimately affects international relations and public policy.

Keywords: