NCJ Number
125949
Journal
Terrorism Volume: 12 Issue: 2 Dated: (1989) Pages: 107-115
Date Published
1989
Length
9 pages
Annotation
Terrorists are said to seek the attention of the public, the recognition of their grievances, and even respectability and legitimacy.
Abstract
This paper examines the question, to what extent do the mass media facilitate these goals? Analyzing the coverage of the 1985 TWA hostage crisis by three leading U.S. newspapers, we found that the press facilitated the attention-getting desires of the terrorists very generously. The terrorists were also quite successful in getting their causes and grievances reported, while they had only limited success in gaining coverage that might have helped their efforts to gain respectability and legitimacy. 4 tables and 27 notes. (Author abstract)