NCJ Number
86142
Editor(s)
A H Miller
Date Published
1982
Length
221 pages
Annotation
A series of essays considers the issues involved in balancing media and law enforcement interests in dealing with in-progress terrorist incidents, and approaches for achieving balance are presented from media and law enforcement perspectives, followed by recommendations for media guidelines in covering terrorism.
Abstract
In two essays that examine the nature of the problem of media coverage of terrorists incidents, the first notes that the symbiotic relationship between terrorists and the media often places the media and legal authorities in conflict when dealing with a hostage incident, but the conflict can be relieved through journalistic guidelines that give priority to the lives of the hostages. The second essay analyzes media coverage of the hostage seizure in Iran, noting that the television coverage of the incident dramatized a violation of international law, with the media in many instances being manipulated by the hostagetakers to the extent that the media violated their own guidelines for professional conduct. In one of the essays on the law enforcement perspective for balancing media rights and law enforcement responsibilities in dealing with terrorist incidents, it is advised that media coverage should be restricted so as not to compromise police negotiations with the hostagetakers or other police operations designed to save the hostages. Another law enforcement perspective, however, advocates no restrictions on media coverage other than what the media agencies themselves would impose. Regular communication between the media and authorities on the policies of each is advised. Essays presenting the media perspective argue for unrestricted freedom of the media but also note the limits of free expression in the face of severe terrorist threats such as in Northern Ireland. Various media guidelines for covering terrorism are presented in two other essays, and the appendixes present media-guideline documents and the Project on Media Coverage of Terrorism. A bibliography of about 510 listings is provided, along with a subject index. For individual entries, see NCJ 86143-50.