ABSTRACT

The proliferation of round-the-clock news channels has expanded the spectacle of global terrorism. The Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism Database is prepared by the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism. It is an open-source database including statistical information on global terrorist incidents from 1970 to 2014. The need to appeal to a mass audience means that certain characteristics of terrorist attacks predict whether major United States media cover them. Casualties, political and geographic proximity to the United States, violence, and destruction increase the likelihood of terrorism event coverage. Terrorist groups operate on the premise that more blood and violence means more Western mainstream media coverage. News media use these gratuitous and graphic videos to highlight the impending threat of these groups, galvanizing public opinion against terrorism. Despite increases in terrorist activity since 2004, most instances of terrorism receive little or no media coverage.