Journalists, especially those in television, need to understand the sensitivities of live coverage of terrorism.
ISLAMABAD: To dominate media headlines, terrorists carefully knit a media strategy, the primary objective being to spread fear and anxiety. By showing images of destruction by suicide bombers and of mutilated dead bodies, the media, perhaps subconsciously, ends up glorifying terrorists. Terrorists prefer to gain attention at a time when other significant events are taking place.
Take for instance, Black September in 1972, which targeted Israeli Olympians and the prime objective was to attract the attention of approximately 800 million people who were watching the Olympics. Likewise, on the eve of Benazir Bhutto’s arrival in October 2007, terrorists attacked her cavalcade in Karachi.
The media not only informs us about acts of terrorism, it also tries to interpret its dynamics. Hence, terrorists not only earn the ire of the public, they also earn the sympathies of like-minded people through the media coverage. Excessive coverage can tend to portray non-state actors as legitimate actors and increases their acceptance among the general public.
In the present day and age, journalists, especially those in television, need to understand the sensitivities associated with live coverage of acts of terrorism. For instance, the live coverage of incidents such as the attack on the Manawan Police School outside Lahore endangered human lives and in this regard, managements of television channels need to consider broadcasting such footage with a significant time-delay.
Terrorists have also kept up with technology and now frequently upload videos and pictures of their attacks on the internet. They also use social media to their benefit, disseminating information related to their objectives and attacks and so on at various platforms. The telecasting of dead mutilated bodies gives psychological strength to extremists. The government and the media need to work out a strategy, whereby the interests of journalism are also served and the terrorists are not given any advantage in the form of undue coverage.
Self-regulation is the best way forward and this choice must be opted for. It is an act of self-accountability, volunteerism and responsibility. It will improve media content and inject professionalism. It will also protect the autonomy of the media. Depriving or limiting extremists’ publicity would decrease their influence.
Mohammad Ali Babakhel
Deputy Inspector General, Police
Published in The Express Tribune, December 29th, 2013.
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