Content analysis reveals a focus on mitigation strategies in media coverage of terrorist attacks, indicating potential bias in reporting.
This study investigates the types of mitigation strategies discussed in news reports about terrorist attacks (TAs) in German and Austrian newspapers, examining the differences between security- and surveillance-related (SSR) and restrictive migration-control strategies versus community-bonding and deradicalization strategies. A content analysis of N = 1514 articles on nine TAs in Western Europe since 2016 examines which characteristics of the attacks (rightwing TAs vs. Islamist TAs; death toll; and number of injured victims), the media environment, and the article (tabloid vs. broadsheet; country of reporting; article type; time frame; and article length) predicted the mitigation strategies presented in the articles. Results revealed that media coverage of TAs disproportionately emphasizes SSR and migration-control strategies, while largely neglecting deradicalization measures. This focus may contribute to shaping negative out-group perceptions, highlighting the need for increased awareness among journalists regarding the implications of their reporting.
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Naderer et al. (2025) studied this question.
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