Terrorism and the media: The ethics of publicity∗

After distinguishing three main purposes of terrorism (intimidation, blackmail and propaganda), the author maintains that the revolution in communication technology since the 1870s has favoured the emergence of terroristic ‘propaganda by the deed’. Such terrorism aims at gaining access to the news system through the creation of violent pseudo‐events. The implications for the media's code of ethics are illustrated by a case study on the coverage of the hijacking of TWA flight #847 in June 1985. The use of terrorists by the media turns out to be as crucial as the use of the media by the terrorists. Media principles and news practices are compared and the agenda‐setting power of the media is detailed. Dilemmas arising from the fact that news is a commercial product as well as a social product are identified. Existing codes of ethics are found to be insufficient and it is suggested that it is time for a new professional journalistic code and rules of enforcement be formulated by the media themselves to prevent a further rise in violent pseudo‐events.