The Media, Extremism and Terrorism: An Unintentional Business Relationship

Although the goals of the press and terrorists are not the same, the two groups engage in a mutually beneficial relationship that often appears confusing to scholars and the public. Both the press and the terrorists need and crave the attention of the public. In this paper the authors examine the motives and the methods that the media and the terrorists attempt to achieve their goals. The terrorists need the attention to create terror and spread their propaganda to further their political causes. The media needs the sensationalism created by the terrorists to attract viewers or readers and to positively effect ratings. The study found that the stories about terrorism increased media ratings while unintentionally benefiting the terrorist by publicizing the terrorist cause.