Law Commons^™

The Terrorist Is A Star!: Regulating Media Coverage Of Publicity-Seeking Crimes, Michelle W. Ghetti

Michelle W. Ghetti

Publicity-seeking crimes, including terrorism, almost by definition depend on the media for their effectiveness. Violence or threats of violence have long been deemed “newsworthy” by the media and publicity-seeking criminals have put this fact to full use. By attacking highly visible targets in a dramatic manner, publicity-seeking criminals guarantee themselves saturation news coverage. They make a shocking appeal to traditional news values by making full use of the news industry’s attraction to the dramatic, conflict-laden, and potentially tragic event. The media furthers the criminals’ objectives by publicizing an incident that was staged for the very purpose of obtaining media coverage. …