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Terrorists Need Sensational Media Coverage

[Ynet News] Guy Bechor - The more the media covers terror attacks, the more we encourage them. The media makes a living because of terror. The media must have drama, tension, excitement and horror so that anxious people buy more newspapers and watch more television. At the same time, terrorism needs the media to bring horror and fear into every household in the world. The terrorists realized that in order to create a spectacular display, they need to kill Westerners, and hurt Jews as "added spice." We certainly have to report such tumultuous events, but we must restrain the sensationalism of the coverage. When Israel was faced with devastating suicide bombings, our media gradually lessened the coverage, refraining from close-up shots, miserable relatives, and other harsh scenes. This neutralized some of the horror and achievements of terror. The Americans greatly censored the September 11th attacks. No body was shown on the screens, names were not published, and funerals were not seen because America takes into account national morale and the enemy's glee. Here is a small comfort: Every time we see such horrific international attacks, this strengthens Israel and its arguments, and positions the Palestinians, Hamas, and Hizbullah in a wholly different context; not as a local phenomenon, but rather as part of a global terror offensive. The writer is a lecturer in Arab Law and Middle East Politics at the Interdisciplinary Center, Herzliya.
2008-12-15 09:00:00
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