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Naco Culture Of Fear Essay

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When reporting on terrorism, the media function as a double-edged sword. They assure terrorists that their grievances will receive public attention; yet they also can mobilize public opinion against the arbitrary use of violence by stripping terrorism of its "romantic veneer" and exposing its violent underpinnings to public scrutiny.20 ' The proposed general industry guidelines should minimize the harms from publicizing terrorist events while maximizing the speech interests vital to a democratic society (Moffitt, 1998). In previous decades, the journalistic mission was to report the news as it actually happened, with fairness, balance, and integrity; Profit gaining motives associated with journalism have forced much of today's television news to look to the spectacular, the stirring, and the controversial as news stories. It's no longer a race to break the story first or get the facts right. Instead, it's to acquire good ratings in order to get advertisers, so that profits soar. The goals of terrorists are not solely confined to winning the attention of the masses. In addition to that, through the media, they aim to publicize their political causes, inform both friends and foes about the motives for terrorist deeds, and explain their rationale for resorting to violence …show more content…

What exactly is the culture of fear and how does it affect the way that the public reacts to acts of terrorism? One fundamental characteristic within a culture of fear is narrow-mindedness. The media has contributed to this atmosphere of intolerance by over-reporting the September 11th attacks.
People cannot think clearly when they are afraid. As numerous studies have shown, fear is the enemy of reason. It distorts emotions and perceptions, and often leads to poor decisions. For people who have suffered trauma, fear messages can sometimes trigger uncontrollable flight-or-fight responses with dangerous ramifications (Hazen,

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