Introduction

Media and Terrorism which play the vital role all over the world, are the top-most
headlines to be discussed at present. So first of all, I have defined both terms and then I
have tried to explain their relationship and the role of Media towards Terrorism.

What is Media?

Communication is one of the most important features of life. A baby cries to

communicate its hunger. But it is not just a one-way process. When the mother hears her
baby crying she tries to make out whether it is because of its hunger or because it is
suffering from some other discomfort. She administers to the baby in accordance with her
interpretation of the cry that it is communicating. So communication is a two-way
process where the response is part of the process. That we define as Medium. When the
medium carries messages to a large number of people through technology like
Newspapers, Radio, Television, Internet etc. then it becomes a mass medium and so we
call it Media.

What is Terrorism?

The FBI defines as, "Terrorism is the unlawful use of force and violence against persons
or property to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population, or any segment
thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives." Within this definition three
elements are focused such as violence, fear and intimidation and each element produces
terror in its victims. It is also to be noted that there are three perspectives of terrorism and
they are terrorists, the victims, and the general public. So terrorism is a criminal act that
influences an audience beyond the immediate victim.

Terrorism is a highly controversial issue in contemporary international politics. In effect, the

controversy exists over its nature, causes and consequences with no efforts by the scholars to
come to any conclusive opinion on the subject. Notwithstanding this, terrorism is nowadays
considered as a threat to global peace and security, especially in the aftermath of 9/11. True,
while there is the problem with respect to defining terrorism, less controversy exists with
respect to the “forms and manifestations” in which it takes place, and all such types are well
documented by the UN.