Despite the prevalence of terrorism, the media still does not portray the spread of terrorist attacks accurately in non-Western countries

On Nov. 13, terrorist attacks in Paris killed 137 people and wounded 368. Outpourings of sympathy came from all corners of the globe, with people sharing hashtags such as  “#jesuisparis” and “#peaceforparis” on social media. However, just one day prior, Beirut, the capital of Lebanon, was also attacked, and 42 people were killed. For Beirut, there were no widespread hashtags for support, nor was there widespread media coverage; however, more tragedy has struck areas beyond just Lebanon as well.

In Iraq, a suicide bomber killed at least 21 people on Nov. 13, and four days later, another suicide attack killed over 30 people. On Nov. 24, at least 12 people were killed by a bus bombing in Tunis, Tunisia, and on the same day, militants left seven dead in al-Arish, Egypt. On Nov. 27, 21 people were killed in Nigeria by a suicide attack. Most recently, suicide bombers injured more than 100 people and killed at least 15 in a series of three explosions in Chad on Dec. 5. Yet these events did not garner the same attention as did the events in Paris.
In fact, since Nov. 13, only 18 terrorist attacks outside of first world countries have been documented by major news outlets such as The Guardian or The New York Times, and most articles covering these attacks did not extend beyond 1,000 words.
Senior Maria Triantafyllopoulos said the disparity in media coverage explains the lack of global attention on some attacks and the amount of coverage is actually based off of the relevancy of the coverage to the reader. The difference is not with malicious intent, Triantafyllopoulos said, but only exists to make news more relatable for the media’s consumers.
“What’s going on in Mali, for example (where Al-Qaeda said it participated in a hotel attack that killed 20 people last month); it’s really tragic what happened, but how many people actually travel to Mali versus Paris?” Triantafyllopoulos said. “It’s more of an impact in our lives in the United States than it is in a place where we don’t really frequent as much.”
Triantafyllopoulos said events such as the Paris attacks are also more newsworthy than events outside of Europe because they are unforeseen. The shock value and interest, Triantafyllopoulos said, is part of what makes terrorist attacks like those in Paris more newsworthy than attacks in countries like Lebanon or Mali.
“People kind of expect it to happen in places like the Middle East and Africa,” Triantafyllopoulos said. “When you’re talking about an attack that happens in an industrialized nation…it’s so much more shocking because you don’t expect it, and that’s what makes it more newsworthy.”
According to sophomore Andy Li-Harezlak, however, the lack of coverage for events in other countries stems from a lack of interest from both news outlets and viewers, and is not really based on how newsworthy an event is.
“I know that the media doesn’t cover (all terrorist attacks) as much as it should,” Li-Harezlak said. “It’s more that people don’t care, because (news stations can) send a reporter over there if they really wanted to, but they don’t.”
Theresa Ramos, media specialist and communications department chairperson, said although how relatable news is to readers may be part of why the Paris attacks garnered more attention than terrorist attacks on other countries, this does not make the news inaccurate or false, as some may believe, nor can it be considered to demonstrate a true bias.
“I think the news agencies try to do their best to report fairly and accurately, given the time or space they have available,” Ramos said via email.
According to Ramos, the Paris attacks were also more highly covered because they were wholly unpredicted, isolated occurrences. Although she said any loss of life should be mourned, she added that in areas in the Middle East and Africa, war and terrorism are jointed, and deaths may seem to shrink in importance.
“Maybe the Paris attacks seem to have gotten more attention because there is not a current war going on there,” Ramos said. “It was a situation in which civilians were out enjoying their evening and they were killed.  Some of the other areas to which I believe you might be referring might be in a war-like situation; therefore, it is a report in a series of reports about what is going on with the violence. Unfortunately this could also involve civilians, but this may seem like a “smaller” report.”
Even in the event that news stations more frequently address terrorist attacks in third world countries, some viewers, according to Ramos, still would not care or pay attention. However, Ramos said, this does not mean all viewers share a lack of interest.
“Some people are overwhelmed and even depressed by the events in this world,” Ramos said. “It is a lot to take sometimes. It doesn’t necessarily mean somebody doesn’t care.”
Triantafyllopoulos said despite lack of media coverage, she thinks even overexposure can be harmful to viewers. Though she said news stations choosing to selectively cover terrorist attacks is beneficial, there are only limited stories, and overloading viewers with information about specific events can cause viewers to become disinterested rather than engaged.
Referencing coverage by CNN on the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 in March 2014, Triantafyllopoulos said the prolonged coverage became ridiculous and was likely done simply to maintain viewership and increase ratings. According to Triantafyllopoulos, the story quickly became less and less informative as time progressed and drifted away from the true story.
“CNN actually brought in some scientist talking about how it was a semi-plausible theory that a black hole could’ve just come in and taken

the plane,” Triantafyllopoulos said. “It’s really irrelevant…like at what point are you going to make it more than it really is?”
Triantafyllopoulos said the treatment of the flight’s disappearance in the media reflects the loss of interest that can be caused by covering an issue excessively.
According to Li-Harezlak, even with the excess of coverage on the Paris attacks, many were still left uneducated on the event. Although Li-Harezlak himself said he was able to remain aware of the events and was constantly updated via the BBC, others, he said, were not as aware of the events. Li-Harezlak said despite social media movements to change Facebook profile pictures to feature the French flag in order to raise awareness, few truly knew the full story.
“People were posting and trying to show support, but were then like, ‘Oh what happened?’” Li-Harezlak said. “How do you show support (for Paris) if you don’t know what happened?”
Despite claims that some terrorist attacks deserve more media attention, Ramos said she questions whether news agencies should even cover terrorist attacks. According to Ramos, the attention directed toward groups such as ISIS is what fuels them and therefore, groups should not be granted as much media attention as they currently have because it merely facilitates the spread of fear.
“Terrorists want to inspire terror, so any attention they are granted only spurs their actions further,” Ramos said.
According to Li-Harezlak, instead of debating the coverage of terrorism, people should address the problem itself first. To Li-Harezlak, the problem extends beyond the debate of media coverage. Coverage, he said, is simply a reminder of the bigger problem of actual terrorist attacks. According to Li-Harezlak, incidents in France, Mali and Lebanon should be stepping stones toward the end of terrorism and terrorist groups.
“I think we need to think about these terrorist attacks and think of a way to deal with them,” he said. “I personally don’t know how to, but our nations need to figure out a way to prevent terrorism.”
Regardless, Triantafyllopoulos said she will still pay attention to news reports about terrorist attacks to stay informed. However, Triantafyllopoulos said the connection she has to France, formed through studying abroad in the country for seven weeks for the Indiana University Honors Program in Foreign Languages, leads her to focus much of her attention on the attacks in France.
“I watch the news, I read the news, try and stay informed because that seems like a smart thing to do in this time period,” Triantafyllopoulos said. “I don’t solely focus on one area of the world, as in like something happens in like Mali; even I know my attention is more towards France because I have a personal tie towards France since I studied there, and not so much as to Mali, but it’s still important. I still look at it.”