BASIC ELEMENTS FOR MEDIA REPORTING ON TERRORISM AS A FORM OF CRISIS SITUATION

Abstract

Media reporting on terrorism has been intensified in the last decade due to a sharp increase in the activities of different terrorist organizations and groups. In order for journalists to understand the problem of terrorism, it is needed to define this phenomenon from the media aspect and explain the division of terrorist organizations as well as the basic causes of their existence and expansion. This paper has set forth the first attacks that can be regarded as terrorist ones reported by the media. Then, there have been determined the basic elements for the preparation of a journalist who is due to report on the given type of crisis situation. The basic elements include fundamental background knowledge and information that can affect the safety of the reporter and their media team, which suggests that professional knowledge and skills need to be theoretically formulated before visiting the scene of the crisis situation. There have been listed methodological advantages that a journalist of a local or a national broadcasting company has in a hypothetical situation when reporting on a terrorist attack. It has been proved that a journalist of local media is not necessarily inferior to larger media in their reporting. What is more, there are a number of advantages that should be skillfully used by journalists of local media in their reporting. An important element is psychological stability that is a key factor for timely, objective and ethically acceptable reporting on terrorist attacks as a form of highly risky crisis situations. According to experts’ predictions, reporting on terrorist attacks can be intensified in the near future. For the given reasons, it is of key importance to have trained and prepared reporters who will be able to do a journalist’s job in a safe and professionally acceptable manner.