fanning the flames: reporting on terror in the a networked world

Prof Charlie BeckettPolis, LSE

Reporting terror:The journalistic prism

• No point seeing editorial choices in isolation• Ethical and ideological decisions made under

extraordinary pressures• Increasing divide between irresponsible and

responsible journalism• Codes & guidelines useful, but regulation

probably irrelevant

Limits of the research

• Highly western centric• Newsroom perspective prioritised• Not a survey or representative• Commissioned as a provocation, not

prescription• Part of a series of reports on media and

terrorism commissioned by Democracy Fund from Tow Center, Columbia

Findings:Newsrooms are struggling

• Widespread concern that journalism around terror is spreading fear and confusion

• Journalists are struggling, especially in breaking news, to cope with accelerating news cycle, event complexity and increasing multidimensional nature of media environment

Helping the terrorist?

• Danger that journalism is spreading confusion with lack of verification, accuracy and context

• Danger of reinforcing prejudices and stereotypes

• Danger of helping terrorist in their goals, harming security and increasing recruitment

Powerful platforms

• Digital platforms (Facebook, Twitter, Google etc) are increasingly where people create, share and receive information on terrorism

• They lack ethos, skills and editorial capacity of news organisations

• They are still negotiating their relationship with news media

Problematic platforms

• Platforms increasingly filter and shape news flows around terror

• They have the dilemma of wanting to be open platforms but seek to protect users against offence and face demands to prevent incitement

• Still provide immense opportunity for greater access and more sophisticated mediation

Recommendations

• News organisations (and platforms) need detailed guidelines

• Needs an iterative, reflective process of self-critical appraisal

• Internal communications & deliberation around guidelines and practice must be across all platforms and active even during breaking news

Better right than first

• News organisations need better systems of verification including third party agencies

• Principle of ‘better right than first’ needs to be enforced across all platforms

• News media needs to prioritise trust based on reliability over speed

Think

• Journalists need to think harder about their language and framing of stories

• They need to think harder about proportionality, scale and relevance

• They need to think again about herd mentality and stale forumlae

Better reporting

• News media needs to seize opportunities of:• public participation• New technologies eg data visualisations• New platforms that can access different

demographics and more diverse audiences

Better platforms

• Need to work more closely and openly with news organisations and prioritise best journalism

• Need to increase internal editorial capacity and work more with ‘honest brokers’

• Need to accept their editorial responsibility and their wider social role (greater than news media’s)

Other actors

• Politicians need to lead on more restrained, resilient and inclusive language and less reactive policy-making

• Other authorities, such as police, need better and more transparent communications

• Other stakeholders, such as community leaders, need stronger voice

Contacts

• C.h.beckett@lse.ac.uk

• @CharlieBeckett

• http://www.cjr.org/tow_center_reports/coverage_terrorism_social_media.php