Terrorism refers to an unofficial or unauthorised use of violence and intimidation in the pursuit of political aims.
Acts of terrorism can be expected to psychologically affect the population of the targeted society, either directly or indirectly through the extensive media coverage of terrorist attacks. The greater the number of attacks and the more lethal those attacks are, there more people that will be psychologically affected by them.
Terrorism is designed to strike fear into the heart of the targeted audience and it succeeds in doing so. Hence news organisations must not be given that platform to cover such acts as they may also affect the economy of our country. Firstly, terrorists would damage the infrastructure of the buildings and destroy products. While costs of rebuilding or repairing the building might result in economic decline. Secondly, businesses would shut down as a result.
Therefore other countries will be aware of what is happening in our country through the media. They may want to cut ties with us . That could be bad for our economy . Yes us , as journalists we are the WATCHDOG between the society and those that are in authority. But I do believe that some of the subjects we cover can be sensitive to our audience.
For example, the issue of Vuwani in limpopo. The residents of Vuwani were practicing acts of terrorism. About 23, close to 30 schools were either damaged or burnt down. This is because they wanted to make or achieve a political goal. The Department of Basic Education in Limpopo has to fork out millions of rands which have not been budgeted for, due to costs incurred during protests earlier this year.
Media coverage of terrorist attacks affect the social lives of many people. Thus social norms change for people living with a consistent presence of terrorism in their lives. Conversations, daily concerns and living with the heightened risks of sudden, violent injury or death can change people's expectations, actions,outlooks and interactions with one another.
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