IMPACT OF TERRORISM ON THE MEDIA’S ROLE AND ACTIVITY

Abstract

Poslije 11. rujna 2001. nisu drastično povećani samo razmjeri i ciljevi terorizma, nego je proširen i krug društvenih grupa i instituta u koje on zadire. Bit “klasičnog” terorizma točno je izražena u starome kineskom aforizmu: “ubiti jednoga – uplašiti stotine”. Poslije napada na WTC nije promijenjen broj žrtava samo toga nego i većine terorističkih napada koji su uslijedili diljem svijeta pa bi taj aforizam sada mogao glasiti: “ubiti tisuće – uplašiti milijarde”. Ako je, dakle, klasični terorizam bio svojevrsni “trio” čiji su sudionici bili “teroristi + njihove žrtve + vlast”, suvremeni terorizam sve češće poprima oblik “kvarteta” u kojem su “teroristi + njihove žrtve + vlast + masovni mediji”.In the wake of 11 September 2001 not only the scope and the goals of terrorism drastically expanded but also the circle of social groups and institutions it encroaches upon. The essence of the “classical” terrorism is aptly summarized by the old Chinese adage: “kill one, scare hundreds”. The attack on the WTC altered these numbers not only for that attack but also for most terrorist attacks all over the world, so this aphorism might now run: “kill thousands, scare billions”. If the classical terrorism was a sort of a “trio” whose participants were “terrorists + their victims + power”, contemporary terrorism increasingly takes the form of a “quartet”: “terrorists + their victims + power + mass media”