Content Analysis in the Research Field of Terrorism Coverage

Abstract

The relationship between terrorism and journalism has been described as symbiotic or parasitic, meaning that especially terrorists gain from news media publicity. This chapter describes how journalists cover terrorist attacks and terrorist groups. It focuses on common research designs (e.g., quantitative, qualitative, and computational approaches). Moreover, it explains how variables such as sourcing, labeling of acts and actors of political violence, radicalization narratives, or emotionalization are often studied in terrorism research and journalism studies.