Study: Terrorists, media have symbiotic relationship
posted at 11:58 am on June 15, 2006 by Allahpundit
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Call it the Freddy Krueger theory of counterterrorism: ignore it and it loses its power.
The researchers counted direct references to terrorism between 1998 and 2005 in the New York Times and Neue Zuercher Zeitung, a respected Swiss newspaper. They also collected data on terrorist attacks around the world during that period. Using a statistical procedure called the Granger Causality Test, they attempted to determine whether more coverage directly led to more attacks.
The results, they said, were unequivocal: Coverage caused more attacks, and attacks caused more coverage — a mutually beneficial spiral of death that they say has increased because of a heightened interest in terrorism since Sept. 11, 2001.
Zarqawi had already figured it out. Fancy that.
There are a lot of avenues for secondary studies here. They only looked at two papers; what would they get from a broader sample? Does it make a difference if the coverage is neutral or negative? Does Arab media coverage weigh more heavily than western media coverage? How much does the Internet bring to bear?
One of the researchers supports laws — of libel, I guess — that would prohibit calling anyone a terrorist who hasn’t been tried and convicted in that country’s courts. Er, yeah, buddy. Good luck with that.
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The phrase “willing enablers” comes to mind…
Hoodlumman on June 15, 2006 at 12:05 PM
Do we need a rocket scientist to figure out how to get cheap publicity and news? One provides the publicity, the other provides the news in exchange.
Two slim scums in one bucket, NY Times and AlQeada!
“Everything Fits to Report, add a few dead Americans too”.
easy87us on June 15, 2006 at 12:14 PM
This is the same media that tells us killing them just encourages them.
Pablo on June 15, 2006 at 12:16 PM
Hoodlumman, I agree.
The phrase “useful idiots” also comes to mind.
tommy1 on June 15, 2006 at 12:27 PM
You can read the actual study and not just the Washington Post 1 paragraph version Left Wing = Hate
Rudeseal on June 15, 2006 at 12:40 PM
I make my living off the evening news
Just give me something-something I can use
People love it when you lose,
They love dirty laundry
Don Henley said it, Dan Rather lived it.
No shame, no regrets, get paid by the number of words written.
Kini on June 15, 2006 at 1:19 PM
Pinch Sulzberger, owner of the NYT “…let’s see, do I love money more than I hate America? Not! I’ll stick with ‘hate America’, especially under Bush”.
Entelechy on June 15, 2006 at 1:23 PM
The Treason Media hates Dubya, hates the Stupid Party, and hates that America isn’t a socialist-fascist-Democrat-ruled nation and thus has allied with the enemy of their enemies: The Islamofascist Jihadis.
Footage of 9/11, Nick Berg’s beheading, the slaughter of civilians by suicide bombers all goes down the Memory Hole because if the public were to be reminded that we’re under attack, they’ll get angry and want to fight back.
Instead, we’re fed a steady diet of Abu Grahib, Gitmo, Haditha, dead soldiers and repeated pronouncements that not only is America a failed nation, it is a grievously EVIL nation that brings nothing but misery to the world.
You tell a population that they live in an evil failed nation long enough, they’ll start to believe it and feel down about the people in power and vote against them.
If you were to ask most sane people if we should quit, we should cut and run, etc., they’d say “Hell no!” That’s why the Treason Media refuses to report what the Dem agenda is. This election will be a referendum on the past 6 years of Big Lie tactics and they’re hoping that the public will be fed up with the big spending, hypocritical, cronied-up and corrupt, open-borders Stupid Party and figure, “How much worse could the Democrats be?”
Plenty worse, but they won’t know if they rely on the Treason Media for their, cough, “information”.
DirkBelig on June 15, 2006 at 1:58 PM
In his document, al-Zarqawi admitted that the terrorists losing the war in Irag (something you never hear from the Dems or the mainstream media) and vowed to use
the media to make themselves look good and the Americans to look bad.
Did his tactic work?
One only has to read the news or listen to Democrats in order to be satisfied that they take their news and talking points from al-Qaeda, not from what is actually happening in Iraq.
-Michael McCullough
Stingray on June 15, 2006 at 2:25 PM
Thanks to these researchers for confirming the obvious.
Abigail Adams on June 15, 2006 at 4:13 PM
DirkBelig, you sound a bit down. Worry not; Joe and Marry might not be as politically savvy, as the bloggers, but he/she are not suicidal. So long as homeland security and the war on terror matter, the Left has no chance! The minimum wage and cost of college don’t matter when you’re dead.
Also, you wrote “the Treason Media refuses to report what the Dem agenda is” - the Dems don’t have an agenda, not even a philosophy to run on. In the process of finding one they’re tearing each other up on vying for 2008. Right now their focus s/b on 2006 but the excitement of 2008 got in their way. Watch their tragi-comedy and enjoy! It’s really Shakespearean.
Entelechy on June 15, 2006 at 4:21 PM
So where can I apply for a grant. I need to study blueness of the clear sky and the wetness of water. I figure it’ll take $20Megabucks/year for 20 years.
Small change to congress. Now where did I put comrade Murray (D-Washington) phone number….
The evidence (Beslan - and the media’s absolute refusal to state they were terrorists or muslim), Abu Grahib, Haditha, Gitmo, etc… all point to the MSM being knowing and willing allies of the enemy (terrorists) (FOX news (sometimes aka the Halloway Rich Blonde Bimbo Channel) as well to a lesser extent as well). Their aboslute refusal to report on the positive aspects - reopened schools, hospitals, power plants, etc.
Only the bloggers (such as Michelle and Allah, LGF and others) and sometimes Fox News show anything positive or even hint at the true nature of Islam.
CrazyFool on June 15, 2006 at 4:23 PM
Also, you wrote “the Treason Media refuses to report what the Dem agenda is” - the Dems don’t have an agenda, not even a philosophy to run on.
Wrong. They DO have an agenda:
- Surrender the War on Islamofascism.
- Open the borders and extend welfare and voting rights in order to guarantee dependent serfs who will need them.
- Destroy capitalism thru taxes, regulations and rhetoric.
- Destroy the family and kill God in order to elevate them to the level of Parent and All-Powerful Creator Being from which all things will come and to whom we will be forced to worship.
And that’s just the short list.
The Stupid Party and Dubya are abject failures. If they didn’t have (R) after their names, everyone here would be clamoring for their ouster from office. The only reason anyone has to vote for these big-spending, open-borders bums is that the alternative would be a tragedy. Sticking with “the Devil we know” and “the other guys are worse” isn’t a valid reason to vote for them. Sorry, but the lesser of two evils is still evil.
DirkBelig on June 15, 2006 at 5:00 PM
Any response from Dan Rather, Bob Schieffer, Pinch Schulzberg and Al Gore? Hello? Anyone?
ECCHOOOOO?!
Defector01 on June 15, 2006 at 5:09 PM
These media dhimmis don’t seem to care about job security. If the jihadis win this world war, the media morons will be out of a job. The caliph will issue a fatwa saying that ALL channels must carry the al-jazeera feed. All jazeera, all the time. 24 hours a day. On EVERY channel. Well, except for the jihad Network, the koran Channel and Behead TV.
Tony737 on June 15, 2006 at 5:14 PM
Yet another attempt to control our society by controlling the language. We’ve had a belly full of that crap.
dman on June 15, 2006 at 5:48 PM
Now wait one minute! Liberals have been telling us that it is the Presidents fault that terrorism is on the rise, but according to the researchers it is the fault of the liberal media? Well well well!
I eagerly await the researchers correlation between the terrorists activities, and the comments made by liberal politicians. ;o)
DannoJyd on June 16, 2006 at 12:35 AM