1. Effects of Western Conceptualized Race on Media Coverage of Terrorist Attacks
Briana Ramos
Professor Louie
ANP 330 Article Scrapbook
2. Table of Contents
Introduction
Bibliography
Sub-Theme One: Media Coverage of Terrorist Attacks on Whites
Entry One: (September 11, 2001) Reaction to 9/11
Write Up
Full Version
Entry Two: (December 27, 2008- January 18, 2009) The Impact of Media Bias on Coverage on
Catastrophic Events: Case Study from the New York Times' Coverage of the Palestine/Israel
Conflict
Write Up
Full Version
Entry Three: (January 7, 2015) Why Charlie Hebdo Gets More Attention Than Boko Haram.
Write Up
Full Version
Entry Four: (November 13, 2015) "Paris Attacks: How the World Is Showing Solidarity with
France."
Write Up
Full Version
Entry Five: (March 22, 2016) Pray for Brussels: What People Are Saying Online After the
Attacks
Write Up
Full Version
Sub- Theme Two: Media Coverage of Terrorist Attacks on Blacks
Entry Six: (January 12, 2015) "Why Did the Media Ignore Boko Haram's Baga Attacks?"
Write Up
Full Version
3. Entry Seven: (April 2, 2015) "Paris Attack Measured With Kenyan Garissa Attack."
Write Up
Full Version
Entry Eight: (June 17, 2015) "Many Ask, Why Not Call Church Shooting Terrorism?"
Write Up
Full Version
Entry Nine: (March 13, 2016) "Terrorists Kill 22 At Beach Resort, But Nobody Cares Because It
Wasn't In U.S. or Europe."
Write Up
Full Version
Entry Ten: (April 16, 2016) Ethiopia Attacks: 200 People Dead, 100 Children Missing
Write Up
Full Version
Sub-Theme Three: Media Coverage of Terrorist Attacks on Arabs/Middle Easterners
Entry Eleven: (November 12, 2015) "Beirut Wonders If Some Terror Attacks Mean More Than
Others."
Write Up
Full Version
Entry Twelve: (November 13, 2015) "Iraq: Suicide Bomb and Road Blast Kill 26 in Baghdad."
Write Up
Full Version
Entry Thirteen: (December 11, 2015) "Triple Terror: Up to 60 Killed, 80 Wounded, 3 Car Bombs
Explode in Syrian Christian Town."
Write Up
Full Version
Entry Fourteen: (March 13, 2016) "Car Bomb in Turkish Capital Kills at Least 34."
Write Up
4. Full Version
Entry Fifteen: (April 19, 2016) "Taliban Assault Kills 28, Wounds 300 in Kabul."
Write Up
Full Version
Appendices
5. Timeline
September 11, 2001
New York, Washington D.C. and Pennsylvania, United States (White)
December 27, 2008- January 18, 2009
Israel (White)
January 7, 2015
Paris, France (White)
January 12, 2015
Baga, Nigeria (Black)
April 2, 2015
Garissa, Kenya (Black)
June 17, 2015
Charleston, South Carolina, United States (Black)
November 12, 2015
Beirut, Lebanon (Arab)
November 13, 2015
Paris, France (White)
Baghdad, Iraq (Arab)
December 11, 2015
Tell Tamer, Syria (Arab)
March 13, 2016
Ankara, Turkey (Arab)
Grand Bassam Beach, Ivory Coast (Black)
March 22, 2016
Brussels, Belgium (White)
April 16, 2016
Gambela region, Ethiopia (Black)
6. April 19, 2016
Kabul, Afghanistan (Arab)
Source: Bagley, Pat. "Some Lives Matter More." Cartoon. The Salt Lake City Tribune. March 23, 2016. Accessed April 25,
2016. http://www.sltrib.com/opinion/3699683-155/bagley-cartoon-some-lives-matter-more.
Source: Hammond, Sean Darling. Number of Articles About Three November Attacks. Digital image. The Nation. January 13,
2016. http://www.thenation.com/article/lives-fit-for-print-exposing-media-bias-in-coverage-of-terrorism/.
7. Ramos 1
Introduction
Throughout my scrapbook project, many common themes continued to present themselves.
One of these themes is the fact that the Western media is extremely biased in the manner in which it
covers terrorist attacks around the globe. The amount of media attention victims of terrorist attacks
receive is highly correlated to the race, ethnicity and the nationality the Western media perceives these
victims to be of. The Western media covers the attacks against white Westerners in extensive detail,
stating names of the victims, giving personal stories and showing pictures, which evoke empathy from
the reader. The same attention to detail is not given to people who are perceived as black or Arab, even
though they are victims of the same violent crimes, most of the time from the same perpetrators. In the
majority of the Western media coverage of terrorist attacks against blacks or Arabs, the articles were
short and to the point. They explained what happened with no personal details or images. This speaks to
how much we, as Westerners, have become desensitized to terrorist attacks when they occur against
non-Western, non-white people. Be ause e thi k they happe so ofte i other ou tries, it does t
seem like as big of a deal when you hear a quick blurb about it on the news. Americans also have a
tendency to when they think of different races or nationalities around the globe, lump all Africans or all
Arabs together in one group. The reality is that Africans and Arabs come from a vastly diverse amount of
countries, and what is happening in one country is most times not related at all to what is occurring in
the neighboring country. The failure of Americans and Westerners to recognize this makes it so that
when an attack happens in an Arab country, regardless of if an attack has happened in that country
before, we think oh, it s just a other terrorist atta k i the Middle East, happe s all the ti e, further
desensitizing and dehumanizing the situation.
Another theme that kept appearing in my article write ups was the presence of social media
solidarity when terrorist attacks against whites occurred. The solidarity shown via social media for the
8. Ramos 2
attack in Brussels and the two attacks in Paris were in sharp contrast to the lack of social media
attention any terrorist attack received in predominately black or Arab areas of the world. Social media is
a semi-new form of media, and it has been changing the way we talk about terrorist attacks and also the
way the Western media responds. If the Western media sees that because of a few articles they wrote,
the world is responding via social media, they will continue to write articles on that attack because
people will read them. If the media sees little to no interest in the social media medium of a terrorist
attack, most likely against blacks or Arabs, they will not run more stories on those attacks. This is a
perpetuating cycle. Not only are we (the West) subject to reading biased Western media, we are further
perpetuating the bias by posting about the subject of the Western media on our social media forums.
For the most part, I attempted to include articles that have happened recently, especially ones
that happened in different parts of the world at around the same time. I included a timeline at the
bottom of the table of contents to attempt to illustrate how close in proximity the dates of many of
these attacks are. For example, three terrorist attacks occurred on November 12th
and 13th
, 2015, and
only one of those attacks (Paris), received widespread international and social media attention. I feel
that this is the best possible way to show the drastic difference in media coverage based on races and
nationality. In Sub-Theme One: Media Coverage of Terrorist Attacks on Whites, I chose to include two
articles that did not occur within the last few years. I chose to include the thesis about Israel and the
overrepresentation of Israeli deaths compared to Palestinian deaths because I think it really
demonstrates in concrete examples what I have discovered throughout this scrapbook project. White
lives are just valued more by the media and the global society as whole more than black or brown lives. I
also chose to include an article about 9/11 because I feel that this was really when Islamophobia and the
anti-Muslim rhetoric began to take hold in the United States and also around the globe. I think that this
attack was such a huge story internationally because at that time the United States seemed
9. Ramos 3
untouchable. Once it happened here, it opened the door for the possibility that it could happen
anywhere in the world.
In 2001 when these attacks occurred, social media was not yet in full swing, and the hashtag
was not yet invented. I am sure that if the hashtag would have been around during this attack, it would
have been trending for weeks. The hashtag could be argued to be the single most influential sign of
solidarity on social media. Hashtags are a way to spread news quickly, in short, digestible news bytes
that people can easily retweet or share and then move on with their lives. I feel that more and more
people are solely getting their news from what is trending on Facebook and Twitter, so if only Western
attacks are showing up as trending because of their hashtag, than all of those people will only know
about the Western attacks. While hashtags sprang up after the Brussels and the two Paris terrorist
attacks, hardly any hashtags were seen trending after any other terrorist attacks. The hashtag
#JeSuisCharlie, used after the Charlie Hebdo attacks in Paris is actually one of the most popular hashtags
of all time. After the Charlie Hebdo attacks, I saw photos of protesters holding signs that said: We are
Charlie, but we are never Baga. This goes a long way in saying that we, as Westerners, are willing and
able to empathize with victims when we can relate to them, and the attack makes us feel like, That
could have been me . So while the creation of the hashtag has done many great things, until it is
extended to people of all race and nationality, it will only perpetuate the structural inequality of our
world and country.
Another observation I made through compiling this scrapbook is that the term terrorism gets
tossed around a lot in the media, and sometimes it might not always be the best way to describe a
situation. The example I used to attempt to discuss this issue was Entry Eight, which talked about the
killings of an all-black congregation in Charleston, South Carolina, perpetrated by a white male. While
the media largely did not label this attack a terrorist attack and instead labeled it a hate crime or a
10. Ramos 4
massacre, the article I cited argued that it could be labeled a terrorist attack. The article quotes
We ster s Ne World College Di tio ary a d defi es terrorism as the use of force or threats to
demoralize, intimidate and subjugate, especially such use as a political weapon or policy. Under this
definition, just about any attack could be classified as terrorism. The article argues that because the
white male perpetrator had a badge on his jacket that symbolized South African apartheid, this could be
taken as a political attack. However, since the perpetrator did not come out and say he did it for political
reasons, as many terrorist attackers do, this could be a little stretch to label these attacks as a terrorist
attacks. The pro le ith usi g the ord terroris i pla es here it should t e used is that o ,
because of 9/11 and other well-known, mostly Western terrorist attacks, terrorism is a very powerful
word. Using the word evokes fear in the reader. When this word is used to describe certain groups of
people over and over again (not in this case because terrorism is rarely used to describe actions of white
males) it can cast a very negative light on that group. This is what has happened to Muslims, because
currently many of the terrorist attacks occurring around the world, regardless of where, are perpetrated
by extremist Muslims. We then make the assumption that all Arabs are Muslim, hence projecting these
negative stereotypes onto all Arabs as well as Muslims. This is especially occurring in the United States,
which is something we have talked about extensively in class. So, while I think that a case could be made
to classify this attack in Charleston as a terrorist attack, I think that it should be done with extreme
caution.
In another article from The Nation, from which I cited the graphic in the table of contents,
discussed why the attacks in Lebanon and Iraq did not get the same attention as the Paris attacks, which
all occurred within two days of each other. On top of discussing the bias in the media and the bias of the
consumer, the author also delves into the history of the conflicts. Part of the reason that predominantly
black and Arab countries do not get the same attention could be because these conflicts have been
ongoing in some of these countries, whereas they have not been ongoing in Western countries. When
11. Ramos 5
an attack occurs in a Western country we are shocked, which is a result of our privilege. We, as
Westerners, have the privilege to go through our daily lives without seeing violence and war. However
some other non- Western, non-white countries do not have that privilege. The problems that many of
these countries face do not have very easy solutions, which could be deterrence for news outlets to
cover it. Media likes to cover a quick story and move on, which is easy to do with terrorist attacks
against Westerners because of all the support they receive, it is easier for them to rebuild afterwards.
But as the article says Just e ause there is o easy a s er, does t ea e should t pay atte tio .
In fact, not paying attention could even worsen the conflict because the terrorists feel that they are not
being heard. One of the main objectives of terrorism is to cause as much damage and get as much
attention as possible. If they do not get the attention they think they deserve, they will continue to
attack.
One of the last things that really stood out to me while making this project is a quote from an
article used in Entry Eleven which states At what point during the arc of covering a war waged by terror
atta ks do e stop gi i g the a es a d details that ake the dead o e of us, a d start assig i g
simple death counts that makes the dead one of the ? This is so intriguing to me. When do we make
the shift from talking about Je Suis Charlie to nameless victims who are just part of a death toll number
in a brief headline? How did it become okay for us to dehumanize people in this way? Will we ever get
to the point where we value all human lives equally? I am going to argue that this will not happen until
we change the language and discourse that is used to describe not only race but also the us vs. them
mentality that race and nationality imposes on us. The West practices selective sympathy. Like I talked
about before, this means that it is very easy for the West to feel bad for some, and not feel bad for
others. In order to combat this global inequality, we must begin to re-humanize all people again. Once
we realize that all terrorist attacks are terrible and deserve attention regardless of where or to which
race it occurred to, only then can we begin to change the international media discussion around them.
12. Bibliography
Entry One:
History.com Staff. "Reaction to 9/11." History.com. 2010. Accessed April 16, 2016.
http://www.history.com/topics/reaction-to-9-11.
Entry Two:
Caballero, Jonas Xavier. "The Impact of Media Bias on Coverage on Catastrophic Events: Case
Study from the New York Times' Coverage of the Palestine/Israel Conflict." Master's thesis,
University of Pittsburg, 2010. Accessed April 16, 2016. http://d-
scholarship.pitt.edu/7515/1/Caballero_2010.pdf.
Entry Three:
Alter, Charlotte. "Why Charlie Hebdo Gets More Attention Than Boko Haram." TIME, January 15,
2015. Accessed April 21, 2016. http://time.com/3666619/why-charlie-hebdo-gets-more-
attention-than-boko-haram/.
Entry Four:
Wilkinson, Michael, Sally Biddall, and Lowenna Waters. "Paris Attacks: How the World Is
Showing Solidarity with France." The Telegraph, November 15, 2015. Accessed April 16, 2016.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/france/11995266/Paris-shooting-how-
events-unfolded-on-social-media.html.
Entry Five:
Wendling, Mike. "'Pray for Brussels': What People Were Saying Online after Attacks - BBC
News." BBC News. March 22, 2016. Accessed April 14, 2016. http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-
trending-35872170.
Entry Six:
Shearlaw, Maeve. "Why Did the Media Ignore Boko Haram's Baga Attacks?" The Guardian,
January 12, 2015. January 12, 2015. Accessed April 20, 2016.
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jan/12/-sp-boko-haram-attacks-nigeria-baga-
ignored-media.
Entry Seven:
James, Christabell. "Paris Attack Measured With Kenyan Garissa Attack." BuzzKenya. November
18, 2015. Accessed April 22, 2016. http://buzzkenya.com/coverage-of-the-kenyan-garissa-
attack-measured-with-the-paris-attack/.
Entry Eight:
13. Gladstone, Rick. "Many Ask, Why Not Call Church Shooting Terrorism?" The New York Times,
June 18, 2015. June 18, 2015. Accessed April 20, 2016.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/19/us/charleston-shooting-terrorism-or-hate-
crime.html?_r=0.
Entry Nine:
David, M., and Shante Wooten. "Terrorists Kill 22 At Beach Resort, But Nobody Cares Because It
Wasn't In U.S. or Europe." Counter Current News. March 24, 2016. Accessed April 22, 2016.
http://countercurrentnews.com/2016/03/terrorists-22-at-beach-resort-but-nobody-cares-
because-it-wasnt-in-u-s-or-europe/.
Entry Ten:
"Ethiopia Attack: 200 People Dead, 100 Children Missing." Aljazeera, April 18, 2016. Accessed
April 21, 2016. http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/04/ethiopia-attack-200-people-dead-100-
children-missing-160418045025770.html.
Entry Eleven:
Baker, Aryn. "Beirut Wonders If Some Terror Attacks Mean More Than Others." TIME,
November 15, 2015. Accessed April 23, 2016. http://time.com/4113615/paris-beirut-terror-
attacks/.
Entry Twelve:
The Associated Press. "Iraq: Suicide Bomb and Road Blast Kill 26 in Baghdad." The New York
Times, November 13, 2015. Accessed April 25, 2016.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/14/world/middleeast/iraq-suicide-bomb-and-road-blast-kill-
26-in-baghdad.html?_r=0.
Entry Thirteen:
"Triple Terror: Up to 60 Killed, 80 Wounded, 3 Car Bombs Explode in Syrian Christian Town."
Reuters, December 11, 2015. Accessed April 25, 2016. https://www.rt.com/news/325568-
terror-attack-telltamer-syria/.
Entry Fourteen:
Ansari, Azadeh, and Gul Tuysuz. "Car Bomb in Turkish Capital Kills at Least 34." CNN. March 14,
2016. Accessed April 24, 2016. http://www.cnn.com/2016/03/13/world/ankara-park-blast/.
Entry Fifteen:
Onyanga-Omara, Jane, and John Bacon. "Taliban Assault Kills 28, Wounds 300 in Kabul." USA
Today, April 19, 2016. Accessed April 25, 2016.
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REACTION TO 9/11
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17. Entry One Write Up
Reaction to 9/11 by History.com Staff
When: September 11, 2001.
Where: World Trade Center, New York City, New York. Pentagon, Washington D.C. Shanksville,
Pennsylvania, United States.
Perpetrator: Al- Qaeda
Outcome: 2,996 died, more than 6,000 wounded.
This is an article about the reaction to the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in the United
States from both an international and domestic point of view. This article was published on History.com,
which is a popular news source as well as television channel. This channel is known for being historically
accurate. The main argument of this article argues that when these attacks occurred, the whole world
came together in solidarity for the American people. While there were some groups who did not
support the United States, like Hamas from the Palestinian Authority and Reverend Jerry Falwell from
the TV show The 700 Club , the majority of the world mourned for the loss of lives. Media coverage of
this event was extensive all over the world. Some international media coverage included a headline in
the French newspaper Le Monde which stated, Today, We Are All Americans. Several international
leaders came out in support of the United States, which was all extensively covered by the media,
including the Russian president Vladmir Putin, the German chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and the
Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien.
While these events were of course not the first ever terrorist attacks, they could be argued to be
the first terrorist attacks that received immense Western media coverage. These events spurred the
terrorism fear and Islamophobia that we are currently experiencing today. Some reasons why these
events warranted so much media coverage and international solidarity are because the United States
was seen as untouchable since the end of World War II, the United States is a world superpower, and of
course because the majority of the United “tates’ population is white. Other forms of international
support were shown through candlelight vigils, donations and flowers piled up at U.S. Embassies in
countries all over the world. The American National Anthem was sung at the changing of the guards in
Buckingham Palace, England and the Christ the Redeemer Statue in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil was shown on
billboards all over the country to be holding up the city of New York City. All of these things do not
happen when terrorist attacks are committed against countries whose population is not majority white.
Additional facts source:
Plumer, Brad. "Nine Facts about Terrorism in the United States since 9/11." Washington Post.
September 11, 2013. Accessed April 16, 2016.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2013/09/11/nine-facts-about-terrorism-in-the-
united-states-since-911/.
18. THE IMPACT OF MEDIA BIAS ON COVERAGE OF CATASTROPHIC EVENTS:
CASE STUDY FROM THE NEW YORK TIMES’ COVERAGE OF THE
PALESTINE/ISRAEL CONFLICT
by
Jonas Xavier Caballero
Submitted to the Faculty of
University Honors College in partial fulfillment
of the requirements for the degree of
Bachelor of Philosophy
University of Pittsburgh
2010
19. Entry Two Write Up
The Impact of Media Bias on Coverage on Catastrophic Events: Case Study from the New York Times'
Coverage of the Palestine/Israel Conflict
When: December 27, 2008- January 18, 2009.
Where: The Gaza Strip and Southern Israel.
Perpetrator: Hamas.
Outcome: More than 1,400 Palestinians died and at least 6,000 wounded. 13 Israelis died and at least 4
wounded.
This is a thesis written by Jonas Xavier Caballero for the University of Pittsburg. In his thesis he
argues that the American media, he specifically studied the New York Times, is extremely biased in the
way they present the Palestine/Israeli conflict to the American public. In his thesis he chooses to focus
on Operation Cast Lead, which was carried out from December 27, 2008 until January 18, 2009.
Operation Cast Lead was an Israeli bombardment and blockade of the Gaza strip in response to
terrorist attacks from the Palestinian party Hamas. These terrorist attacks were in the form of
rockets shot into southern Israel. While this event is different than the rest of the terrorist attacks noted
in this project, the reason I am including it is because Israel continues to define Hamas as a terrorist
group, a d defi es the 13 Israeli’s killed i this o fli t as i ti s of terrorism, not of war.
In his thesis, Caballero examined 91 articles from the New York Times which were written during
this conflict. He discovered that Although Palestinians died at a rate 106 times more than Israelis, the
New York Times engaged in a practice of media bias that resulted in coverage of only 3% of Palestinian
deaths in the headlines and first paragraphs. When he analyzed the content of the articles, he found
that they covered 431% of the 13 Israeli deaths and only 17% of the 1,400 Palestinian deaths. This
means that for every one article about a Palestinian death, there were 25 articles about an Israeli death.
This is a prime example of the media reporting on the view that white lives matter more than, in this
case, brown lives. If during this time Americans only news source was the New York Times, it is easy to
see how the American public would assume that more atrocities were occurring to Israelis and not the
Palesti ia s. This ould the ake the less i li ed to elie e that the Israeli’s are capable of things
such as terrorism against the Palestinians because they have only seen messages of Israelis being
portrayed as the victims.
Additional facts source:
Amnesty International Report 2010: State of the World's Human Rights. Report. May 27, 2010. Accessed
April 16, 2016. https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/pol10/001/2010/en/.
20. 4/21/2016 Why Charlie Hebdo Gets More Attention Than Boko Haram | TIME
http://time.com/3666619/whycharliehebdogetsmoreattentionthanbokoharam/ 1/3
IDEAS NIGERIA
Why Charlie Hebdo Gets More
Attention Than Boko Haram
Charlotte Alter @charlottealter Jan. 15, 2015
RECOMMENDED FOR YOU
Charlotte Alter covers women,
culture, politics and breaking news
for TIME in New York City.
Americans care a lot about attacks that
seem like they could happen to them
A series of attacks, both in the name of
Islamist extremism, occur in the same
week. Three linked attacks kill 17 in Paris,
another kills at least 150 in Nigeria (but
perhaps up to 2,000). Guess which one
gets most of our attention?
Many are calling the Jan. 7 attack on the
office of Charlie Hebdo an attack on
freedom of speech, or even an
assault on Western values as a whole.
Yet elsewhere in the world, those
same values are being threatened by
other extremists who want to spread
fundamentalism. I’m talking, of
course, about Boko Haram, the
Islamist terrorist group in Nigeria
that kidnapped 276 schoolgirls from
their dorm last spring, murdered up
to 2,000 civilians in Baga last week
(although the bodies have not yet
been officially counted), and over the
weekend used a 10year old girl as a
suicide bomber to kill at least 16
people at a market (two other young
girls wearing suicide vests killed
three people in a separate attack.)
These attacks aren’t just brutal,
they’re also part of a larger assault
on freedom of religion and
democracy, since the group targets
Christians, nonMuslims, and
anybody suspected of opposing their
efforts to establish an African
caliphate. Baga was reportedly
perceived to have loyalties to the
Nigerian government instead of
Boko Haram, and the attack comes
Aminu Abubakar—AFP/Getty Images
A man injured in a suicide blast is
transported to the General Hospital in the
northeast town of Potiskum, Nigeria on Jan,
12, 2015.
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21. Entry Three Write Up
"Why Charlie Hebdo Gets More Attention than Boko Haram"
When: January 7, 2015.
Where: Charlie Hebdo magazine and other places, Paris, France.
Perpetrator: French citizens describing themselves as members of Al-Qaeda.
Outcome: 12 died, 5 wounded.
This is an opinion article published by TIME magazine, which is a popular American magazine but
is also known for publishing articles about political and social issues. In this article, the author examines
why the attacks on Charlie Hebdo mattered more to the Western media (the United States in particular)
than the Boko Haram attacks in Nigeria just a few days later. Charlie Hebdo is a satirical magazine which
often publishes satirical cartoons about the Islamic prophet Muhammad. In response to these cartoons,
two French citizens describing themselves as members of Al- Qaeda attacked the magazine office, killing
12 people. This attack caused major global outrage, spurring claims of Western values being attacked,
like the right to freedom of speech. A prominent hashtag appeared to support the magazine,
#JeSuisCharlie, or #WeAreCharlie and has become one of the most popular hashtags on Twitter of all
time. Thousands of people showed up to march in the streets of Paris, including 40 world leaders. News
about the attack appeared in the headlines of the New York Times every day in the week after the
attack, but the attacks in Baga, Nigeria, which occurred only five days later, never appeared on the front
page. The response to the attacks was overwhelming, and greatly overshadowed the Boko Haram
attacks in Nigeria, despite the drastic difference in the number of deaths. (See Entry Six).
The author of this article proposes several reasons why the Western media seems to care more
about the Charlie Hebdo attacks than the Boko Haram attacks. One reason is because Americans seem
to care more about the attacks that seem like they could happen to them. Because the United States is a
predominantly white, developed country, it would be more likely for a terrorist attack to occur at a
magazine instead of a village like in Nigeria. An interviewee in the article said The psychological
distance between us and France is smaller than the psychological difference between us and Nigeria.
By making Nigerian and all black lives the other it is easier for Americans to think that something like
that could never happen to them. Another quote from the article is When terrorists kill villagers in non-
Western countries, it feels like one of many bad things that happen to poor people in far-away places.
When terrorists attack Western cities Americans might live in, hotels Americans might stay in or
nightclubs Americans might dance in, it feels like a bad thing that could happen to you. This is very
similar to how I think racism is perpetuated in our society. Because racism never affects white people,
they feel like it will never happen to them. It is only when rare racist acts against whites happen that
whites begin to feel like maybe there is such a thing as racism, or as many people call it reverse
racism .
23. Entry Four Write Up
Paris attacks: How the world is showing solidarity with France .
When: November 13, 2015.
Where: Bataclan Theatre and other locations, Paris, France.
Perpetrator: ISIS
Outcome: 130 died and 368 wounded.
This is an article written by The Telegraph, a popular United Kingdom news source. I think that in
doing a project that is about the Western media, it is important to include news sources outside of the
United States. This article is similar to the Brussels article (See Entry Five) in that it focuses mainly on
media reaction to the Paris terrorist attacks via social media. It could be argued that the Paris attacks are
one of the terrorist attacks that have received some of the most media attention, especially on social
media. Some symbols that were used in order to express solidarity with Paris during this attack were a
peace sign with the Eiffel Tower at the center as well as the still popular today Facebook filter which
enabled people to place the French flag colors on top of their profile pictures. This is something that was
very popular on my own Facebook news feed, and many people still have this as their profile picture
today, five months later. Facebook also enabled the use of the safety check function, so people in Paris
could tell all of their Facebook friends they were safe. This was previously only used after natural
disasters, and has not been used in any terrorist attack since the Paris attack. A hashtag that was used
after the attack was #PourteOuverte, #OpenDoor in French, which was a means to offer a safe place to
stay in Paris after the attacks.
One of the most astounding showings of support around the world after the attacks was the
buildings around the world that displayed the colors of the French flag as a showing of solidarity. Some
monuments that participated in this display of solidarity were the London Eye and the Tower Bridge in
the United Kingdom and the Empire State Building in New York. According to this article, many world
leaders also came out condemning the attack and showing support for France, which is not always the
case in non-Western, non-white countries. Some of those leaders included the Prime Minister of
Greece, Great Brittan and Australia, the Queen of England, the Chancellor of Germany and many other
prominent political figures. Notice that all of these leaders are from predominantly white countries.
While this is not to say that there were no leaders of predominantly non-white countries who issued a
statement about the Paris attacks, this article in particular does not mention them. This goes to show
that not only do the Western media pick what terrorist attack to cover, but it also picks whose voice is
heard when expressing solidarity with the Western countries. Predominantly non-white countries are
continually excluded from media coverage, even if it is just in the comments. (See Entries Eleven and
Twelve for a comparison to Arab terrorist attacks which occurred around the same time.)
Additional facts source:
24. "Paris Attacks Death Toll Rises to 130." RTÉ, November 20, 2015. Accessed April 20, 2016.
http://www.rte.ie/news/2015/1120/747897-paris/.
26. Entry Five Write Up
Pray for Brussels: What People Are Saying Online After the Attacks .
When: March 22, 2016.
Where: Airport and train station in Brussels, Belgium.
Perpetrator: ISIS
Outcome: 34 died, 190 wounded.
This is a blog article by Mike Wendling that I obtained from the popular news source BBC. In this
news article they show a multitude of different ways in which people from around the world were
showing their support for the victims of the Brussels terrorist attacks which occurred on March 22, 2016.
This article shows that many people heard about this terrorist attack and wanted to show solidarity with
Brussels afterwards. Many of the signs of support came via social media. Some examples given in the
article are the fact that the hashtag #Brussels, spelled in several different languages, and
#PrayForBrussels was trending on Twitter immediately following the attacks. Several cartoons linking
the Paris terrorist attacks and Brussels were shared. Also shared were images of the Belgium flag and
images containing the colors of the Belgium flag. Many pictures were also shared on social media outlets
of chalked messages outside of the Belgium stock exchange, which sprung up in a spontaneous tribute
to the victims.
While the events that happened in Brussels were terrible and no one should ever try to discount
that, they received much more attention than they would have had they been carried out in a non-
Western, non-white country. Instantly after the attacks happened, it was broadcasted on every Western
media news outlet and was trending on Twitter. People chose to share pictures which linked it to
another Western, white country, France. This access to media as well as international solidarity and
assistance is a product of white privilege on a global scale. It is much easier for a city to rebuild and get
back on track after an atrocity like this occurs if they have the support and empathy of the entire world.
Additional facts source:
John, Tara, Katie Reilly, and Charlotte McDonald-Gibson. "What To Know About the Brussels Terrorist
Attacks." Time. March 22, 2016. Accessed April 14, 2016. http://time.com/4267339/brussels-terrorist-
attacks-latest/.
27. Sub- Theme Two: Media Coverage of Terrorist Attacks on Blacks
28. 4/20/2016 Why did the world ignore Boko Haram's Baga attacks? | World news | The Guardian
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jan/12/spbokoharamattacksnigeriabagaignoredmedia 1/3
Why did the world ignore Boko Haram's Baga
attacks?
As media coverage focused on the Paris terror attacks last week, more than 2000 Nigerians were
reported to have been killed by Islamist militants. What makes one massacre more newsworthy than
another?
Maeve Shearlaw
Monday 12 January 2015 08.44 EST
France spent the weekend coming to terms with last week4s terror attacks in Paris that left
dead. The country mourned, and global leaders joined an estimated . million people
on its streets to march in a show of unity.
In Nigeria, another crisis was unfolding, as reports came through of an estimated ,
casualties after an attack by Boko Haram militants on the town of Baga in the north-eastern
state of Borno. Amnesty International described as the terror group4s 1deadliest massacre2
to date, and local defence groups said they had given up counting the bodies left lying on
the streets.
Reporting in northern Nigeria is notoriously difficult; journalists have been targeted by
Boko Haram, and, unlike in Paris, people on the ground are isolated and struggle with
access to the internet and other communications. Attacks by Boko Haram have disrupted
connections further, meaning that there is an absence of an online community able to share
news, photos and video reports of news as it unfolds.
But reports of the massacre were coming through and as the world4s media focused its
attention on Paris, some questioned why events in Nigeria were almost ignored.
On Twitter, Max Abrahms, a terrorism analyst, tweeted: 1It4s shameful how the K people
killed in Boko Haram4s biggest massacre gets almost no media coverage.2
Musician Nitin Sawhney said: 1Very moving watching events in Paris – wish the world
media felt equally outraged by this recent news too.2
1Mom Blogger2 @Mom asked: 1How is this not the lead story on every single news
network, every Twitter newsfeed right now?2 That sentiment was echoed by a number of
Guardian readers over the weekend.
So why did the Paris attacks receive more coverage than the Boko Haram killings?
29. Entry Six Write Up
"Why Did the Media Ignore Boko Haram's Baga Attacks?"
When: January 12, 2015.
Where: Baga, Nigeria.
Perpetrator: Boko Haram
Outcome: 2,000 died.
This is an article published by The Guardian, which is a news source, based out of the United
Kingdom, which is known for covering topics the mass media usually does not. In this article it talks
about how the attacks on the city of Baga, Nigeria were not covered nearly as much as the attacks on
Charlie Hebdo in Paris (See Entry Three), which occurred in the same week. The attack on Baga killed
early 2,000 people, a d a ordi g to A esty I ter atio al as Boko Hara ’s deadliest attack to
date. The article states that one reason this attack was reported on less than the one in Paris could be
because in Nigeria, journalists have been targeted by the terrorist group Boko Haram, and unlike Paris,
people on the ground are isolated and struggle with access to the internet and other communications.
However this does not mean that no news makes it out of Nigeria. The media was well aware of this
attack and chose to focus on another attack instead. The article also describes how it was not just the
Wester edia’s failure to o er the attacks; it was also the African media and African politicians as
well. The Nigerian president expressed his condolences for France, but said absolutely nothing about
what had happened in his own country. There were some hashtags used on social media to show
solidarity after this event, some including #BagaTogether and #WeAreAll Baga, but they were drastically
out shadowed by the outpouring of hashtags and social media solidarity with the victims of the Charlie
Hebdo attack in Paris.
Simon Allison, who is a partner in The Guardian African Network, is quoted in the article as
saying that It may be the 21st century, but African lives are still deemed less newsworthy – and, by
implication, less valuable – than western lives . He also addresses the fact that leaders in Africa also
took little notice of the attack, saying that our Afri a’s outrage and solidarity over the Paris massacre
is also a sy ol of ho e as Afri a s egle t Afri a’s o tragedies, a d prioritise ester li es o er
our own. This is such an interesting concept, and goes to show how the prioritization of white Western
lives goes much farther than just what we read in our daily news. This is something that has been shown
in countless studies, and we even talked about a similar example in class. In class we discussed an
American Girl Doll study and how every young girl in the study, regardless of her race, was more likely to
purchase a broken white American Girl Doll than a perfectly fine black American Girl Doll. This draws
many parallels to the above quote by Allison. Even though Western media is broken and does not
report on the African stories as equally as the Western stories, all people, regardless of race, are more
likely to only consume Western media news sources.
30. 4/22/2016 Paris Attack Measured With Kenyan Garissa Attack
http://buzzkenya.com/coverageofthekenyangarissaattackmeasuredwiththeparisattack/ 1/14
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Coverage Of The Kenyan
Garissa Attack Measured With
The Paris Attack
Post by Christabell James on 18 Nov 2015
On April 2nd 2015, Al-Qaeda a甇liate known as Al-
Shabaab stormed Garissa University College in
Garissa, Kenya, killing 147 people, and leaving
more than 79 people injured. The militant group
shot randomly killing innocent students and
civilians and it was clearly the biggest carnage the
31. Entry Seven Write Up
"Paris Attack Measured With Kenyan Garissa Attack."
When: April 2, 2015.
Where: Garissa University College, Garissa, Kenya.
Perpetrador: Al- Shabaab, Al- Qaeda afíliate.
Outcome: 147 died, 79 wounded.
This article is from a Kenyan news source called BuzzKenya. I thought that it was important in
this project to bring in articles from the country the terrorist attack occurred in, in order to more
properly understand the view of the country itself on this attack. This article not only discusses the
terrorist attacks on university students at Garissa University College, but it also draws comparison to the
Paris attacks and how the media coverage is not nearly the same. On April 2, 2015 Al-Shabaab, an Al-
Qaeda affiliate, invaded Garissa University College in Garissa, Kenya and shot randomly, killing innocent
students and civilians. This article claims that media coverage of this event ceased the day after the
attack, whereas attacks on Western countries are covered by the media for week after week. The article
also laments that shortly afterwards President Obama went to Kenya after the attack; there were many
international concerns for his safety. The media made it seem like terrorism was something only Kenya
had experienced and that attacks like that occurred all the time in Kenya. It made it seem like it was
unsafe for people of importance to visit the country. Other unfair media treatment for this conflict could
also include the lack of a Kenyan flag Facebook filter alongside the French flag Facebook filter.
This is a e a ple that is er ear a d dear to ollege stude t’s hearts. Garissa U i ersit
College is just like Michigan State University. It is not unheard of, dare I say frequent, that an active
shooter could come into a classroom and start randomly shooting like they did in Kenya. While Al-
Shabaab seemed to attempt to pick their victims based on religion, for the most part it was random, just
like it would be here. For me, it is easy to imagine myself in the shoes of one of the Kenyan students,
because I do not think we are that far off from situations like that here in the United States. However,
there is one major difference between the United States and Kenya. Should an active shooter
situation/terrorist attack happen at MSU, we have access to emergency help, officers who are
extensively trained to handle situations like that, access to medical care should we survive the incident
and also access to the media. With access to the media, we would be able to get our story out to the
orld, a d o dou t, the glo al support ould o e pouri g i . We ould ’t eed to orr a out
being forgotten if another similar attack happened in a country soon afterwards where the majority of
the population just so happened to have white skin. This is the privilege we have living in the United
States.
32. 4/20/2016 Many Ask, Why Not Call Church Shooting Terrorism? The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/19/us/charlestonshootingterrorismorhatecrime.html?_r=0 1/3
http://nyti.ms/1dNeAWt
U.S.
Many Ask, Why Not Call Church
Shooting Terrorism?
By RICK GLADSTONE JUNE 18, 2015
The massacre of nine AfricanAmericans in Charleston has been classified as a
possible hate crime, apparently carried out by a 21yearold white man who
once wore an apartheid badge and other symbols of white supremacy. But
many civil rights advocates are asking why the attack has not officially been
called terrorism.
Against the backdrop of rising worries about violent Muslim extremism in
the United States, advocates see hypocrisy in the way the attack and the man
under arrest in the shooting have been described by law enforcement officials
and the news media.
Assaults like the Boston Marathon bombing in 2013 and the attack on an
antiIslamic gathering in Garland, Tex., last month have been widely
portrayed as acts of terrorism carried out by Islamic extremists. Critics say,
however, that assaults against AfricanAmericans and Muslim Americans are
rarely if ever called terrorism.
Moreover, they argue, assailants who are white are far less likely to be
described by the authorities as terrorists.
“We have been conditioned to accept that if the violence is committed by a
33. Entry Eight Write Up
"Many Ask, Why Not Call Church Shooting Terrorism?"
When: June 17, 2015.
Where: Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church, Charleston, South Carolina, United States.
Perpetrator: Dylann Roof, 21 year old white male.
Outcome: 9 died.
This is an article by Rick Gladstone published in The New York Times. The New York Times is a
reputable American news source, but as discussed in Entry Two, can be biased in the way it presents the
information to its audience. In this article, the author describes the attacks on the Emanuel African
Methodist Episcopal Church, a predominantly African-American church in Charleston, South Carolina.
The author addresses concerns that this was an act of terrorism, but because the victims of this tragedy
were black and not white, it is not called an act of terrorism. Instead people look to make excuses for
the perpetrator like attributing the attack to mental illness or calling it a hate crime or a massacre
instead. The article mentions that the perpetrator had an apartheid flag on his jacket. A person quoted
in the article says that if a Muslim were to wear an ISIS flag on his jacket, he ould ’t even make it past
mall security . Ho e e , do ’t these t o flags ha e e y si ila ea i g i A e i a so iety today?
The a ti le uotes We ste ’s New World College Dictionary and defines terrorism as the use of
force or threats to demoralize, intimidate and subjugate, especially such use as a political weapon or
policy. Many people interviewed for the article claim that this attack is a terrorist attack, and is not
recognized as one because the perpetrator was white and the victims all black. The fact that Dylann
Roof had the apartheid flag on his jacket adds a political aspect to this attack, just as an ISIS flag would
indicate that an attack was done for political factors, as mentioned earlier. The political aspect of an
attack is what makes it able to fit into the definition of terrorism. Ever since 9/11, Americans have been
so focused on making Islam the other and the enemy that we forget that terrorism comes from all
colors. When the media constantly bombards us with images of Islamophobia, it is easy to think that the
only terrorism comes from radical Muslims. This is a dangerous and very powerful tool the media has at
their disposal that has the power to shape the way terrorism from different races is perceived and
ultimately the punishment and reparations that are given to the perpetrators after attacks.
Additional facts source:
"Charleston Shooting." CBSNews. Accessed April 20, 2016.
http://www.cbsnews.com/pictures/charleston-south-carolina-church-shooting/
35. Entry Nine Write Up
"Terrorists Kill 22 At Beach Resort, But Nobody Cares Because It Wasn't In U.S. or Europe."
When: March 13, 2016.
Where: Grand Bassam Beach, Ivory Coast.
Perpetrator: Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM).
Outcome: 22 died, including the 6 gunmen.
This article is from a news site called Counter Current News. This news site seems to be a forum
where anyone can submit their article to the team of Counter Current News, who then review it and
decide if it should be published on the website or not. While this is not a legitimate news site, it is a
place where anyone can give their opinions on topics that the Western media does not give as much
coverage to, which I think is also important to include in a project like this. While it may not be exactly
accurate, it still offers viewpoints from the common global citizen. Some examples of the topics included
in this website are Race and Ethnicity, Activism, and World News. In this particular article, the authors
highlight that while this attack happened right before the Brussels terrorist attack, it did not receive
nearly as much attention as Brussels (See Entry Five). The authors blame this on the Western media s
attempts to only highlight the deaths of Europeans and Americans, even though the perpetrators of the
violence are affiliates of the same group. The article also points out that ISIS and affiliated groups kill
more African and Muslim lives than any other group, but most of the world probably does not know this
because of the difference in media coverage. According to the article, this feeds i to a Musli s are
agai st us mentality, when in fact what we are facing is an imperialist terrorist cult, that targets
Muslims more than any other group of people.
During the attack, members of AQIM stormed the Grand Bassam Beach and randomly shot at all
the people who were enjoying the coast. They killed 22 people; four of those were westerners, one from
France and one from Germany. The article also makes a point to quote the Associated Press in saying
that no U.S. citizens were targeted or harmed. The authors then go on to describe what happened
through eyewitness accounts, further explaining the atrocities and posing the question to the readers at
the end: Why do you think these attacks not receiving much attention in the Western media? The
atrocities committed seemed to be on the same level as some of the other attacks, but this was just not
o a yo e s radar whe it happe ed, ot to e tio there were absolutely o hashtags or Facebook
filters for the Ivory Coast. Not only was this not covered by the mass media, but I am sure that many
Americans and Westerners did not even know that the Ivory Coast was a country. Americans tend to
think of Africa as one single country with absolutely no diversity. There is also a stigma when Africa is
mentioned in American conversations as it being a third world, filthy place. I feel that these thoughts
were, and still are, transferred to African Americans living in the United States today. This only
perpetuates negative stereotypes of African Americans and Africans, and perpetuates the structural
racial inequality we see today. (See Entry Fourteen for the attack that occurred the same day in Turkey).
36. 4/21/2016 Ethiopia attack: 200 people dead, 100 children missing AJE News
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/04/ethiopiaattack200peopledead100childrenmissing160418045025770.html 1/23
Engagement: 55238
WAR & CONFLICT
Ethiopia attack: 200 people dead,
100 children missing
Death toll rises from cross-border cattle raid as government says more than 100
children were taken by attackers.
18 Apr 2016 15:04 GMT | War & Conflict, Africa, Ethiopia
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37. Entry Ten Write Up
"Ethiopian Attacks: 200 Dead, 100 Children Missing .
When: April 16, 2016.
Where: Gambela region, Ethiopia.
Perpetrator: South Sudanese gunmen.
Outcome: 208 died, 75 wounded, 100 children missing.
This is a short informative article published by the popular world news source, Al Jazeera. While
Al Jazeera is not very popular in the United States, it is popular around the world for reporting on things
the Western media usually does not report on. This article briefly informed the reader of an attack that
occurred in the Gambela region of Ethiopia just this last week. South Sudanese gunmen crossed the
border of Ethiopia, killed 208 people, kidnapped 100 children and stole 2,000 heads of livestock. The
article gives some background on the situatio , e plai i g that “outh “uda ’s feudi g sides had just
sig ed a pea e agree e t a ear efore due to i ter atio al pressure fro NGO’s like the United
Nations. While cattle raids (not always with human deaths and never with this many deaths) happened
before the peace agreement, it is thought that this attack is not affiliated with the South Sudanese
government. The article also mentions that the area that was attacked is populated with over 284,000
South Sudanese refugees.
While there is not much information given in the article, this was the most substantive article I
could find on the attack from a credible source. Most of the sources that wrote anything about this
attack are non-credible, non-Western sources. I personally have not seen this splayed across news
headlines or showing up in my Facebook newsfeed. While the article does not call this attack a terrorist
attack , I think that based off the definitions of terrorist attacks I have already discussed, this would fit
perfectly. This attack was meant to cause widespread harm, possibly to the refugees who had fled from
the conflict in South Sudan in the first place. If that were the case, then that would be a political motive.
One thing about this attack that sticks out to me the most is the fact that there were 100 children taken,
and the Western media is staying silent. If this attack had occurred in a Western, predominately white
country, this would be all over the news and the Western governments would not stop until they found
the missing children. I think that this attack is perhaps the most prominent example of how white lives
matter more than black lives not only in the United States, but also all over the world. It makes me think
back to a discussion we had in class where we talked about the political movement, #BlackLivesMatter.
We talked about how #AllLivesMatter should not be used because this movement is about black lives,
not everyone else. In the video we watched with a Black Lives Matter activist, he said that others
(whites) need to use their privilege to help elevate la k people’s voi es. This is so ethi g that I thi k is
not only needed to help blacks in the United States, but is needed to help elevate black peoples voices
all around the world, especially in cases like this where their story is simply not being told.
39. 4/23/2016 Beirut Wonders if Some Terror Attacks Mean More Than Others | TIME
http://time.com/4113615/parisbeirutterrorattacks/ 1/3
IDEAS PARIS ATTACKS
Beirut Wonders if Some Terror Attacks
Mean More Than Others
Aryn Baker @arynebaker Nov. 15, 2015
RECOMMENDED FOR YOU
Aryn Baker is TIME’s Africa
correspondent. She lives in Cape Town,
and was previously based for TIME in
Beirut, Lebanon as Middle East Bureau
Chief, and in Kabul and Islamabad as the
Pakistan/Afghanistan correspondent. She
started with TIME in Hong Kong in 2001.
Over 40 died in Beirut in an ISIS terror
attack a day before the Paris strikes, but
Lebanese victims haven't gotten the
same attention
I’m not much of a mathematician, but
back when I was a correspondent in
Pakistan and Afghanistan in the
middle 2000s, I tried to make sense
of the barrage of terror attacks by
developing my own little algorithm. I
called it Taliban math. The first
suicide bombing—in a market, in a
capital city, in a school—was
international news. In order for the
next bombing to make a story, the
number of dead had to be
exponentially higher. I tried to pin
down a ratio: how many Pakistani or
Afghan dead would it take to
generate the same newsworthiness as
the death of an American? At what
point during the arc of covering a war
waged by terror attacks do we stop
giving the names and details that
make the dead one of “us,” and start
assigning simple death counts that
makes the dead one of “them?”
I thought about that this week as
terror attacks unfurled in both
Beirut, where I was based from 2010
to 2014, and Paris, where I lived in
the late 1990s. The Beirut bombings,
on Nov. 12, killed 43. A pair of
motorcyclemounted suicide
bombers left a further 200 injured.
Bilal Hussein—AP
Lebanese army soldiers stand guard at the
site of Thursday's twin suicide bombings in
Burj al-Barajneh, southern Beirut, Lebanon
on Nov. 13, 2015.
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40. Entry Eleven Write Up
"Beirut Wonders If Some Terror Attacks Mean More Than Others."
When: November 12, 2015.
Where: Beirut, Lebanon.
Perpetrator: ISIS.
Outcome: 43 died, over 200 wounded.
This is another article from TIME magazine in the Ideas section. In the article, the author talks
a out ho she used to e a orrespo de t i Afgha ista a d Pakista duri g the iddle 2000 s, a d
how she developed an algorithm to determine which terrorist attacks would be covered by the media.
She called it Taliban Math . She explained how the first attacks always received international attention,
but after that in order for the attacks to continue to receive attention the death toll must be significantly
higher than the first. She posed the question: At what point during the arc of covering a war waged by
terror attacks do we stop giving the names and details that ake the dead o e of us, and start
assigning simple death counts that akes the dead o e of the ? This has extreme relevance to the
Beirut attacks, because these terrorist attacks happened just one day before the terrorist attacks in Paris
(See Entry Four). This article examines once again the disparity in media coverage as well as the lack of
solidarity shown on social media in regards to these events.
The attacks occurred in the southern section of Beirut, perpetrated by two suicide bombers. The
media coverage did not talk extensively about the victims, which the author describes as an omission
that makes it seem almost inevitable that it will happen again. Terrorists want attention, which is why
they carry out quick, horrific attacks, often times on innocent civilians. If the media fails to give them the
attention they want, they will continue to carry out further attacks. This could be part of the reason that
more attacks are carried out against countries with a majority black and Arab population. The author
compares the Beirut attacks coverage to the Paris attack coverage by saying that victims of the Paris
attacks were named, with brief biographies given of each victim. This personalizes the victims, and
makes it easier for us as consumers of the media to relate to the victims. When this is not done for
terrorist attacks in Africa or the Middle East, it is easier to brush them off as if the victims were
somehow not as important as the ones that clearly had a normal life, or lives that were more like the
common American life. This is effectively valuing some lives over others, and it almost always comes
down to race and nationality. The author states that Until there is some recognition that an ISIS attack
o o e ou try is a atta k o all, I“I“ ill e e ery ody s problem—a pro le that o t e sol ed. I
full heartedly agree with this statement. In order to combat terrorism, the world must stop presenting
non-Western people as the other . We are all people, and terrorists show no mercy regardless of
where we live or what color our skin is.
42. Entry Twelve Write Up
"Iraq: Suicide Bomb and Road Blast Kill 26 in Baghdad."
When: November 13, 2016.
Where: Baghdad, Iraq.
Perpetrator: ISIS.
Outcome: Two separate attacks: First: 21 died, 46 wounded. Second: 5 died, 15 wounded.
This is an article from the popular American news source, The New York Times. This is another
very short article (I am seeing a trend here), that only gives the very basic details of the attacks. The
article explains that the attacks were from ISIS suicide bombers that targeted Shiites. The first attack
was detonated at the memorial service for a militant who died fighting ISIS. The second attack was a
roadside bomb detonated at a Shiite shrine. Together the attacks, which occurred in one day, killed 26
and wounded 61. The last thing mentioned in this short article was a short blurb about the violence
occurring in Baghdad: Since the emergence of Islamic State extremists, attacks in Baghdad have taken
place almost daily, with roadside bombs, suicide blasts and assassinations targeting Iraqi forces and
government officials, causing significant civilian casualties. Attacks have taken place almost daily, and
all they attention these attacks get on the news is a little article once in a while with a line explaining
that this kind of stuff happens all the time, so it is not newsworthy anymore.
The fact that these attacks happened on the same exact day as the Paris terrorist attacks (See
Entry Four) also probably had a huge impact on the amount of space a terrorist attack in Baghdad would
be allowed in a paper like The New York Times. In the Paris attacks news coverage, there were endless
pages allotted in newspapers and 24-hour news coverage. That day an American could not leave their
house without hearing about what happened in Paris. The stories in the news were much more
personalized, showing pictures of the victims, their families, the mourners and spots around the city
where memorials had begun to build up soon after the attacks happened. The articles talked about the
famous buildings and streets in Paris that many people around the world are familiar with. They
described the victims as people just going to enjoy themselves out in the city for an evening. None of
this was present in this article about the attacks on Baghdad. There were no pictures present. Photo
journalism can be a powerful took to evoke empathy and give realness to the situation. There was no
mention of the victims, names or otherwise. There was no talk of memorial cites being built for the
mourners. What is ironic about this whole situation was that the people affected by these attacks in
Baghdad were already mourning someone who had been killed by ISIS, and now ISIS has created even
more mourners. The second attack was at a Shiite place of worship. The Iraqis were not just out for a
night to enjoy themselves. They were participating in events that were sacred and should be protected.
However this still only generated a little blurb in the news, all because their perceived race and
nationality are not worth as much as the race and nationality of the Parisians or any white, Western
country.
44. Entry Thirteen Write Up
"Triple Terror: Up to 60 Killed, 80 Wounded, 3 Car Bombs Explode in Syrian Christian Town."
When: December 11, 2015.
Where: Tell Tamer, Syria.
Perpetrator: ISIS.
Outcome: 60 died, 80 wounded.
This is an article from the independent news source, Reuters. This news source publishes in
English, Spanish and Arabic, giving it a wider audience than Western news sources, who usually only
publish in English. While this is not a widely known news source, it describes itself as independent and
attempts to cover things that are not normally covered in Western media. In the article the authors
describe how members of ISIS detonated three separate car bombs in the majority Christian city Tell
Tamer. ISIS claims it was targeting Kurdish armies, but in reality the majority of the victims were
civilians. This has been a popular target in the past for ISIS because of the Christian minority who live
there. Instead of just attempting to destroy the militants, they are aiming to destroy as much as
possible, which includes civilians and vital infrastructure.
While Syrian refugees are a topic that tends to get a lot of attention in the Western media at
times, the actual attacks that are occurring in Syria are not often reported on. Not only is Syria in a
brutal civil war, but the civilians are being constantly bombarded by terrorist attacks from ISIS. Imagine
if terrorist attacks the size of Brussels happened almost every single day in a Western country. There
would be a real full out war on terrorism . I would bet that many countries would come to their aid and
ISIS would be stopped for once and for all by the collective powers of the world. Even though this is
exactly what is occurring in Syria today, the world stands by and averts its eyes. We only are forced to
look at what is really going on when the effects of this terrorism shows right up on our doorstep
(refugees in Europe). When this happens, we are not able to look away for fear of looking bad in the
international community. This was one of the only articles I could find regarding the ongoing terrorist
attacks in Syria. The fact that it came from an independent news source speaks volumes to the failure of
the Western media to cover these attacks. The failure of the Western media to cover these attacks not
only makes the readers desensitized to the attacks themselves, but also to the victims of the attacks. I
would argue that because the terrorism in Syria itself is not properly covered, this feeds into the anti-
refugee sentiment that we have seen recently not only in the United States, but around the world.
Because the public does not really know what is going on in Syria, it is easier for people to say that we
should not let refugees into our country or that they should go back to Syria. By describing Syrians in this
way, it opens the door to project these negative feelings onto all people that, to Americans, look like
Syrians (mostly because Americans are ignorant of diversity in that part of the world). This is part of the
reason for the influx of Islamophobia and the anti-Arab sentiment that is present in the United States
today, which we have discussed several times in class.
45. 4/24/2016 Turkey car bomb explosion kills at least 34 CNN.com
http://www.cnn.com/2016/03/13/world/ankaraparkblast/ 1/3
Ankara car bomb explosion kills 34; Turkey
condemns 'terror attack'
Updated 11:22 PM ET, Mon March 14, 2016
By Azadeh Ansari and Gul Tuysuz, CNN
Story highlights
Turkey's health minister says the blast killed
34 people and wounded at least 125 others
"We condemn this terror attack," Turkey's
interior minister says
The explosion apparently targeted a transit
hub, state media says
(CNN) — A car bomb explosion ripped through a busy
square in the Turkish capital Sunday evening, killing at
least 34 people and wounding 125 others, o洃cials said.
The death toll could include one or two attackers,
Health Minister Mehmet Muezzinoglu said.
Scores of police cars, firefighters and medical personnel
rushed to the scene. Security forces evacuated the
area, the o洃cial Turkish news agency Anadolu reported.
"We condemn this terror attack. ... People who carried
out this attack will never succeed," Interior Minister
Efkan Ala said. "Turkey will overcome. Our determination
to fight against terror will never be deterred by attacks
like this."
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan blamed regional
Explosion rocks Turkish capital 03:35
World + Live TV
46. Entry Fourteen Write Up
Ankara car bomb explosion kills 34; Turkey condemns 'terror attack'
When: March 13, 2016.
Where: Ankara, Turkey.
Perpetrator: Kurdish militants.
Outcome: 34 died, 125 wounded.
This is an article from the popular American news source, CNN. While this is a short article that
is just meant to tell the reader the basics of what occurred, I thought it was important to include
because this is one of the only articles from a legitimate news source that pops up in a Google search for
Ankara terrorist attacks . However when you compare this to legitimate news sources that appear in a
Google search for Brussels terrorist attacks , the difference in the amount of news articles is
astounding, even though these attacks only happened nine days apart. In the article it talks about how
many people were killed and injured, how the attack was carried out and it also included a few
statements from the Turkish government condemning the attacks. There were no statements from
other governments condemning the attacks like was seen in the United States, Israel, Paris and Brussels
attacks. In the article there was also no personalization of the victims, which is often seen in coverage of
white, Western countries. There were no names or pictures of the victims, only a mere number.
It is important to note that while not all Western media completely ignores terrorist attacks in
non-Western, non-white countries, most of the coverage of attacks in these other areas are short, to the
point articles like this one. I would argue that the difference in the coverage as far as length and depth
goes a long way in shaping the way that Western readers feel about certain people and places. When a
certain place and people become reduced to just a number in the constant death toll reported in the
news, it is easier to become desensitized to those people. Another thing I think fuels the desensitization
towards the Turkish people in the eyes of the West, especially in the United States, is the fact that they
are a predominantly Muslim country. Ever since 9/11, the United States public has been slowly
radicalizing all Muslims. Even though Turkey shares a border with a European country, it also shares a
border with Syria, Iran and Iraq, automatically associating it with radical Islam and terrorism, in the eyes
of a y A erica s. This akes it so e ery ti e there is a terrorist attack i Turkey; e do ’t feel as
much empathy for them because we think attacks like that happen all the time over there. While this is
completely not true, this is what the media has conditioned us to think.
48. Entry Fifteen Write Up
"Taliban Assault Kills 28, Wounds 300 in Kabul."
When: April 19, 2016.
Where: Kabul, Afghanistan.
Perpetrator: Taliban.
Outcome: 28 died, 300 wounded.
This is an article from the popular American news source, USA Today. The article explains how
the attacks were carried out in great detail, which is something that is not always done when it comes to
Western media coverage of Arab countries. The article explains that a suicide bomber detonated a
vehicle that was parked near a governmental secret service building. Afterwards militants rushed into
the building and a gun fight ensued, lasting more than two hours. Most of the casualties were civilians,
on their way to work or school. Reading the description, it seems like a scene out of an action movie or a
video game. If something like this were to happen in the United States, or even any other Western
country, it would be 24- hour news. However, I did not even hear about this attack until today, 4 days
later. The fact that it was even covered so extensively by an American news outlet is surprising. I would
guess that the reason it was covered so extensively was because of the way the attack was carried out.
Not every attack ends with a gun fight, which is more exciting and probably gets more readers than just
an article about a suicide bomber.
Overtime, American consumers of the news become accustomed to hearing certain things
replayed over and over. I think that one of those things that people are used to hearing about is suicide
bombers. If a suicide bomber were to detonate their bombs in the United States, it would be worldwide
news, and everyone would be shocked. However, this is something that we almost expect to happen in
Arab countries. We are constantly bombarded with images of suicide bombers and deaths in Arab
countries, and we forget over time what a horrific event it really is. We then project this non-chalant
attitude about suicide bombers on all Muslims, which is how we end up with the tense race/religion
relations we have here in the United States today between Arabs and the white majority. In class we
talked multiple times about Arab- Americans and the unfair treatment they receive living in the United
States. They are often stopped at airport security for no reason other than they look Arab. Recently a
college student was even kicked off a plane because he was overheard speaking Arabic. All of this fear
starts with the media and its approach on covering not only suicide bombers but all terrorist attacks.
The media instills fear into the public, who then take it out on undeserving real life people.
50. Close
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REACTION TO 9/11
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51. INTRODUCTION
Shortly after the Twin Towers fell on
September 11, 2001, the nation began to
mourn, and around the country Americans
began to commemorate the victims and
demonstrate their patriotism. Some တew the
American တag from their front porches and
car antennas. Others pinned it to their lapels
or wore it on t-shirts. Sports teams postponed
games. Celebrities organized bene†t concerts
and performances. People attended
impromptu candlelight vigils and participated
in moments of silence. They gathered in
common places, like Chicago’s Daley Plaza,
Honolulu’s Waikiki Beach and especially New
York City’s Union Square Park, to post tributes
to the dead and to share their grief with
others. “I don’t know why I’ve been coming
here, except that I’m confused” one young
man in Union Square told a reporter from the
New York Times. “Also a sense of unity. We all
9/11 Timeline (/topics/9-11-attacks/videos/911-timeline)
A timeline of the events on September 11, 2001.
53. THE IMPACT OF MEDIA BIAS ON COVERAGE OF CATASTROPHIC EVENTS:
CASE STUDY FROM THE NEW YORK TIMES’ COVERAGE OF THE
PALESTINE/ISRAEL CONFLICT
by
Jonas Xavier Caballero
Submitted to the Faculty of
University Honors College in partial fulfillment
of the requirements for the degree of
Bachelor of Philosophy
University of Pittsburgh
2010
54. ii
UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH
UNIVERSITY HONORS COLLEGE
This thesis was presented
by
Jonas Xavier Caballero
It was defended on
April 16, 2010
and approved by
Jennifer Saffron, Adjunct Faculty, English Department
Loubna El Abbadi, Faculty, Department of Linguistics
Dr. Hatem Bazian, Senior Lecturer, Near Eastern Studies Department, University of
California Berkeley
Thesis Director: Mohammed A Bamyeh, Visiting Professor, Sociology
56. iv
This study investigates how the impact of media bias affects the news coverage of catastrophic
events with regard to the Palestine/Israel conflict. Particularly, this study focuses on Operation
Cast Lead, the 3-week Israeli military assault on the Gaza Strip that resulted in the death of
nearly 1,400 Palestinians and 13 Israelis. The New York Times’ manner of covering the conflict,
characterized in previous research as manifesting media bias toward Israel, is examined within a
context of media manipulation, misrepresentation, framing, slant, and linguistic determinism.
This study provides insight into the role played by the mainstream media in distorting the facts of
the Palestine/Israel conflict in order to present a picture that portrays Israel in a more favorable
light.
Ninety-one articles were chosen from the New York Times’ news and editorial coverage
of Operation Cast Lead, from December 27, 2008 to January 18, 2009, plus an additional week
as to allow for corrections and further coverage. This study employs content analysis to
determine how the New York Times presents its stories and how often it reports Palestinian
deaths and injuries incurred during the catastrophic period versus the number of Israeli deaths
and injuries covered in the texts. B’Tselem, the Israeli human rights organization, provides data
on the number of deaths and injuries during Operation Cast Lead, providing the quantitative base
to which this study’s results are compared. Although Palestinians died at a rate 106 times more
than Israelis, the New York Times engaged in a practice of media bias that resulted in coverage
of only 3% of Palestinian deaths in the headlines and first paragraphs. Upon analyzing the
THE IMPACT OF MEDIA BIAS ON COVERAGE OF CATASTROPHIC EVENTS:
CASE STUDY FROM THE NEW YORK TIMES’ COVERAGE OF THE
PALESTINE/ISRAEL CONFLICT
Jonas Xavier Caballero, BPhil
University of Pittsburgh, 2010
57. v
articles’ entireties, this study found that the New York Times covered 431% of Israeli deaths and
only 17% of Palestinian deaths, a ratio of 25:1. Only 17% of Palestinian children deaths were
covered in the full articles.
58. vi
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .......................................................................................................XI!
PART 1....................................................................................................................................... XII!
1.0! INTRODUCTION........................................................................................................ 1!
2.0! ISRAEL/PALESTINE: A FIRSTHAND ACCOUNT.............................................. 5!
3.0! NOT SO FAIR AND BALANCED............................................................................. 8!
3.1! MEDIA BIAS ..................................................................................................... 10!
3.2! AUDIENCE........................................................................................................ 12!
3.3! GROUP REPRESENTATION AND LINGUISTIC DETERMINISM........ 14!
3.4! FRAMING/LABELING.................................................................................... 16!
3.5! AGENDA SETTING AND SLANT ................................................................. 17!
4.0! HAVE IT OUR WAY ................................................................................................ 20!
4.1! MEDIA BIAS AND THE NEW YORK TIMES............................................. 20!
4.2! FRAMING THE INTIFADA............................................................................ 21!
4.3! THE NEW YORK TIMES: ETHICS IN JOURNALISM............................. 23!
5.0! IF AMERICANS KNEW .......................................................................................... 24!
5.1! IF AMERICANS KNEW: A CATALYST...................................................... 24!
5.2! IF AMERICANS KNEW AND THE TIMES ................................................. 26!
5.3! IF AMERICANS KNEW 2000 STUDY .......................................................... 27!
59. vii
5.3.1! Coverage of Children’s Deaths..................................................................... 30!
5.4! IF AMERICANS KNEW 2004 STUDY .......................................................... 32!
5.4.1! Coverage of Children’s Deaths..................................................................... 34!
5.5! FULL ARTICLES ............................................................................................. 36!
6.0! FALK/FRIEL STUDIES........................................................................................... 37!
6.1! A SIX-YEAR MISREPRESENTATION OF DEATHS ................................ 40!
PART II........................................................................................................................................ 42!
7.0! A CATASTROPHIC DISTORTION....................................................................... 43!
7.1! HEADLINES, FIRST PARAGRAPHS, AND FULL ARTICLES ............... 45!
8.0! OPERATION CAST LEAD...................................................................................... 47!
8.1! OPERATION CAST LEAD AS A CATASTROPHE.................................... 47!
8.2! FINDINGS: COVERAGE OF TOTAL DEATHS ......................................... 49!
8.3! FINDINGS: COVERAGE OF INJURIES...................................................... 52!
8.4! FINDINGS: COVERAGE OF ROCKETS FIRED........................................ 55!
9.0! ANALAYSIS............................................................................................................... 57!
10.0! MOBILIZATION IN PITTSBURGH...................................................................... 59!
11.0! CONCLUSION........................................................................................................... 63!
APPENDIX A.............................................................................................................................. 66!
APPENDIX B .............................................................................................................................. 71!
APPENDIX C.............................................................................................................................. 75!
APPENDIX D.............................................................................................................................. 77!
BIBLIOGRAPHY....................................................................................................................... 79!
60. viii
LIST OF TABLES
Table 1. Summary of Data (Deaths) ............................................................................................. 77!
Table 2. Summary of Data (Injuries)............................................................................................ 78!
61. ix
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1. Israelis and Palestinians Killed, First Year of Intifada.................................................. 28!
Figure 2. Percentage of Deaths Reported in Headlines, First Paragraphs.................................... 29!
Figure 3. Israeli and Palestinian Children Killed, First Year of Intifada...................................... 30!
Figure 4. Percentage of Children’s Deaths Reported in Headlines, First Paragraphs .................. 31!
Figure 5. Israelis and Palestinians Killed, 2004............................................................................ 32!
Figure 6. Percentage of Deaths Reported in Headlines, First Paragraphs.................................... 33!
Figure 7. Israeli and Palestinian Children Killed, 2004................................................................ 34!
Figure 8. Percentage of Children’s Deaths Reported, 2004.......................................................... 35!
Figure 9. Total Deaths During Operation Cast Lead.................................................................... 49!
Figure 10. Actual Deaths vs. Deaths Reported in Headlines, First Paragraphs............................ 50!
Figure 11. Actual Deaths vs. Actual Deaths Reported in Full Articles........................................ 51!
Figure 12. Total Deaths vs. Total Deaths Reported (3-D)............................................................ 52!
Figure 13. Actual Injuries vs. Injuries Reported in Headlines, First Paragraphs ......................... 53!
Figure 14. Actual Injuries vs. Injuries Reported in Full Articles ................................................. 54!
Figure 15. Coverage of Palestinians Deaths vs. Coverage of Rockets Fired................................ 55!
Figure 16. CPJME’s “March of the Dead”................................................................................... 60!
Figure 17. CPJME’s “March of the Dead” flier ........................................................................... 61!
62. x
Figure 18. Hope Under Siege flier................................................................................................ 62!
Figure 19. Palestinian Woman pleads with Israeli soldier............................................................ 71!
Figure 20. Uprooted Apricot Trees............................................................................................... 72!
Figure 21. Nonviolent Demonstrators March to Separation Barrier............................................. 73!
Figure 22. Palestinian Man Shot in Leg During Nonviolent Demonstration ............................... 73!
Figure 23. Israeli Soldier Fires at Nonviolent Demonstration...................................................... 74!
Figure 24. Israeli Soldier Chokes Palestinian Nonviolent Demonstrator..................................... 74!
63. xi
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Dedicated to Rachel Corrie (1979-2003).
May you, and all those who seek it, find the justice you deserve.
First and foremost, I thank Diana Buttu. Had it not been for that fateful day at Carnegie Mellon
University, my eyes would have been forever shielded from the truth that is otherwise so hard to
recognize. I owe so much to Kate Daher for providing me the resources and the patience
necessary to break through the pre-constructed façade. A big thanks to Katie Miranda, who was
my rock in a place filled with so much despair and so much beauty—the Middle East would not
have been the same without you. To Courtney Day Nassar, for always being there with a fresh
spirit and an unfettered determination. To my husband, David Caballero, for holding on tightly
and supporting me during these challenging times. To my mother, Muffin Peluso, for having
faith in my work and for furnishing me with a quiet place to make this all transpire. To Neta
Golan and Lisa Nessan for being a constant flow of admiration and inspiration. To Alison Weir,
for helping to make sense of all that is wrong with today’s media. Thank you to my panel,
Loubna El Abbadi, Jennifer Saffron, Dr. Hatem Bazian, and Dr. Mohammed Bamyeh: your work
continues to inspire me. To all those who are silenced in the struggle: I hope this work serves to
amplify your voices.
65. 1
1.0 INTRODUCTION
The existence of a free press is essential to American democracy. This was recognized in the
earliest days of the United States, as it was enshrined within the First Amendment to the
Constitution: “Congress shall make no law…abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press…”
To report as accurately as possible the facts on any issue, as many would agree, should be the
primary function of the press. After all, what good is a free press if the subject matter being
presented is skewed by politically-driven fallacies, setting agendas that seek to misrepresent facts
and figures, effectively resulting in a distorted version of the truth? Myths developed by the news
media “help inform newsmaking by providing archetypes and frameworks of interpretation”
(Ismail 262). Independent media, which may not be connected to large media conglomerates,
often seek to safeguard themselves against media bias. Other institutions, however, have merged
over time with a number of agencies, making it harder to prevent unfettered media bias and to
halt agenda setting.
The media can be a crucial element in the success or failure of social movements
“through how they frame the movement’s causes, stances, and ultimately their ideologies”
(Ismail 253). In 2003, a media watch group based out of Los Angeles began issuing “media
report cards” to various media outlets across the country regarding their coverage of the
Palestine/Israel conflict. The group, If Americans Knew (IAK), has covered The New York
Times, hereon referred to as the Times, The Associated Press, Los Angeles Times, San Francisco
Chronicle, and others. By using quantitative data from respected human rights organizations,
such as B’Tselem, IAK has conducted statistical analysis “that would be impossible in a
