In the aftermath of Frazier Glenn Millers Kansas City attack or Robert Dears attack on Colorado Springs Planned Parenthood, few called either of them terrorists. When Dylann Roof perpetrated his attack in Charleston, a debate emerged over whether or not to call him a terrorist.
While some argued that it was appropriate, others dispelled this label.Yet, all three acts fit within the understanding of terrorism as the threatened or actual use of illegal force and violence by a non-state actor to attain a political, economic, religious, or social goal through fear, coercion, or intimidation (Global Terrorism Database, 2016).
In contrast, attacks like those on the Pulse Nightclub attack in Orlando or the San Bernadino attack were called terrorism almost immediately.
The key difference in these examples is the perpetrator(s) social identity. In the context of terrorism, media may frame this as a specifically Muslim problem
because that is the dominant narrative (Sultan, 2016).
Domestic terrorism is often portrayed as a minor threat committed by mentally ill perpetrators, whereas terrorism influenced by radical interpretation of Islam is framed as a hostile outside force (Powell, 2011). When the perpetrator(s) of a terrorist attack are members of an out-group or other, we should expect to see more media coverage.
Since discussions of terrorism and counterterrorism often overly focus on Muslim perpetrators,8 we expect the following:
H1: Terrorist attacks will receive more media coverage when the perpetrator is Muslim
While we expect that the perpetrators identity will be the strongest predictor of the
degree of media coverage received, we anticipate other factors will have significant influence as well.
