Nixon’s War at Home: The FBI, Leftist Guerrillas, and the Origins of Counterterrorism

Abstract

tion. Complicating the Pakistani situation is the military’s prominent role in politics and government and its ambiguous relationship with terrorist organisations: fighting those who are its enemies and supporting those it uses to promote its own political agenda. Mediatised Terrorism itemises the many factors that have contributed to the media’s distorted coverage of terrorism. These include the need to dumb down highly complex issues into easily digestible narratives; the fact that most journalists do not have the time or resources to properly investigate what appear to be acts of terrorism and are forced to rely heavily on government sources; and the need to sensationalise stories to attract readers and please corporate media owners. In addition, in Pakistan investigative journalists face the very real threat of violence. Ali concludes that while it is impossible to prevent all terrorist attacks, we should not play into the hands of terrorists by overreacting because of paranoia and calls for the media to take a more responsible and balanced approach to reporting. Ali’s in-depth analysis, which requires careful reading, makes an important contribution to our understanding of the widespread inaccurate reporting of terrorism.