Media and Social Construction of Reality for Terrorism and Muslim - Research Proposal Example

Academic research in the area of media influence often reflects the extent to which the media can actively construct and define social reality. Much of this research has focused on the media's perception of terrorism and its relationship to Muslim communities; it is this relationship which forms the basis for my literature review. When the media deals with terrorism it does so in such a manner as to perpetuate stereotypes regarding Muslim communities in general, and their perceived 'exclusive' connection to terrorist activity. Research Topic The specific research topic is, Media and Social Construction of Reality for Terrorism and Muslim Community, the media's treatment of this connection will be explored in the literature review below with reference to the work of several theorists in the areas of media, social and political analysis. Literature Review There is no doubting that terrorism is a 'hot topic', in recent times it has come to dominate global media coverage almost to the point of socially damaging saturation. It has been a long held belief amongst academics of all persuasions that an individual's perception of social reality is often based on the information available to them. As a highly influential medium both print and electronic media is an important source of information within the global society. The individual factor of writer, reporter or journalist influences the presentation of ideas in the media. News provides information the reader, on the basis of his or her own knowledge, perception and level of analytical skill; help them form opinions or beliefs about a given set of circumstances. Many factors influence this process building a social construct of reality in the society, such as, the level of understanding that a reader has for the language, tone, pictures used, context and time of the appearance of the news. News published on terrorist activities during sensitive time like war is likely to have more impact than it might during peace. The use of words, language and pictures in that particular context impacts dramatically on the perception of the masses. A series of recent terrorist activities have been largely associated with religious militant organisations, in the name of faith, god, religion and religious responsibilities young minds are being trained to get involve in terrorist activity. Derrida suggests that deconstructive faith has to be distinguished from a particular order of messianic faith (a faith within a determinable horizon) (1998, 8). The September 11 attack and London 7/7 Bombings are current examples of Derrida's notion of destructive faith. This news has presented by media groups around the world as being the product of Islam, Islamic faith, terrorism and Al-Qaeda. Linking these ideas together creates an ideology in the mass media that automatically presumes that these individual variables are synonymous to each other; this ideology created by the media then becomes problematic. The role of ideology then, requires consideration; defining 'ideology' can be difficult in itself. Chomsky (2002) raises various issues on the way media represents various issues of war, trade union issues and terrorism. The issues ranged from the presentation of these events by media and control of powerful groups over these mediums to control thought process of mass. Various other issues are raised in Said (1996, 44) on his work "Covering Islam". These were related to the partial knowledge of the people in West about Islam and questioned the interpretation based on this partial knowledge. Crelinsten (1989, 167-198), Slone (2000, 450-520), Weimann and Winn (1994, 51-89) explained in their works the emotional effect of the media stories. According to them media stories are highly sensational and selective. This is apparent from the news appearing on various media sources. The stories about pain, killings and inhuman activities sell more than other constructive stories. The appetite of society for the bad stories has been largely commercialized by several media groups. (Altheide 1997, 647-668; Shoemaker 1996, 32-47), the news media have certainly learned to take advantages of the publics' appetite for bad news (Altheide 1997, 647-668; Shoemaker 1996, 32-47). This assists the masses to perceive the world as more dangerous than it really is. The media is seen as profit maximisers willing to profit that from selling any kind of news irrespective of the affect it will have on the society. The media sector was also accused for being irresponsible by various thinkers as they are able to profit from terrorism. Weimann and Winn (1994, 51-89) claimed that terrorists seek media attention. In the recent past the trend has been supporting this view. In 1972 when Arab terrorists attacked the Olympic Games in Munich in 1972, the media stories were unfavourable to the terrorist. This annoyed them and their spokespersons were frustrated that the media attention they get focused too heavily on violence rather than on politics (Irvin 1992, 62-85). Many scholars doubt that the media attention benefits the terrorists. Irvin (1992, 62-85) gave another view regarding media coverage; the effects of media coverage for terrorist activities have three different audiences: the constituency of the terrorists, the population they attack, and the international community. The expectations of the terrorist groups differ from the audience to audience. Terrorists may expect favourable media coverage only if the population they are fighting for have their own media. A radical Marxist perspective would suggest that it is those who hold positions of power in society have established the dominant ideology; these distort our view of the world. To clarify the Marxist concept of ideology, Louis Althusser describes ideology as 'a distorted definition of reality' because, "individuals are always-ready interpolated by ideology as subjects, which necessarily leads to the last proposition: individuals are always-already subjects." (1971). Further, Althusser (1971) argues on the acceptance of the dominant ideology that it is easy to be a part of society accepting the dominant ideology rather than being different from the mass. The liberal-pluralist perspective suggests the ideological views perpetrated by the mass media are simply a reiteration of those already in place and determined by the mainstream consensus. A hegemonic perspective seems to be an appropriate starting point from which to consider this thesis because hegemony argues that the media constantly reiterate certain ideologies that conform to those of persons whom hold powerful positions in society. This process builds perception and strong views in the favour or against a particular ideology among the mass. Gramsci originally developed this concept of hegemony, which he defined as: "Spontaneous consent given by the great masses of the population to the general direction imposed on social life by the dominant fundamental group." (Cited in Stuart 1990, 84). This definition of hegemony emphasizes the great masses, rather than have their view of society 'imposed' upon them, 'consent' to certain ideas and views which suit those in power by accepting that these ideas and views are natural, commonsensical and beyond question. Those that help shape and promote these views and ideas are, among others, the media. The media is a highly influential medium. The ideologies and their presentation by media do not need to be conscious or deliberative effort. It can be based upon the simple assumptions existing in the society, which can affect any society adversely. The effect of representing Islam as a religion and culture which is not to be trusted will have a serious potential threat to social life and society. Arguably, the maintenance of hegemony is not simply about political and social control but the extent to which the media give "preferential access" to the definitions of those in authority (McQuail 2002, 97). Stuart Hall argues that the access given by the media to those in authority to express their view, ensures that the media reiterate the dominant ideology (1996, 427). The research will argue that the newspapers in question allow certain law enforcement this 'preferential access' to reproduce the dominant ideology surrounding the implied relationship between Islam and terrorism and constructing social reality in a negative manner for Muslim community as a whole. This notion of the media continually reiterating the dominant elite's viewpoint through quoting the 'accredited sources' lends credibility to Stuart Allan's (1999, 84-7) view that this works to reaffirm the rules by which social life is to be interpreted. The news appearing on leading newspapers suspecting a community or group leads to the image building among the mass. The perception and the level of knowledge of individual reader and the news available build a different image of the event. This image can be distant from reality. It can work as a catalyst to develop negative view towards a specific group of people. Stuart Hall (1997, 427) adds that hegemony is not constant, but changes and develops which arguably, rationalizes the need for dominant ideology to be constantly reproduced in the press. There have been several theoretical studies that have considered the development of the concept of 'Islamophobia' since September 11th 2001 and more so since July 7th 2005. However, it is clear that the press has portrayed Muslim countries unfavourably for many years. This is evident in Edward W. Said's 'Covering Islam', although written in 1981, still represents an effective examination of the unfavourable treatment of Islam and Islamic countries by the media. In summary, the study so far has been conducted to understand the impact of media presentation in the modern society by authors like Said, Chomsky and many others. The frequency to which information is presented has impacted the thought process of Muslims as well as the other member of the society. There have been lots of studies conducted to understand the impact of newspapers within a society but other fast sources of media like internet and satellite is being used by various sources to construct their social reality within specific target group. There is a need to study and analysis to understand the reality construction within Muslim community and other communities about the Muslim community. Bibliography Allan, Stuart (1999) News Culture, Buckinghamshire: Open University Press. Altheide, D.L. (1997) The News Media, The Problem Frame, and the Production of Fear, Sociological Quarterly 38 (4): 647-668. Althusser, Louis (1971) Essays on Ideology, London: Verso. Chomsky, N (2002) Media Control, The spectacular Achievements of Propaganda, Post 9/11 Edition, The Role of Media in Contemporary Politics, New York: A Seven Stories Press Publication Crelinsten, R.D (1989) Images of Terrorism in the Media, Terrorism 12 (3): 167-198. Derrida, J (1998) Faith and Knowledge Stanford: Stanford University Press. Hall, S (1996) 'Racist Ideologies and the Media' in Paul & Thornham, Sue (Eds). Media Studies - A Reader, Edinburgh University Press. Hall, S (1997) Cultural Representations and Signifying Practices, London: Sage. Irvin, C.L (1992) Terrorists' Perspectives: Interviews, In D.L. Paletz and A.P. Schmid (Eds). Terrorism and the Media, London: Sage. pp. 62-85. McQuail, D (2000) McQuail's Mass Communication Theory, London: Sage. Said, E (1996) Covering Islam, How Media and the Experts Determine how we see the rest of the world, revised edition. Vintage Books. New York: Random House Inc. Said E. W (1981) Covering Islam, London: Vintage. Shoemaker, P.J. 1996. Hardwired for News: Using Biological and Cultural Evolution to Explain the Surveillance Function, Journal of Communication 46 (3): 32-47. Slone, M (2000) Responses to Media Coverage of Terrorism, Journal of Conflict Resolution 44 (4): 450-520. Weimann, G and Winn, C (1994) The Theatre of Terror: Mass Media and International Terrorism. New York: Longman. Read More