Naming Suspects in Terrorist Attacks: An Inquiry of Journalistic Stereotypes in Newspaper Coverage of the 2005 London Bombings

Distorted portrayals of terrorists in news media could lead to indistinct perceptions of terrorism and anti-terrorism policies. Using the theory of media priming, this study investigated how 12 major newspapers from four countries – China, Egypt, Switzerland and the United States – named terrorist suspects and used news sources in their coverage of 2005 London bombings. Analyses of the second-day reports found that a journalistic stereotype across the four nations’ newspapers, which were quick to name the suspects’ al Qaeda connection with little verification. The journalistic stereotype may be due to the priming effect of covering a series of prior al Qaeda-launched terrorism attacks. Findings also show that the reports uniformly made officials or experts the basis for the coverage of the terrorist attacks. The findings should provide insight into how journalists make new decisions when covering terrorist attacks. In the digital age, journalists might rely on speculation, unreliable Internet sources, and the auspices of new media communication to report terrorism. Practical implications for journalists were discussed.