Author: Rikke Østergård Kornerup
Publication Date: 16 September 2021
Abstract: This study explores the ethical considerations that are encountered by Danish journalists when covering stories about terrorism and whether there is a perceived need for more editorial guidelines. An online questionnaire with multiple-choice, Likert scale and open text box questions was distributed to a sample group of Danish journalists using the snowball method in March 2021. The survey gathered quantitative and qualitative data from a total of 74 Danish journalists who all remain anonymous. Their suggested ethical considerations were analysed and compared to dilemmas raised in the academic literature on the relationship between terrorism and the media. The study shows that the dilemmas described in the literature are similar to those experienced by the journalists surveyed. Their ethical considerations were mainly related to the publication of graphic details, the use of propaganda material, names and photos of the terrorists, as well as whether the coverage could inspire copycats. The media coverage’s effect on victims, viewers and readers as well as on national security was also of concern. The journalists surveyed appeared to prioritise importance to the public over sensationalism in their terrorism coverage. A bit less than half of the participants, particularly those younger than the sample group’s average age, expressed a need for more editorial guidelines to be used during terrorism coverage. In addition, female journalists, to a larger extent than their male colleagues, perceived more editorial guidelines as a current need, and they in general found keeping the ethical balance in terrorism coverage more difficult than male journalists said they did. In the future, courses on ethics in terrorism coverage, particularly for younger journalists, or more clarification in media outlets with regard to editorial guidelines for terrorism coverage may be useful.