Terrorism as communicationA B C D E F G H IJKL M N O P R S T U VXYZWthe ‘commandments’. A pre-existing code must
not be imposed on a situation; rather, the situ-
ation must be examined in the light of evolving
and changing approaches to moral dilemmas.
See mediapolis. See also topic guides under
media issues & debates; media: values &
ideology.
Tenth art See video games.
Terrestrial broadcasting Th at which is trans-
mitted from the ground and not via satellite.
Territoriality See spatial behaviour.
Terrorism: anti-terrorism legislation (UK)
Following the destruction of New York’s World
Trade Centre’s twin towers on 11 September
2001, the UK government hastened to tighten
the Terrorism Act of 2000 with the 125-clause
Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security Act of 2001,
parts of which directly aff ect media communica-
tion. Th e Act allows for the arrest and intern-
ment for up to six months of suspected terror-
ists. It permits confi dential information about
an individual held by any government agency to
be disclosed to the intelligence services and the
police – for any criminal investigation, not just
for investigations of alleged terrorist off ences.
Detention without charge was brought in for
foreign nationals suspected of being terrorists or
considered to be planning terrorist attacks.
Clause 93 makes it a punishable off ence for
anyone to refuse a police request to remove a
disguise, such as a mask, or face paint. Following
the terrorist bombs on the London Underground
in July 2005, the Prevention of Terrorism Act
(2005) introduced control orders for suspects,
based on suspicion not proof, and prohibited
the ‘glorification’ of terrorism. The Counter-
Terrorism Act (2008) amended the defi nition of
terrorism by inserting a racial clause.
In March 2010 a committee of MPs chaired
by Labour MP Andrew Dismore urged that all
anti-terrorist legislation be reviewed, prompting
the response from government that the threat
of terrorism ‘remains real and serious’. With the
election to power of the Conservative-Liberal
Democrat coalition government in May 2010,
a decision was taken to abandon the previous
government’s plans to introduce identity cards
(IDs) for the British population, as much on the
grounds of cost as removing a broadly held view
that IDs were a curtailment of liberty and would
have little impact on the war on terrorism. See
regulation of investigatory powers act
(ripa) (uk), 2000; usa – patriot act, 2001.
Terrorism as communication Th e main aim of
terrorist activity in liberal democracies is public-
ity. Th e existence of a free press, and TV andlines, columns, etc; (6) TV news programmes
fail to coordinate pictures and text; and (7) TV
has more limited opportunity to review and
develop an entire story.
It is the authors’ view that ‘while TV has the
power to evoke empathy and interest, time and
other constraints prevent this power from being
exercised’. Clearly a number of these limita-
tions has been circumvented by developments
in media technology (the availability of news
online, on mobile and on iPad) and as a result
of the growth in the number and variety of news
services, not the least the arrival of 24-hour TV
news. Th ese factors do not necessarily under-
mine Robinson and Davis’s theory, but they do
raise questions about the current practice of
newspaper reading in the age of the internet.
See topic guide under news media.
▶Steven Barnett, Th e Rise and Fall of Television Jour-
nalism: Just Wires and Lights in a Box? (Bloomsbury
Academic, 2011).
‘Television without frontiers’ See european
community and media: television with-
out frontiers.
Telstar Communications satellite launched on 10
July 1962; transmitted the fi rst live TV pictures
between the US and Europe. See satellite
transmission.
Ten commandments for media consum-
ers In ‘Ethics for media users’ published in the
European Journal of Communication (December
1995), Cees J. Hamelink discusses the role the
viewer, reader and listener should adopt in
relation to the ‘quest for freedom, quality and
responsibility in media performance’, arguing
that the consumer must not only be aware of the
nature of media messages, but also be proactive
in responding to them. The ten ‘command-
ments’ Hamelink suggests in order to assist
the consumer with moral choices concerning
the media are: Th ou shalt – (1) be an alert and
discriminating media consumer; (2) actively
fight all forms of censorship; (3) not unduly
interfere with editorial independence; (4) guard
against racism and sexist stereotyping in the
media; (5) seek alternative sources of informa-
tion; (6) demand a pluralist supply of informa-
tion; (7) protect thine own privacy; 8) be a
reliable source of information; (9) not participate
in chequebook journalism; and (10) demand
accountability from media producers.
The author, however, cautions against
over-reliance on such a code of user response,
for moral issues and dilemmas ought to be
addressed according to situation and context, a
point well made when we take a global view of