Is The American Media Islamophobic?

[anotheoldgit]

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world-0/terror-attacks-media-coverage-muslim-islamist-white-racism-islamophobia-study-georgia-state-a7820726.html

[Mamyalynne]

I am no great follower of American Media but those figures do seem telling.

[-Talbot-]

//Muslims committed just 12.4 per cent of attacks during the period studied but received 41.4 per cent of news coverage, the survey found.//


Just?
I think the wording in the above is also telling.
Why not also tell us the % of Muslims in the USA?

[Mamyalynne]

Around 1% I believe.

[douglas9401]

Quite the work ethic then.

[-Talbot-]

I'm aware of that, Mamya but when 1% are responsible for 14% of terror attacks, my concern would be why this 1% are disproportionately involved in terror and not how long the reporting of that terror lasts on TV.

[jim360]

It's possible to be concerned about both. After all, perhaps the two are linked in some way?

I'm not suggesting that they are directly linked, by the way. But perhaps if there is indeed some message being spread that Muslims are the main, or only, enemy, then this could play its part in alienating Muslim youths and driving them into terrorism. A small part, perhaps, but still a part. If nothing else, it could help to make the divisions wider.

As the article points out, this particular study was (at least partly) motivated by another claim entirely, namely that the media was *ignoring* Muslim terrorism. Such a claim deserves refutation.

[sp1814]

Are mass shootings being counted as terrorist attacks?

If they aren't, what on earth are the 87.6% of 'terror attacks', and why are they under-represented in the U.S. press?

To answer the OP, I don't think the American media is Islamophobic - it's just that certain stories will be more widely read and commented on, and the media has to play to its audience. Perhaps mass shootings by non-Muslims have less impact because they have become (depressingly) 'regular'?

[atalanta]

Americans have a much wider interpretation of "freedom of speech" than UK citizens do. They would claim they have a right to state such statistics.

[Togo]

More to the point, is the "Islamic Media" anti Western?

[Togo]

You could make a new word up, Westerophobic perhaps.

[sp1814]

Togo

Your question at 20:50 really isn't 'more to the point'.

It's 180 degrees away from the point. The complete opposite of what AOG has asked.

[Togo]

Depends on your perspective I suppose sp. :))

[agchristie]

> It's 180 degrees away from the point.

Could lead to a protracted discussion!

When statistics like this are produced it makes you wonder for a moment but then all sorts of cloudiness appears that throws it all into question...