ABSTRACT In many Western countries, citizen knowledge of terrorist events is intrinsically shaped by the style of broadcasted messages published by the media. Media discourses regarding terrorist acts raise questions about how such rhetoric elicits fear in people who typically experience such events through news reports. However, we do not fully understand the impact of the media on perceptions of terrorism as clearly as we understand the relationship between the media and fear of crime. This study examines how media sources accessed actively (e.g. through newspapers; Internet) or passively (e.g. through television; radio) influence knowledge and fear of terrorism. We find receiving information about terrorism from multiple media sources increases fear of terrorism, but media sources accessed passively are not as influential as media sources accessed more actively. These results highlight how media consumption from various sources may affect one’s fear of terrorism, and further illustrates how the role of perceived knowledge may exacerbate or mitigate fear. Implications for policy and practice are discussed.

中文翻译：

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对恐怖主义的恐惧：媒体曝光和主观恐惧

摘要在许多西方国家，公民对恐怖主义事件的了解本质上是由媒体发布的广播信息的风格所决定的。关于恐怖行为的媒体报道引发了这样的疑问：这种言辞如何在通常通过新闻报道经历此类事件的人们中引起恐惧。但是，正如我们了解媒体与对犯罪的恐惧之间的关系一样，我们没有完全清楚地了解媒体对恐怖主义观念的影响。这项研究研究了主动（例如通过报纸，互联网）或被动（例如通过电视，广播）访问的媒体资源如何影响对恐怖主义的认识和恐惧。我们发现从多种媒体渠道获得有关恐怖主义的信息会增加人们对恐怖主义的恐惧，但是被动访问的媒体源不像更主动访问的媒体源那样有影响力。这些结果凸显了来自各种来源的媒体消费如何影响人们对恐怖主义的恐惧，并进一步说明了感知知识的作用如何加剧或减轻恐惧。讨论了对政策和实践的影响。