Content analysis of Austrian and German newspaper coverage of terrorist attacks in light of recommendations for reporting on mass shootings

Media coverage of terrorist attacks can have harmful effects on public mental health. Media recommendations for reporting on mass shootings have been developed, which also appear relevant to coverage of terrorist attacks. However, it remains unclear whether journalists adhere to them. The authors investigated the quality of N = 1,909 articles about nine terrorist attacks in Western Europe between 2016–2020 published in Austrian and German daily newspapers. They assessed the quality based on characteristics adopted from media recommendations. Articles were mainly inconsistent with these recommendations. Coverage of Islamist terrorist attacks tended to focus specifically on attack, attacker, and responsible terrorist group, whereas articles on right-wing attacks emphasized the reason for the attack and its victims. Tabloids tended to use more inadequate photos and language related to mental illness, whereas broadsheets contained more details about attack and attacker. Further efforts are required to encourage journalists to utilize media recommendations.