Perception of Terrorism and Security and the Role of Media

The paper tackles important questions related to organized crime and terrorism by focusing on perception of terrorism across and outside the European Union using a variety of empirical resources. The paper first offers general overview of citizens ‘perceptions and attitudes toward terrorism and security, conditionality of these, as well as attitudes to the various trade-offs, as demonstrated on the tensions between freedom and privacy on one hand and security on the other. Second, it concentrates on the key role of media in transmitting information and shaping opinions on key security issues (case studies include cyber terrorism as an example of risk and 3D scanner as an example of security measure). Thirdly, and lastly, the paper looks at the role of social media, which have in recent years profoundly changed the media landscape – information provision and impact of information on public opinion, as well as use of social media for public mobilization shows, that social media have created new virtual sphere, which is transnational and whose functioning and impact on perception of terrorism and attitudes has been so far not the focus of academic research. The paper aims to fill the gap and answer the following three questions: 1. How do media actually frame terrorism and organized crime? 2. Has the media coverage of terrorism and organized crime made the public more sensitive to the issue of security? And, if so, how are the (security) threats perceived and discussed by the media? 3. What is the role of social media in shaping public opinion and framing security dilemmas (freedom and privacy vs. security) and attitudes towards organized crime and terrorism?