La représentation médiatique du phénomène terroriste : Quelques enseignements du cas nord-irlandais

The Northern Ireland situation is of obvious interest for a study of the treatment by the media of terrorism and of the impact of the September 11th attacks on this treatment. This study will show how, during the years just preceding the attacks on the World Trade Centre, the language used by the media with reference to the paramilitary groups in Northern Ireland had somewhat softened, especially when they became involved in the peace process. However the September 11th attacks have, by amalgam, turned the tables round on them once and for all. Now, presentations by the media of terrorism are marked by highly emotional language from the field of our worst fantasies and moreover, this language has become again a mirror of the official government position.