A study of newspapers coverage reporting improvised explosive devices incidents in the Maltese islands

Abstract

This research focuses on newspaper coverage which reported improvised explosive device incidents on the Maltese Islands that occurred between 1970 and 2017. Since the main source of this study were newspapers, archival research was used in order to collect data. Media theories aided in understanding further the role the media plays and its effect on society. This research also includes interviews with professionals to understand better the subject related, which technique assisted in obtaining more material that was not offered in the available literature. From the analysis conducted, sensationalism, fear of crime and non-accurate reporting were three main themes that emerged. Proposals for future studies related to the subject were suggested in order to present a detailed perspective on the them of improvised explosive devices related to media coverage.