Impact of TV terrorism news on Egyptians' perception of national security measures and civil liberties: A cultivation study
I would like to express my sincere gratitude and appreciation to Dr. Amani Ismail for her continuous guidance and motivation throughout my thesis. Her availability and consistent provision of information were definitely of great help to me. My profound gratitude goes to my beloved family, my dear mother Mrs. Maha Elshewy, and my precious father Major General Gamal Salem for providing me with care and inspiration. Your countless contributions and support throughout my life is what brought me to where I am today. No matter what I say, it will never express my love and gratitude to you. Your sacrifices are countless. You always had faith in me which encouraged me to accomplish my thesis. I will never forget the endless nights you stayed awake to lessen my stress. I would not have done it without your love and support. I deeply thank my darling sisters Mrs. Sara Salem and Ms. Merna Salem for their continuous support and sacrifices. You have always had faith in my work and motivated me to do better in all aspects. I would also like to Thank Dr. Ahmed Khaled for his support and motivation throughout my Journey. I also thank Dean Abdul-Monem Al-Mashat for his support. I extend my thankfulness to Dr. Karim Ashour for his advises and guides.
Abstract
This study aims at examining the role of terrorism-related TV news content in cultivating terrorism risk perceptions among Egyptians in the aftermath of the June 30, 2013 events. The study also attempts to explore in-depth how and why terrorism threat perceptions correlate with the Egyptian people's tolerance for more restrictive government measures regarding privacy and security. Previous studies found that heavy exposure to terrorism-related news can breed threat perception and fear of victimization. Further, citizens who feel under threat tend to be more willing to trade off their civil liberties. In this sense, the theoretical framework of this study is the Cultivation theory. The researcher employed the qualitative research method, involving twenty in-depth interviews conducted with expert and non-expert participants. According to the findings of this study, most of the research participants are light viewers who are affected by terrorism. The study also found that most research participants trust the official statements regarding the level of terrorism and the endorsed security-oriented measures. Based on this, participants expressed their willingness to compromise their civil liberties under the threat of terrorism.