Serial killing, media-oriented terrorism, and copycat crime are all associated with the social construction and framing of predatory crime. Serial killing and copycat crimes are common in modern society. The media’s vulnerability to terrorist attack and its capability of inciting greater acts of terrorism by broadcasting them to millions of viewers makes it a major player in the social construction of predatory criminality.

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Anonymous. US actor Robert Blake arrested amid media frenzy in wife’s murder. Agence France Press English. Apr 19, 2002, 1-2.

We have already seen the US government solicit TV networks to reduce coverage of al-Qaeda spokesmen in case their broadcasts contain some kind of coded terrorist instructions for followers. In addition to this, when events are televised live like the Academy Awards, the Superbowl, or other major sporting or entertainment events, these events represent an enormous opportunity for terrorists. Any terrorist that could successfully bomb or dive an aircraft into one of these events would not only be successful in killing thousands of people but also successful in broadcasting the terror, power, and carnage of terrorism to millions of viewers. Some observers of the media and the different forms terrorism can take argue that safeguards need to be put into place in order for the media to have the opportunity to more closely control its role with respect to terrorism. As scientist Richard Garwin argues, “The attractiveness of such a tactic to terrorists can be reduced by introducing a several-second delay in television transmission so that the slaughter could be taken off the air” (Siegel 1).