Presenting news about terrorism in West Africa: The case of Le Monde and the New York Times

The rise in terrorist attacks in West Africa in recent years has placed a critical responsibility on Western journalists to cover terrorism news. Terrorism reporting requires objectivity and professionalism, which are crucial in shaping public opinion. Rather than focusing only on the links between media and terrorism, this study uses feature story news and breaking news published in Le Monde and The New York Times as a sample to explore how terrorism news in West Africa is presented in the Western press. The related news were analyzed using the critical discourse analysis method. The study revealed that these two Western newspapers followed fundamental journalistic standards in their coverage of terrorism in West Africa. However, the historical relationship between France and West Africa is different from the historical relationship between America and West Africa. Accordingly, compared to the American media, the French media tends to focus more on stories that emphasize France's geopolitical influence in West Africa when reporting on terrorism. Such a situation implies that most articles on terrorism are biased and could risk having a bad impact on public opinion. The present study contributes to improving the practice of balanced media coverage of terrorism in West Africa. Better journalistic practice without sensationalism will help improve the international perception of West Africa, which is subject to many stereotypes.