Tone It Down   

These may not slow down the run on duct tape, but they're easy fixes. AJR offers three suggestions for improved terror alert coverage.

• Lose the terror alert labels. It's a rare media critic who isn't willing to give his two-cents' worth on why the cable news networks went too far when they added "Terror Alert: High" labels to their screens shortly after February 7. CNN discontinued use of the graphic relatively early, on February 12. Fox News Channel kept it up until the 21st; MSNBC didn't drop the label until early the next week. And the cable news networks aren't offering any apologies. Sharri Berg, vice president of news operations for Fox News Channel, emphasizes that the terror alert doesn't change with the wind. It's "so infrequently upgraded," she says, that "it's important to keep it up on the screen to get [the information] out there." MSNBC's Mark Effron says it's "ascribing too much power to cable television..by saying that a little bug on the bottom of the screen is going to scare people." AJR isn't ready to charge that this was a ratings ploy, but we will say it was a bad idea. Critics who said a label was like an alarm going off, or that it was meaningless without context or explanation, were right. Put it in the crawl, if you must, but lose the label.

• Look up "imminent" in the dictionary. Politicians and the press could use a reminder of what "imminent" means. According to Merriam-Webster's: "ready to take place; esp: hanging threateningly over one's head"--as in, in imminent danger of being run over. Code red is supposed to signify that an attack is "imminent" or under way. ABC News, and others, reported that the government insisted "the threat of an attack is real and imminent." That must not have been what officials meant. The same day, the New York Times was cautioning readers that officials weren't signaling a threat is imminent. Throughout the coverage, other journalists and politicians said an attack "could be imminent." Most things could. When you're talking to a jittery nation about a terrorist attack, word choice is important.

• Don't remind us. The words "duct tape" or "code orange" popped up in stories about books and fashion and theater. It's a common journalistic technique: "If you're tired of worrying about duct tape.." CNN aired a segment on escaping from anxiety by going to the movies, which included this helpful advice: "Well, escapists, be careful which movie you choose. 'The Hours,' also nominated for best picture, is about depression and suicide. 'The Pianist,' another nominee, is about being a Jew under Hitler. Get too caught up in one of those and you may use the duct tape to hang yourself." Does every story have to be linked somehow to terrorism? Answer: No.