Terror has expanded unprecedentedly in various regions of the world, particularly, in some Arab countries.
This renders it a complex phenomenon where penal, criminal, and psychological aspects intermingle with political, economic, and ideological perspectives.
Basically, terror is any deviant conduct which threatens societal stability; violates human norms and laws; and conspires to destabilize a country by implanting fear into the minds of its citizens.
Terror's destructive power is increasing, especially with the fast-pace development of terror forms and practices.
Terrorists use media in any way possible to promote their criminal operations; to recruit youth; and to circulate rumors to realize their goals and those of agencies supporting them.
This has subjected more and more countries to the perils of terror.
This conference discusses the dialectic relationship linking mass media and terrorism, which covers newspaper front-pages, takes over coverage on radio and TV news bulletins, and raises controversy on social media.
The conference probes reasons behind this phenomenon, and shows how it has grown globally.
It puts a spotlight on its effect for individuals, institutions, and society amid a sea of changes worldwide.
It researches strategies and explores what it takes to confront terrorism worldwide.
It shines a light on media agencies' roles in helping to contain terror rather than to spread it.
It detects different approaches to terror and works to forge public opinion against it in order that tolerance and moderation may prevail in society.
Tackling terror of various types and aspects has become an intricate issue, raising concerns for media professionals and those in charge of political regimes and international organizations equally.
KKU Mass Communication Department is established with the aim of meeting the academic accreditation standards, though it is the most fledgling department in mass communication Pan-Saudi universities.
Drafted to fulfill the academic accreditation requirements and to meet the domestic mass communication needs, the department plan is based upon teaching English language intensively to the freshmen. In addition, the freshmen will study customized Arabic-focused syllabuses to hone up their writing skills.
Providing three majors, the department is tailored on studying the modern-day trends in mass communication teaching adopted in benchmark universities in the U.S. and Europe. In addition, it serves the domestic labor market in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
The Mass Communication Department plan stands out as it fulfills standards set by the domestic and international accreditation agencies, particularly those pertaining to restructuring the syllabuses by the department on and off campus, including the supporting syllabuses. This serves the approach that media men should have the deep knowhow on various majors and spheres of media action.
There are some other training programs not in the crux of Mass Communication Department; however, they are set to earn the degree. In-house training, for example, is a requirement that helps train undergrads on various on-the-job skills, and enriches practice for course books. This is in addition to scheduling visits for the undergraduates to media agencies in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and overseas.
Thanks to the KKU rector’s directives, an attention to Mass Communication Department is paid to activate the mass communication paradigm on campus, including, developing Afaq, the weekly campus newspaper – the first campus newspaper nationwide and in the region. This is in addition to establishing a sophisticated media center, including studios, to be labs for training the undergrads to meet the KKU needs from media perspective.