ABSTRACT
Most informed people realize that they have to exercise care in accepting stories that are offered by the news media, but even the most cautious rarely take account of the special problems involved in dealing with stories about terrorism and intelligence. When readers read or watch media coverage of terrorism, readers have to understand the limits of what the media know, what they can say, and how completely even the most critical journalists depend on the good will of federal law enforcement and intelligence agencies. Only a little exposure to reporting of terrorism allows a reader to determine almost immediately what these "informed sources" are, when for instance a journalist is drawing on the FBI as opposed to the CIA, State Department, or Defense Department. The whole clandestine world of intelligence, terrorism, and assassinations has attracted a luxuriant undergrowth of conspiracy theories, some of which may have substance, most of which are absurd or pernicious.
