It is difficult to overstate the fraught complexity of the relationship be-tween terrorism and the media.Perhaps no other issue has been characterised by such prolific wall-to-wall coverage in recent years, and perhaps no other has so challenged media professionals to maintain journalistic ethics and balance in their reporting.Many of the violent attacks we see playing out today are at least partly conceived with media coverage in mind, targeting not just the actual victims but millions of shocked and shaken spectators across the globe.Meanwhile, the tremendous pressures being exerted on media to at-tract audiences – in the face of ongoing waves of technological and financial transformations – can create a powerful temptation to focus on the violent and the sensational, and to be the first to report breaking information and rumours, even before accuracy can be assured. This is the context for UNESCO commissioning this handbook: to explore some of the ethical dilemmas present in terrorism coverage, and start a conversation with media professionals as to how to respond appropriately and proportionately.