Abstract: The coverage of terrorist attacks by mass media forms a certain outlook upon the course of events among the audience. Studying the texts of news sources allows tracing the transformation of perception of terrorist attacks over time. The goal of this article consists in the analysis of coverage of Beslan terrorist attack in September of 2004 in regional and federal Russian mass media. The author conducted a content analysis and comparative analysis of information posted on the information portal “15th Region” as regional media of North Ossetia and RBK ad federal mass media representatives. The following conclusions were made: regional media give major attention to the problems of victims, their personal stories and future life, while federal media rater focus on the global problem of terrorism in the country and worldwide. One of the trends in covering terrorist attacks is the admission of ineffectiveness of the actions of government and aw enforcement structures which manifests in the regional media to a greater extent. It is also worth noting that the interest to the topic fades quicker in federal media, rather than in regional.