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controversy with serial killers and the media
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serial killers and the media
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Media coverage of news events can be disseminated to the general public in any number of different ways and media biases often “reflects certain organizational and/or professional preferences or values” (Bennett 2011, 173). In fact, Lundman (2003) points out “that journalists assess the newsworthiness of homicides occurrences using the relative frequency of particular types of murders and how well specific murder occurrences mesh with stereotypical race and gender typifications (357).” In addition, Johnson (2012) felt that the real job of media was to “create a message that…grabs public attention (62).” In other words, can the media grab the public’s attention and hold it?
Take for example the recent case of George Zimmerman and Trayvon Martin. George Zimmerman was arrested and later charged with second-degree murder following the fatal shooting of Trayvon Martin on February 26, 2012. The trial ended on July 13, 2013 in an acquittal after daily news coverage by all the major networks. Was this case sensationalized because of the “intersections of race and gender” (Lundman, 2003, 357)? Or as Lundman (2003) further asked, was it simply the “rare and uncommon homicides” that were deemed newsworthy by the media (357).
Bennett (2011) felt that one of the biggest problems with bias in the American media was its “overwhelming tendency to downplay the big social, economic, or political picture in favor of the human trials, tragedies, and triumphs (177).” Shaiko (2008) alluded to the fact that the American news media is “accountable to the corporate conglomerates” and not “to the readers, listeners, and viewers (205).” Probably the most telling quotation of all can be found in Chapter 10 of The News Media: Communicating Pol...
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...mpaigns: One Day to Sell. Boulder:
Westview Press.
Lundman, Richard J. "The Newsworthiness and Selection Bias in News About Murder: Comparative and Relative Effects of Novelty and Race and Gender Typifications on Newspaper Coverage of Homicide." Sociological Forum 18.No. 3 (2003): 357-86. Print.
Manheim, Jarol B. 2011. “The News Shapers: Strategic Communication as a Third Force in
Newsmaking,” in Media Power in Politics, 6th Ed., ed. Doris A. Graber. Washington D.C.: CQ Press, 421-430.
Patterson, Thomas. "Chapter 10 "The News Media: Communicating Political Images"" We the People. 10th ed. [S.l.]: Mcgraw-Hill, 2012. 327-57. Print.
Shaiko, Ronald G. 2008. “The News Media and Organized Interests in the United
States,” in Media Power, Media Politics, 2nd Ed., Mark J. Rozell and Jeremy D. Mayer, eds. Lanham: Rowman and Littlefield Publishers, Inc., 205-229.
“The old argument that the networks and other ‘media elites’ have a liberal bias is so blatantly true that it’s hardly worth discussing anymore…No we don’t sit around in dark corners and plan strategies on how we’re going to slant the news. We don’t have to. It comes naturally to most reporters.” (Bias: A CBS Insider Exposes How the Media Distort the News) This example is tremendously important in the author’s discussion because it proves that news stories do manipulate people through bias. Popular news networks are viewed by thousands of people every single day, thus making it have a huge impact on the public since they believe what they see. When news reporters present their news segments, it is natural for them to give their insights due to human nature being instinctively biased. “The news media is [sic] only objective if they report something you agree with… Then they’re objective. Otherwise they’re biased if you don’t agree, you know.” (CNN’s American Morning) In this quote, the readers are presented to current panelists agreeing that news consumers have a very hard time separating their own view of the news from the perspective of the news reporters because they are presenting their own opinions throughout their segments. This problem exists once again because of the bias that is contained in media
Cary, Mary Kate. "5 Ways New Media Are Changing Politics." 4 Feburary 2010. U.S. News. 14 October 2015
The media takes a biased approach on the news that they cover, giving their audience an incomplete view of what had actually happened in a story. Most people believe that they are not “being propagandized or being in some way manipulated” into thinking a certain way or hearing certain “truths” told by their favorite media outlets (Greenwald 827). In reality, everyone is susceptible to suggestion as emphasized in the article “Limiting Democracy: The American Media’s World View, and Ours.” The
In “Reporting the News” by George C. Edwards III, Martin P. Wattenberg, and Robert L. Lineberry, the main idea is how the media determines what to air, where to get said stories that will air, how the media presents the news, and the medias effect on the general public. “Reporting The News” is a very strong and detailed article. The authors’ purpose is to inform the readers of what goes on in the news media. This can be inferred by the authors’ tone. The authors’ overall tone is critical of the topics that are covered. The tone can be determined by the authors’ strong use of transitions, specific examples, and phrases or words that indicate analysis. To summarize, first, the authors’ indicate that the media chooses its stories that will air
It is no secret that in society no matter where a person goes they will be surrounded by influences of news media and social media. There are televisions in restaurants, gyms, and homes, and on them there is a constant stream of twenty-four hour news. Often times what is being reported on television, or through news apps, is being presented primarily for an entertainment purpose. This is what George Saunders analyzes in his 2007 essay, “The Braindead Megaphone,” in which he criticizes not only the news media system, but also society as a whole, for the way news is received and accepted. He speaks to the fact that news media has an expectation that society doesn’t reflect, or have critism, for what is reported to them. Society accepts what they hear, because it is coming form a reliable source. He says, “Does stupid, near-omnipresent media
Bonila, Denise M., and Levy, Beth, Eds. The Power of the Press. H. W. Wilson, 1999.
The American news media is an extremely important “engine of American democracy” (Kaiser). Its role of informing the public is the foundation for our form of self-governance, and with that the influence that it has over the American people is paramount. In his essay “The Bad News About the News,” Robert G. Kaiser argues the importance of bi-partisan news outlets and the dismal impacts of the “[recent] rise of the fragmented news media,” however, this phenomenon may not be as recent as Kaiser believes. In what he refers to as the “golden era in journalism,” he writes of news anchors like Cronkite, Chancellor, Tom Brokaw, Dan Rather, and Peter Jennings as “gatekeepers” of the media; however, much of the issues that Kaiser claims “unified American
According to James Madison, “nothing could be more irrational than to give the people power and to withhold from them information, without which power is abused,” suggesting that the people have the right to learn popular information and learn both sides of an issue (Paul and Elder 2). However, in modern society, the media often do not present both sides of an issue and are inclined to often mask information for their personal benefits. Therefore, the people often learn and understand only one aspect of an issue and inevitably lean towards the bias present in that news account. Indubitably, the coverage in the mainstream news media influences the majority through its bias and propaganda, especially its partisan audience, which only appreciates one side of the news story. Thus, even though news networks may claim that their news programs and publications are completely factual and credible, their coverage of news events is politically, commercially, and racially biased.
Research also suggests that the media is a major decider in what crime cases get chosen to air on the news. While it was previously thought that what went on the news was arbitrarily picked or based on the most interesting cases, it turns out that it is not quite the case. J...
To sell news, the media’s coverage of sexual assaults tends to be slanted with imposed stereotypes upon the victim. An example of media coverage in The Accused occured after the initial appearance before the judge when the offenders are granted bail. The news station only covered the offenders’ angle and stated, “the facts will prove the victim was not really raped.” The defense attorney stated in his interview, “There was no rape. The so-called victim participated enthusiastically…put on a show” (Kaplan, The Accused). One offender is immediately congratulated with applause from fellow college students watching the media coverage. The movie demonstrated journalists’ and media’s power and ability to sway and form public opinion. Society begins to believe only what they are told from these sources. Through biased news coverage of criminal acts, especially sexual assault, the media is already playing judge and jury effecting the outcome of the
The news media rejects the fact that they are biased. They claim that they are the “middle of the road,” and are neutral on the stories that they cover. Publishers also claim that they are the watchdog for the political system, and they make sure that the system is free of any corruption, or wrongdoing. Th...
In the criminal justice field, many studies are focused on the effects of media’s portrayal of crime. The definition of media has included TV news, TV dramas (Law and Order,NCIS, etc), and newspapers. Chiricos. Padgett, and Gertz (2011) and Romer, Hall Jamieson, and Aday (2003) included local versus national TV news watching in their study. Both studies found that increase in viewership of news media increased fear of crime. One found that local news had more of an influence on fear of crime than national news (Chiricos, Padgett, & Gertz, 2000).
Misconceptions created by media over sensational crimes also deal greatly with race, as much of the reported crime in recent news does. Sensational crimes reported in the news are exaggerated forms of reality, the worst situation that could possibly happen. The public assumes because this is what is presented to them that these crimes are happening as often as they do on the news, perhaps even more. The public assumes that because murder, even multiple murders, occur in every crime show episode that big cities must be full of killers and dead bodies are everywhere. It is not just news and media outlets reporting crime in the real world. Crime is everywhere, including fictitious items such as a best selling book, the top rated television show. Crime is not just on the front page of every paper, and every night on the six o’clock news, it is engrained in our entertainment as well. However, this blatant yellow journalism with the motto, “if it bleeds, it leads” was only created because the public is more interested in such stories of violence, gore, inhumanity, police triumph, and errors. The public wants to hear about what the real crime is to compare to the fictitious nature of shows, books, movies, and more. Such as previously stated, a serial killer is more interesting than a purse snatcher to the general public looking for entertainment. Small crimes, petty crimes, even unsuccessful crimes are not worthy of news coverage because it does not hold a candle to the elaborate schemes and gore of crime television. Sensational crimes like murders get more attention from the public but are much less likely to occur than the common domestic violence call. Dubbed “Tabloid Justice”, the act of reporting crimes for entertainment is prevalent, and often details are dissected and analyzed by all forms of media in a
In society today the media’s has an extensive influence on the public by mediums such as the internet, television news, newspapers and radio. In addition, crime is often considered both a source of news and entertainment with such programs as CSI, NCIS and Criminal Minds being some amongst many others that also influence public perception on crime (Hayes & Levett, 2013). Evidence shows that the medias portrayal of crime can indeed affect the public’s perception although evidence will demonstrates that crime perception can be unique to each individual. Evidence shows that media reports have the potential to strongly influence people’s daily activities (Weatherburn and Indermaur, 2004). When the media reports on a crime it triggers an effect
During these difficult economic times sensationalism has become more prevalent in the media. Stories involving sex scandals and child murders have taken over our T.V and internet screens as well as the front pages of our newspapers. The media bias of sensationalism has been used as a sort of escapism for readers. Although it may seem that sensationalism has just started making waves, it has been around for decades. Sensationalism has been influencing viewers and contributing to media bias since the days of the penny press. Sensationalisms long history has been turbulent, self-serving, and influential to today’s reporting practices. With the influence over readers’ sensationalism’s media bias have and will continue to affect media reporting for years to come.