Paparazzi and Their Contribution to Princess Diana's Death
It was only last August that the familiar world of U.S. evening television programming was interrupted by a terse bulletin, stating only Princess Diana of Wales had been injured in an auto accident in France. However, moments after the first bulletin, a second news flash interrupted, ominous in the complete lack of details, gravely stating that an update on the Princess Diana’s condition was coming. The update, as promised, came, succinctly describing her having recently died in a French hospital, after being removed from the wreckage of a late night automobile accident. Later, other details were added in further reports, especially how motorcycle-riding photographers and reporters had pursued her sedan at high speeds. Some eyewitnesses had also been quoted as saying the motorcyclists had swerved in front of her car, causing the driver veer away from the cyclists and into a wall.
The question soon asked by many, including the French magistrates, was “who was responsible for Diana’s death? It was not as simple as just negligent motorcyclists involved, as the accident was complicated by Diana’s driver allegedly having a drinking problem, and witnessed as driving much too fast. If anything, the photographers were just a contributing factor to the accident. Certainly, there were people who voiced either one or the other opinion. In some of the first reports after the accident, as related in the BBC news (1), a white Fiat Uno was reported to have been involved in the crash, and pieces of the Uno were supposedly found intermingled with that of the Mercedes. Although it was not known who was driving the Uno, speculation immediately focused on one o...
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...as certainly more important in than the paparazzi in causing her death. One might even make a claim that the paparazzi were simply guilty of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Their invasion of her privacy was no worse the evening of the accident that at any other time, and could be argued as having no greater effect that evening than at any other point in her life. Despite all the opinions placing blame on the paparazzi, there is just not enough evidence to convince, or to convict.
Works Cited
1. BBC News, http://204.71.177.72/headlines/970831/entertainment/
2. Reuter News Service, http://204.71.177.72/headlines/970831/entertainment/
3. Retuer News Service,
http://204.71.177.72/headlines/97091/news/stories/driver_5.html
4. Daily News, http://dailynews.yahoo.com/headlines
5. American Photo Syndicate, http://www.american-photo.com/cgi/ID:cgi
Chloe Valentine lived in Ingle Farm with her mother Ashlee Polkinghorne, 23 and her mother’s partner Benjamin McPartland, 28 . Together they thought it was a good joke to force Chloe to drive a motorbike three times her weight . The motorbike was a 50cc dirt bike of 50kg while Chloe only weighed 17kg . Chloe’s estimated speed on the motorbike while driving was 40km/hr . During this time she became unconscious after falling off the motorbike numerous times and was only submitted into the Women’s and Children’s Hospital eight hours and a half after the incident . Shortly after submitting Chloe into hospital, Ashlee Polkinghorne had left and Chloe valentine died on January 20th 2012 .
Wang’s studies have shown that news industries are now tabloidizing news because it elicits the attention of their viewers. Now the only thing considered as “entertainment” in the news is “crimes, accidents, and disasters”. Wangs writes “News that bleeds seem to still lead the primary broadcasts” (Wang 722). People nowaday only tune in when a disaster has occurred and anything other that is not “interesting”. Unfortunately, people would rather watch Isis in action then heard about Obama releasing innocent victims from prison. The reporter in “Gray Noise” proves Wang’s words true when he records on his lens about a mother who had just lost her
Sue Grafton once stated: “Except for cases that clearly involve a homicidal maniac, the police like to believe murders are committed by those we know and love, and most of the time they're right.” This is clearly the thought the Boulder Colorado police conceived in the case of little beauty queen JonBenet Ramsey. As many have observed from the onslaught of media coverage, the day after Christmas 1996, six year old Jon Benet Ramsey was found buried under a white blanket, bound, beaten, and strangled to death in the wine cellar of their Boulder home. With such a strikingly rare and glamorous story of a six year old beauty queen dead, who was a part of a “perfect American upper-middle class family”, combined with a lack of a lead and ever mounting suspicion piling up against the parents it was no surprise to find that it was fuel to the media and soon stories sold and became a matter of competition between the press. So, like wildfire, this heart-breaking story spread, stretching across the nation, shattering the souls of the world. News broadcasts, magazine and newspaper articles, and television specials all shaped and molded peoples perceptions of this beautiful child’s murder, especially her parents, John and Pasty Ramsey’s involvement or lack there of. The police and FBI’s merciless quest to connect Jon Benet’s murder to her parents, seemed to cause the them to overlook important evidence, or at the very least dismiss suspicious findings that would otherwise send red flags to investigators. There are many contributors as to why this case remains unsolved including lack of investigative expertise, failure to protect valuable evidence, and focusing too much on the parents as suspects but, ultimately, the over involvement of...
That night, many witnesses reported having seen a man changing the tire of his van and waving any possible help away angrily while others reported seeing a woman wandering around the side of the dangerous highway. More witnesses reported that Kenneth and his wife were having many violent disputes at their home that usually resulted in Kenneth pursuing an angry Yvonne around the block. The most compelling evidence against Mathison, however, is purely scientific. Detective Paul Ferreira first noticed that the extensive blood stains inside the Mathison van. After hearing Mathison’s original account, he summoned the assistance of famed forensic expert Dr. Henry Lee to analyze what he thought was inconsistent evidence. Blood stains on the paneling and the spare tire in the cargo area reveal low-velocity blood stains meaning that the blood probably dripped from Yvonne’s head onto the floor. The stains found on the roof and steering wheel were contact transfer patterns probably caused by Mathison’s bloody hands. Blood stains on the driver’s side of the van were contact-dripping patterns which indicate that Mathison touched the inside of the van multiple times before and after moving his wife’s body. The final groups of blood stains on the instrument panel of the van were medium-velocity stains which show investigators that Mathison probably struck his wife at least once in the front seat causing the blood to fly from her open head wound. The enormous amounts of blood inside the van lead prosecutor Kurt Spohn to investigate the Mathison case as a murder instead of a misdemeanor traffic violation.
In reference to the media’s role, they have been highlighted for playing a part in maintaining these views by portraying victims in a certain way according to the newsworthiness of each story and their selectiveness (Greer, 2007). Furthermore, there has been an increase in both fictional crime programmes and crime documentaries, with Crimewatch particularly becoming a regular part of British viewing. In the modern context, crime has continued to represent a large proportion of news reporting and with the aid of social networking sites and self-publicity via the internet, journalists are now more able to dig even deeper into the lives of people on whom they wish to report. Newspapers continue to keep the public informed with the latest headlines and the internet has also provided opportunities for members of the public to have their input in blogs.
Shock waves went around the world when news spread that the ‘people’s princess’, Princess Diana of Wales, had died. On August 31st, 1997, she was involved in a car crash and sustained serious injuries, passing away four hours after the collision. Official investigators concluded that it was an accident, caused by the driver’s alcohol levels, and pursuing paparazzi. In comparison, a conspiracy theory suggests that the crash was orchestrated by the British Secret Service, as ordered by the Monarchy. Part 1: Official Theory
...rld has told the media that this was dawns mistake and it is her fault that she is dead.
...her and the more modern case of Brian Walski demonstrates the importance of ethics in the mass media. With the public dependent on photographers for images that will give an accurate and true representation of the facts, in some cases even leading to such important decisions as giving relief aid, waging war, or determining votes in an election, it is vitally important that journalistic images be true and unaltered likenesses of real persons and events. Even apparently innocent misrepresentations, designed to create a better image or better prove a point, can have serious consequences for the photographer, the subjects of the image, and the public. It is a reminder of the importance of honesty in all professions.
First, Postman makes a point that networks lead stories cover tragedies as an attention grabber. Another way some people refer to this technique is, “If It Bleeds It Leads”. PBS NewsHour broadcast began with a short two minute story about a train that crashed into a garbage truck. They start off by showing the crashed train and video of rescue workers scrambling around the
The media is one of the most powerful tools in people’s lives, since it’s used by many as the medium for the delivery of useful information to diverse audience. Over the past few years, the media landscape has undergone noteworthy developments. Prized information about various cultural groups is often relayed through appropriate media, and it’s interesting to note that blogs are currently being utilized as the best medium for celebrity gossip. Celebrity blogs are usually thronged with readers, who would like to know more about their favorite superstars. The entries of different celebrity gossip blogs are often accompanied by paparazzi photos that are usually meant to trigger a stream of comments based on the readers’ observations, enthusiasm and criticisms.
In the report “Who could kill a child?” the two journalists produced a web based article which is easily accessible for its viewers on their mobile phones and tablets. It also uses short paragraphs which are well-organised so it is easy to read. The article also uses media to further convey the message of ‘who could kill a child’ by including three photographs of young filicides that have occurred in South Australia. This is done to make readers emotional and remorseful about the events that have taken place. Although The Advertiser has been published as a daily publication on South Australian’s tragedy which has generalised a huge focus. The journalists have also used many photographs in this article to capture the reader’s attention. They have used many pictures including one from the car being pulled out of the water, a family photo, a photo of the two boys, the brother of Damien Little visiting the growing memorial sit at Port Lincoln wharf and many more. These have all been used to make the reader feel something from the incident that has
...wasn’t charged because of her memory lapses of the night, but the fact remains that social media had a large part in influencing the public opinion on who was right and who was wrong. In the publics eye and on social media, the young woman was a liar and Winston was a saint.
There are many criminal events that occur every day, however only a few are selected as they are deemed to be newsworthy. Chibnall (1977) claimed that a story is classed as newsworthy if it is dramatized, immediate and involves structured access. ‘The Sun’ could be seen to use all these elements, for example they over emphasize on the violence that occurred and ...
...go on April 7, 1997. The announcement of a new archbishop for Chicago is clearly news. So are stories that reaffirm our humanity and the resilience of the human spirit – the drowned high school student, the 13-year-old boy and the 10-year-old girl struggling to come back to life from the brink of death – and, certainly, the story of an innocent 7-year-old girl shot down during a senseless act of violence. Stories of missing boaters and heroic efforts to find them are news as well. Even stories of aberrant behavior and politicians falling from grace are news. However, as I stated earlier, it is important to supplement TV news with other sources of information, e.g., a reputable newspaper, a weekly news magazine, or a radio news broadcast, for more in-depth coverage, insights gained from different perspectives, and any stories not covered in the television newscasts.
“I knew what my job was; it was to go out and meet the people and love them.” These words were spoken by a woman who honestly cared about what people were going through and understood their suffering: Princess Diana. Even when she was going through the most terrible moments in her life, she was strong, positive and always willing to help others. She helped the poor, people with diseases, and children in need. Princess Diana didn’t act like royalty and she dedicated hundreds of hours to helping adults and children who were deprived of love and affection. She changed people’s minds and perspectives about the victims of horrid sicknesses and the less fortunate.