Trial by Media
With 27 million newspapers bought and 99 percent of the adult
population watching an average of 2½ hours of television every day,
the British Media (mass media) has a massive audience. Since the
1920's, sociological research has been conducted on the basis of
concerns about the potentially negative influence over the media
consuming public.
Early research conducted by the Payne Fund studies found that the mass
media had a powerful effect over its audience, which lead to the more
recent 'trial by media' debate. 'Trial by Media' essentially
translates as media bias. The Sun Newspaper's switch from Conservative
to Labour just before the general election in 1997, and Labour's
subsequent win, arguably demonstrates evidence of the powerful effect
of bias within the media. (Jones M., Jones E. Mass Media 1998 p190) In
the case of Jamie Bulger, murdered by two young boys in 1993, blame
was attributed to the media for the 18-certificate horror 'Childs
Play3' production, from which the boys were said to have 're-enacted'
some scenes. (Jones p76) The many studies into media effects on
audiences have raised some valid arguments and theories. Belief as to
who has more effect over media content (and bias of content) is
divided into hegemonic Marxist theory (dominated by elite ideology)
versus the pluralist approach (public autonomy). Debate into audience
reception of media output falls into several different schools of
thought; reception analysis theory, deviancy amplification and moral
panic, and the argument over whether the media encourages violence.
This essay will examine these issues with reference to the
implications ...
... middle of paper ...
...is the norm,
implications are both positive and negative; they serve to maintain
the capitalist structure economically and ideologically though
hegemonic rule that legitimates itself through the media. This
legitimisation arguably creates an audience that is both acquiescent
of the media and inculcated with an elitist perspective.
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398).It is also stated that news divisions reduced their costs, and raised the entertainment factor of the broadcasts put on air. (p. 400). Secondly, the media determines its sources for stories by putting the best journalists on the case and assign them to areas where news worthy stories just emanates. (p.400). Third, the media decides how to present the news by taking the most controversial or relevant events and compressing them into 30 second sound-bites. (p.402). finally, the authors also explain how the media affects the general public. The authors’ state “The effect of one news story on public opinion may be trivial but the cumulative effect of dozens of news stories may be important. This shows a direct correlation between public opinions and what the media may find “relevant”. (Edwards, Wattenberg, Lineberry, 2015, p.
“…and on the charge that the prisoner did with others to conspire to destroy the lives of soldiers in the military service of the United States in violation of the laws and customs of war-Guilty” were the words that soared out of Wallace’s mouth at the end of the trial. It was then that Henry Wirz was found guilty. Why? Why was he found guilty? This decision was based on the emotional aspect of the witnesses, and not by the actual guilt. Not only my defense, but also the defense of Wirz’s attorney, Baker, the testimony of the defendant, Henry Wirz, shows that Wirz should not have been found guilty.
According to A Novel Approach to Politics “Questions about the very nature of reality seem to be common in fiction of all sorts.” Especially, The Boondocks, a fictional cartoon, uses satire to describe real events that happen in society. The episode I tuned into was “The Trial of R. Kelly”, which explained how R. Kelly won his trial and the views of the people about his case. In the episode, the people outside the court house showed different cognitive frameworks of how they view R. Kelly situation. In other words, the media made sense of the reality of R. Kelly situation in different ways because of the media wanted to select certain information. In this paper, I will explain how the media exemplified mediated reality and agreement reality in the “The Trial of R. Kelly” episode of The Boondocks.
Epstein, Edward J. News From Nowhere: Television and the News, Vintage, New York NY. 1973, pp. 16; Pearson, David. “The Media and Government Deception.” Propaganda Review. Spring 1989, pp. 6-11.
The media’s influence over the masses of society is great. With every passing generation, the media’s ability to access and relay information to the general public with seemingly the greatest of ease continues to impress. Given the expanse of time that has passed since the 1990s, the media, even more-so to this day, shapes our lives, our perceptions, and influences our opinions greatly. The 1990s served an important decade in our country’s young history. Since the mid-1800s, and even before that time, our country has experienced its share of societal issues, from racism to sexism, to religious bigotry, and police brutality, to name a few. In 1994 a very high-profile case was introduced to the American public, as former NFL star Orenthal James (O.J.) Simpson was charged in the double-homicide of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend and alleged lover, Ronald Goldman (Neuendorf, 2000).
Trial by Jury and Alternatives to It In order to decide whether or not trial by jury should or should not
The issue of pretrial publicity is a maze of overlapping attentions and interwoven interests. Lawyers decry pretrial publicity while simultaneously raising their own career stock and hourly fee by accumulating more if it. The media both perpetrate and comment on the frenzy -- newspapers and television stations generate the publicity in the first place and then actively comment on the likely effect that the coverage will have on the trial. When a high profile case is brought to trial, many media outlets report not only on the details of the trial, but also details about the persons involved, in particular the defendant. Much of the information reported regarding the case is released before the trial starts. Furthermore, media outlets may not only report facts, but also present the information in a way that projects the culpability of the defendant. By allowing pretrial publicity of court cases, potential jurors are given information that could sway their opinion of the defendant even before the trial begins, and how they interpret the evidence given during the trial. The right of a criminal defendant to receive a fair trial is guaranteed by the Sixth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. The right of the press, print and electronic media, to publish information about the defendant and the alleged criminal acts is guaranteed by the First Amendment. These two constitutional safeguards come into conflict when pretrial publicity threatens to deprive the defendant of an impartial jury. However, there is a compromise between these two Constitutional rights, which would allow for the selection of an impartial jury and allow the media to report on the details of the case. The media should only be able to report information once the trial has...
The media, including television programming, cartoons, film, the news, as well as literature and magazines, is a very powerful and pervasive medium for expression. It can reach a large number of people and convey ideas, cultural norms, stereotypic roles, power relationships, ethics, and values. Through these messages, the mass media may have a strong influence on individual behavior, views, and values, as well as in shaping national character and culture. Although there is a great potential for the media to have a positive and affirming effect on the public and society at large, there may be important negative consequences when the messages conveyed are harmful, destructive, or violent.
The Scopes Trial was a major milestone for Religious Conservatives. The Fundamentalists believed that the Bible is without errors, and to follow the idea’s of Darwin is defying God’s word. William Jennings Bryan was a politician who based his political speeches form Biblical teachings. He became an advocate for the common man and Fundamentalists. When a public school teacher was arrested for the teaching of evolution, Bryan was the prosecutor for the highly publicized trial. Clarence Darrow was the defense attorney. Bryan, like most Fundamentalists, believed that the Bible is to be taken literally and not questioned. Darrow called Bryan to the stand and asked him if he believed that there are only 24 hours in the day. Bryan answered yes. Darrow
In the late Seventies, America became shocked and outraged by the rape, mutilation, and murder of over a dozen young, beautiful girls. The man who committed these murders, Ted Bundy, was later apprehended and executed. During his detention in various penitentiaries, he was mentally probed and prodded by psychologist and psychoanalysts hoping to discover the root of his violent actions and sexual frustrations. Many theories arose in attempts to explain the motivational factors behind his murderous escapades. However, the strongest and most feasible of these theories came not from the psychologists, but from the man himself, "as a teenager, my buddies and I would all sneak around and watch porn. As I grew older, I became more and more interested and involved in it, [pornography] became an obsession. I got so involved in it, I wanted to incorporate [porn] into my life, but I couldn’t behave like that and maintain the success I had worked so hard for. I generated an alter-ego to fulfill my fantasies under-cover. Pornography was a means of unlocking the evil I had burried inside myself" (Leidholdt 47). Is it possible that pornography is acting as the key to unlocking the evil in more unstable minds?
David. "Mass Media and the Loss of Individuality." Web log post. Gatlog. N.p., 11 Sept. 2007. Web. 10 May 2014.
How do we know that every time we go into the courtroom for a crime that we have committed we are going to receive a fair trial? How are we supposed to know that each person in there will not already have an opinion? Over the years there have been many different court cases that were decided on what color you were. An example of this is, a white man was a juror in a black man’s case where he killed his wife and his kids, he said that since the man was black he wanted to give him the death penalty. Is this the type of person you would want in your jurors, already having an opinion before you even begin? This is constantly happening all over the United States in court rooms. No matter what happens though people will always have an opinion no matter what. There is no way to change that. What we can change though is having people on the jury that understand what you have been through. This is one of the biggest problems when it comes to court rooms. We need to make sure everyone is given a fair trial, no matter what the circumstance are, and what the ruling could be.
Mass Media. Ed. William Dudley. Farmington Hills, MI: Thompson Gale, 2005. 121-130.
For the first mock trial held in class, the case of the stolen lunch, I did not have a large role. I chose to be a part of the jury, which I feel gave me an immense feeling of responsibility and really allowed me to deeply analyze the case as it was being presented. Within this case, Mary Ovechkin, the plaintiff, had claimed that her lunch had been stolen and ate by the defendant, Sammy Crosby. My first expectation of this case, before it had actually started, was that the defense and prosecution would each have time to present their cases. I expected both sides to question those who were involved, such as the witnesses, defendant, and plaintiff. Then I expected to have to come up with my own verdict to share with the rest of the jury based on the evidence presented. Based on my role, I expected to learn how the jury reaches their decisions.
O’Shaughnessy, M., Stadler, J. (2009)Media and Society: An introduction. Dominant Ideology and Hegemony. London: Oxford.