Media Sensationalism In 'The Las Vegas Bediume Flag Mass Shooting'

Stories sometimes are true and sometimes they are false but it is up to the public to believe in what is right and what is wrong. In this day and age, where information is available at the touch of a mouse, it’s not surprising that the media is a particularly dominant and powerful

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?

Conspiracy theories regarding the Las Vegas scandal have raised attention of many in hopes of uncovering the motive behind the attack. Without reason, Stephen Paddock fired into a crowd of 22,000 country music fans, killing 58 and injuring over 500. As the investigation moves forward, lots of theories behind the deadliest mass murder in US history have surfaced and raised lots of questions. Some are more practical and more likely than others, but all weigh heavily on the tragedy. Police investigations and research gathered by concerned citizens have convoluted and incomplete finds, all claiming different conclusions from the FBI performing an elaborate “routine” cover up, to a security guard accomplice, to the Illuminati striking again.

Fake news reports have been around for as long as the newspaper itself has, and sometimes people who are innocent get painted as the monsters. The story may be twisted but sometimes they realize they truly were the villain in both fake and true realities. The Boston Massacre’s first news report was untrue, showing the soldiers to be shooting at unarmed civilians. The truth wasn't far from that though as they shot civilians who were only armed with rocks and sticks. The soldiers were the whole chain reaction because one of them should not have been swinging a sword in the first place. They didn't need to bring guns into the mix of something so simple, and they were the first to threaten.

In the years to follow, the media has been quick to provide information and at times that information has been incorrect and at the cost of the people they have mistaking identified. After the Boston Marathon Bombing, two men dubbed the “bag men” by news reports were identified as possible suspects even though they had nothing to do with the attacks (Sack, 2013). As of recently in the Phoenix metro area, the local freeways have been facing a series of random shootings. The Arizona Department of Public Safety has already call the unknown suspect a domestic terrorist even though the person or persons are not known nor are their motivations. A few days ago, every news agency was reporting a major break in the case and reporting an arrest in the freeway shootings. The man accused had his name and picture placed on many news outlets as being the freeway shooter. However, the AZ Department of Public Safety is only charging the man with a marijuana charge. AZ DPS has also publicly announced that the man is not their primary suspect and that they still believe the actual shooter is still at large. It is possible that the man is connected, and criminal charges related to the shootings will occur. However, it is also possible that this man has falsely been painted as the serial freeway shooter and a terroist while the real suspect is still looking for more

Criminology is continuously changing and developing. Advances of technology have made media our primary news source for crime. We believe the stories told by our local news media, not doubting a word because these sources are supposedly reliable. Nevertheless, they sometimes do spread false information. It may be intentional or unintentional. According to Cohen, media presence amplifies a problem which did not previously exist (Steeves and Milford, 2015) thus creating a moral panic. As media influence increases, it is necessary for criminologists to study moral panics, such as the Columbine School shootings or the Hurricane Katrina aftermath.

Since people are mostly only able to participate in catastrophes such as this mass shooting at a distance, news media is the primary source of information, which therefore creates the audiences’ reality of the events that occur.(Wheeler 80) With this, the mass media has the control of what people are exposed to, and the choice to amplify awareness to what they choose as important. In an interview conducted with Sarah, an undergraduate student at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, she recalled her exposure to the news of the shooting: “The only reports I had access to, was what I saw in the news”. When asked how she thinks the media had an effect on her perception of the shooting, she stated: ”Well I believe that since the only information I was able to get was from news sources, what I saw in the news is what I believed. So I really do think the media had a strong effect since I was exposed to mainly what they chose to present to me.” With this, media messages, such as the reporting on the Las Vegas shooting, exert a strong influence on audiences and the cultivation of people’s perception. The frequent exposure to these stories of mass shootings and the use of descriptors based on race are fed to the audience and become a common knowledge. Ultimately, the promotion of racial stereotypes through the disproportionate representation of perpetrators of mass shootings influences public opinion and perception.(Lankford) With the strong effect that media has on the people, it is

In journalism, an ethical dilemma is a complex issue or situation that often involves an emotional and psychological conflict between moral obligations and duties, in which to obey one would transgress the other. Within the media there are many stories that can be deemed an ethical dilemma; some more so than others. One of the most recent and prominent ethical dilemmas was the worldwide coverage surrounding the shooting of two American WBDJ journalists, Alison Parker and Adam Ward. Despite the fact that the shooter filmed the ordeal clearly showing the two slain journalists being shot, news outlets had picked it up and ran with the story, which ultimately went viral in minutes. This essay will analyse and thoroughly examine the reporting

Since this presentation should be related to the specific part of the journalism, the newspaper journalism, I decided that it would be suitable to present a story, showing how the journalism can change, manipulate and have serious impact on the society as well as on the stability of the country itself. A story, how a single article can save people from life time of imprisonment and prove a government guilty.

In today’s news there are many situations that occur containing bias information and opinions. Situations are often reported by the news in a negative or positive manner either to make a certain situation seem awful or make a situation seem exceptional. Most people do not realize how the news manipulates many situations to favor someone or something. Recently a shooting happened in San Bernardino killing 14 people. FBI are investigating if the event was just a random act of violence or if the attack came from a terrorist group called Isis. Isis is a terrorist group involved in many attacks on the United States. Isis has already attacked other countries as well, like France and Belgium. The San Bernardino shooting happened on December

A current most spoken issue among the public media is gun violence or mass shooting however the crime is not as many as it was twenty years ago. The term mass shooting does not have an official set of definition yet, but the term indicates crime which is killing as many people as possible in a short time frame. The Federal Bureau of Investigation defines it as “actively engaged in killing or attempting to kill people in a populated area” (Sam Brock, Rachel Witte, and Joe Rojas). A mass shooting can begin due to several reasons: it could be background history, media, despair, or something else. Nico Lang, the author of America’s White Masculinity Complex and The Myth of The “Senseless” Mass Shooting says, mass shooting can also be related to mental “functions like the specter of ‘mental illness.’” A number of mass shooters have serious, often undiagnosed mental problems. Are the mass media addressing the basic issue clearly? Of course, the media address the issue more than the violence expects to be addressed, but it is not overt enough. ….. By examining a variety of news media coverage on the subject of mass shooting, this essay concludes that when choosing stories to cover, the news media must take the general audience into consideration. Ultimately, what is at stake here is the media exaggerate the crime and report it disproportionally, and the distortion of reality can have variety of effects on the viewer or the general audience.

On October 1, 2017 America was, yet again, devastated when Las Vegas suffered the United States worst mass shooting. One man killed over 50 people and injured 527. After he was finished firing from the 39th floor of the Mandalay Bay Resort, he committed suicide. His name was Stephan Paddock (Yan and Park). When most people think of a mass shooting, they think of a terroristic act or someone shooting at a large group of innocent citizens, like Columbine High School or Sandy Hook Elementary School. In actuality, most people do not realize that whenever two or more people are injured or killed by a gun, it is considered a mass shooting. These “mass shootings” happen every day in America and they are one of the leading causes of death in

Nowadays journalists have the responsibility to report facts as accurately, objectively, and disinterestedly as is humanly possible. ‘’The, honest, self-disciplined, well-trained reporter seeks to be a propagandist for nothing but the truth’’ (Casey, 1944b).

Moral panics have been a topic of interest by those who are concerned with criminal and deviant behavior for many years. The term first appeared in criminology in a book written by Stan Cohen, in 1972 and involved a general misinterpretation of the situation, with an exaggerated reaction to a perceived threat, when the actual threat that is being offered (Cohen, S., 1972) (Walters, R., & Bradley, T., 2005). This essay will attempt to explore this concept in further detail, with regards to the literatures findings and explanations of the motives, processes and finer details of a moral panic. It will then explain the media’s role in perpetuating the cycle that is involved with a moral panic. This will include the justification that is used by those in media roles, and the “melodrama” (Anker 2005) (Wright, S., 2015) that is often used in the reports of the issues that give rise to the panics. Lastly, the outcomes of the media’s influential role in the process will be examined through the literature, and also through examples of moral panics in recent settings. This will hopefully provide an overall understanding of the development, perpetuation, and lasting effects that are involved in a moral panic.

In today¡¦s society journalism is under close scrutiny and is losing its credibility. Sensationalism effects both those who receive it in addition to those who report it. This essay will review the history of sensationalism in the media, clearly demonstrate how sensationalism effects ours views on journalism, and confront the ethical dilemmas that journalists must face between reporting objectively and reporting what sells. This will be accomplished by investigating various sources, including articles published on the Internet as well as those published in newspapers and magazines.