Does it bother you Media Sensationalizes (children, case, murder, defendant)

[hartford_renter]

Stories where the victim/perp is good looking or wealthy. How can you sit there with a strait face and tell people you are interested in the casey anthony case for any other reason besides the fact that the mother is attractive?

BTW a 6 year old was killed an dumped on the side of the road in Maine last week, the mother is not attractive (in fact quite hideous) so no media coverage.

Julianne McCrery, Mother of Mystery Maine Boy Arrested for Murder - ABC News

It amazes me how people are this shallow but I guess it is everywhere in the media.

These stories are so blantant it is getting old and quite stupid. It seems the media always has one story and it has to do with an attractive woman, a blond girl that was kidnapped, or some rich person.

Examples - basically every high profile crime in the past 10 years
- Elizabeth Smart
- Casey Anthony (mother is attractive)
- Blond girl murdered in Bermuda by the Belgium kid, who later killed the girl in Peru
- Blond girl 5 year old killed in Boulder Colorado - this one has to be the most blatant example ever - I don't even have to mention her name here

You can put your money on it the next "murder case" will involve an attractive blond woman who was killed, kidnapped or a killer.

What amazes me is the media and people do not just come out and say it, THE ONLY REASON PEOPLE ARE INTERESTED IN THESE CASES IS BECAUSE THE PEOPLE ARE RICH AND ATTRACTIVE> end of story.

[TakeAhike]

I am beyond annoyed. This has gone on 'since the beginning'--I have developed a high degree of contempt for 'journalists'--'yellow dogs'--from Hearst and Pulitzer to Geraldo and down to oozing cess pool.
http://iml.jou.ufl.edu/projects/spri...tionalism.html

If the defendant were African American would Nancy Grace be allowed or have 'the courage' to say the things she says about Casey Anthony--I don't think so.

I assume she believes she is furthering her mission to bring to justice those who hurt the least of these--women and children. She is moving beyond gender, race, socio economic status--'Justice is Blind'.

I am sick of her and all the rest.

I now think of Nancy as 'the little rich girl'. 'I would never take my eyes off my child for one second'---undeniably that is what the majority of parents do with considerable success--or there would be few of us walking around.

The overly dramatic/sensationalized approach just doesn't work for me.



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Caylee Anthony could have grown up to be just like 'Mom'---then we would be instructed to villify her or perhaps hear that 'genetic predisposition' was a factor.

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Sad. Yes, it's sad for the entire family, community and society.

Even sadder --is there anything that can possibly be done for those who have the potential to commit such crimes?
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I am absolutely insulted by the way the news--particularly--'human interest' stories --is presented to the public.

Just take them all off---Jane V. Mitchell, Nancy Grace and others involved in this assault on my sensibilities.

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Furthermore--I suspect that even though the selected jurors say that they haven't been affected, listened to the news, or can set aside what they have heard---that this is not entirely 'true'.

It would be enormously time-consuming and prohibitively expensive but I imagine that data could be gathered to support the premise that that the media subliminally or consciously does influence the public at large.

Was there ever a chance that this woman could get a fair trial-- I have serious doubts.

Nancy Grace--needs to keep her mouth shut. HLN---how about a day in court for you?

'Racial Profiling'--predjudice, bias---I don't notice much diversity in the cases featured --primarily caucasian---why is that?

Weeks, months, years--Casey Anthony, Misty and Ron Cummings and a few others. I try not to watch--it is like having an interactive tabloid magazine. I can walk past them at the grocery store but must be vigilant when I turn on the TV.

[traveler92]

The media airs what gets ratings. The higher the ratings, the more money companies pay to air their ads, and that turns into more revenue for the company. The media doesn't care why people are interested in a story, as long as they're watching.

Also, you mention that Julianne McCrery is getting "no media coverage" and then you provide a link to a NATIONAL news channel. Go to charleyproject.org.org to see 6000 missing person cases where 99% have barely gotten local media coverage. A Google News Search shows that case has gotten plenty of national coverage.

A little girl being murdered in her home on Christmas Night with a ransom note filled with movie quotes is going to interest people. When there's a substantial amount of clues pointing to the parents and brother AND to an intruder, it becomes a big whodunnit. Add in weird things that happen like a 911 call from the home 2 days before the murder and the victim told people she was getting a secret visit from Santa after Christmas, and people are hooked. Notice how I didn't even have to mention that the little girl was rich and was in beauty pageants for the case to be fascinating? You say that it's the most blatant example of people only being interested in a case because the victim was rich and attractive, but most murder cases are nowhere near as complex and bizarre as that one.

For the Caylee Anthony case, I am not interested in that case, but I know for people who are, it has nothing to do with Casey being attractive. Most of the people who follow it are mothers, aunts, grandmothers, etc. They aren't watching it because they are lusting over Casey. There are so many attention-seekin characters in that case, and lots of twists and turns that have happened. The state of Florida has something called the Sunshine Law which requires them to release thousands of pages of evidence so there is plenty for the media and the public to discuss. And the Anthony Family is far from wealthy.

[Isitmeorarethingsnuts?]

[quote=TakeAhike;19345779]I am beyond annoyed. This has gone on 'since the beginning'--I have developed a high degree of contempt for 'journalists'--'yellow dogs'--from Hearst and Pulitzer to Geraldo and down to oozing cess pool.
Sensationalism

It would be enormously time-consuming and prohibitively expensive but I imagine that data could be gathered to support the premise that that the media subliminally or consciously does influence the public at large.


Of course the media influences us. They TELL us which politicians to elect by the way they direct their coverage. They tell us it is fine that we have 20 million or more people in this country and we shouldn't call them illegal, they are immigrants just like us. They tell us there are fat people that will cost us money in the healthcare plan. They tell us it is hateful to use "slurs" against people and change the proper way to address minorities daily. Yet if you aren't "up" on the new verbage you are hateful so you best tune in to hear the latest so you aren't viewed in a negative manner.

Do you remember the President of Mexico telling Obama about a year ago that he was confident Obama could pull off the dream act because afterall, the US had totally turned it's back on smokers in less than 10 years without any proof that second hand smoke was dangerous?

Looks like cell phones may be next.

I thought the media was supposed to be the watchdog for the people. I guess we have the fox watching the hen house.

[hartford_renter]

Originally Posted by traveler92

The media airs what gets ratings. The higher the ratings, the more money companies pay to air their ads, and that turns into more revenue for the company. The media doesn't care why people are interested in a story, as long as they're watching.

Also, you mention that Julianne McCrery is getting "no media coverage" and then you provide a link to a NATIONAL news channel. Go to charleyproject.org.org to see 6000 missing person cases where 99% have barely gotten local media coverage. A Google News Search shows that case has gotten plenty of national coverage.

A little girl being murdered in her home on Christmas Night with a ransom note filled with movie quotes is going to interest people. When there's a substantial amount of clues pointing to the parents and brother AND to an intruder, it becomes a big whodunnit. Add in weird things that happen like a 911 call from the home 2 days before the murder and the victim told people she was getting a secret visit from Santa after Christmas, and people are hooked. Notice how I didn't even have to mention that the little girl was rich and was in beauty pageants for the case to be fascinating? You say that it's the most blatant example of people only being interested in a case because the victim was rich and attractive, but most murder cases are nowhere near as complex and bizarre as that one.

For the Caylee Anthony case, I am not interested in that case, but I know for people who are, it has nothing to do with Casey being attractive. Most of the people who follow it are mothers, aunts, grandmothers, etc. They aren't watching it because they are lusting over Casey. There are so many attention-seekin characters in that case, and lots of twists and turns that have happened. The state of Florida has something called the Sunshine Law which requires them to release thousands of pages of evidence so there is plenty for the media and the public to discuss. And the Anthony Family is far from wealthy.

I thnk those are good points. But I disagree with your analysis in the Casey Anthony case.

People don't have to lust over her to give her more attention then other equal cases, like the one I linked. Its the same reason newsrooms hire attractive anchors it gets people to watch. They aren't lusting but people want to be around see attractive people.

I think her attractiveness explains most of the media sensation around the case.

[CA4Now]

Originally Posted by hartford_renter

It seems the media always has one story and it has to do with an attractive woman, a blond girl that was kidnapped, or some rich person. What amazes me is the media and people do not just come out and say it, THE ONLY REASON PEOPLE ARE INTERESTED IN THESE CASES IS BECAUSE THE PEOPLE ARE RICH AND ATTRACTIVE

I disagree and back what other posters have stated: that it's the type of crime that interests media, not the physical attributes of the person. For example, Mitrice Richardson (many posts on the crime forum) has attracted attention due to the nature of the crime, people's empathy toward her situation, and the pubic outrage at the insensitivity of the police department.