Com 310 Foundations and Ethics:
Dr. Janet McMullen
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Media and Anti-Social Behavior |
Reading: Day, Chapter 9
This lecture will draw largely from your text book and current events. We will spend most of our class time examining
current issues concerning media and anti-social behavior.
The issue is this: What responsibility do media have in encouraging or discouraging anti-social behavior? As we look at these various issues, you'll see lots of different opinions. I'd like to remind you to remember the basic ethical imperative: CONSIDER THE INTERESTS OF OTHERS BEFORE YOUR OWN. Are some of the people we'll be looking at and the programming they produce doing that? If not, why?
There are lots of examples where "copycats" saw anti-social behavior of one kind or another in media and did the same or similar act with disastrous results. Some of the more notable ones include:
Here are some key questions we need to consider regarding this issue:
Keep in mind, media are one of the most powerful socialization agents in the country. The purpose of socialization is to preserve the nature and stability of the society. Remember how you were taught to be "good citizens" in elementary school? When does that responsibility stop? If we have a responsibility as individuals to be good citizens.........
Your author discusses three categories of issues which surround mass media:
Let's look at these from the perspective of NEWS:
Anti-Social Acts and Professional Obligations
News Reporting: Sometimes reports behave in anti-social ways while covering a story.
In 1989, columnist Jack Anderson smuggled a gun into the U.S. Capitol building to make a point for a television program on terrorism. For that behavior, he was publicly censured by a panel of journalists.
Media practitioners MUST obey the law, and we really hurt our credibility when we don't obey the law, or when we disrespect the needs and
sensibilities of those we cover.
Media as Accessories to Anti-social behavior:
Some times news people have acted as accomplices to anti-social behavior. One famous case involved a news crew actually staging a pot party to do a story on drug use. In others, Reporters have asked rioters to "throw something though another window" so they could get a better shot.....
It is sometimes believed that news media actually encourage criminal behavior. Why?
So should media not cover crime?
How do news media balance the news with social responsibility?
There are three categories of ethical issues regarding anti-social behavior and news:
There was considerable concern that reporters mishandled the Columbine High School shooting. An article a year later in Broadcasting and Cable entitled "Lessons of Columbine" examined the reporting on that horrible day. While some serious mistakes were made, it seems that Columbine made news directors all across the country aware that they better have a plan and policy for covering such stories. The Poynter Institute examined this issue in more detail, and a spokesman was quoted in the Broadcasting article. "We learn from each of these situations....In Columbine, we confronted the danger of putting on air live the voices of those trapped within the crisis....The story reaffirmed for us the great danger of certain elements of live coverage of a breaking crisis. When student Patrick Ireland was seen falling out of that window, my concern was not it gruesomeness...but the danger that the gunmen could be watching television and use that information to shoot at escaping students." Stations tried not to show police tactical positions but did show escaping students. The shooters could have seen and begun shooting at those students. (Trigoboff, Dan, April 3, 2000 p. 28)
The Poynter Institute developed a list of guidelines to aid journalists in these situations: (For full text, see: http://www.poynter.org/research/lm/lm_afterlittle.htm )
CHECK WITH POYNTER INSTITUTE FOR in depth examination of the coverage and issues surrounding the Littleton shootings:
The site also provides links to day by day coverage of the shootings and aftermath by Denver news media and others. It is a very interesting and valuable site. REQUIRED READING!
The issue of live coverage of breaking news stories has offered additional challenges. In addition to the Columbine incident, a situation in Los Angeles where a man brandishing a shot gun stopped traffic for several hours offered a grim example of what ought NOT to happen. The man ultimately poured gasoline on himself, returned to the cab of his truck where he set himself and his dog on fire while helicopters circled above, video cameras rolling. He then fled the truck, pulled his burning clothes off, then picked up his shot gun and blew his brains out - at approximately four in the afternoon on live TV. The events shocked the nation and made station managers re-evaluate how and why they go live with a story.
READ:
In the library packet:
The next year stations went live as when a gunman opened fire in a L.A. Community Center, and the issue of "wall-to-wall" coverage was raised again.
"Wall-to-Wall Journalism or Macabre Infotainment?" Poynter Institute. 8/11/99. (http://www.poynter.org/Research/compcred/lashoot.htm#al )
The issue of terrorism is one we will spend some time in class discussing. Be sure you know the facts surrounding the taking of TWA FLIGHT 847?
In your library packet at the reserve desk in Collier, you will find several articles from the period discussing the coverage of that news event. While terrorism and its coverage had become an issue in the early 1980s, this incident demonstrated that the good intentions expressed earlier we not put into practice during this hostage situation. Be sure you read the following articles:
Radio Television News Director's Association established some excellent guidelines concerning hostage and terrorist situations. Be sure to read the recommendations at http://www.rtnda.org/ethics/crisis.shtml , "Guidelines for Covering Hostage-Takling Crises, Police Raids, Prison Uprisings or Terrorist Actions." (By Bob Steele)
You haven't already done so, check out Dr. Mc's Media and Terrorism notes.
Unabomber Manifesto:
Media faced another serious ethical question in 1995 when faced with publishing the Unabomber's manifesto. The New York Times and The
Washington Post decided to publish the 35,000 word document because the bomber said he would not kill any more people if they did. He
gave the papers a three-month deadline and made them promise to publish three annual follow-up stories. The document was published in a
special joint section of both papers for which they shared the cost. The estimated bill for the publication was between $30,000 and $40,000.
Both publishers said they published the document for safety reasons, not journalistic ones. (Landsberg, 1995). As it turned out, the brother of
the Unabomber recognized his brother's writing style, reported him to the police and ultimately lead to his capture.
What are the responsibilities of media practitioners to help law enforcement?
In 1986 Geraldo Rivera went on a police "bust" and broadcast it live. In recent years "reality programming" has made "ride alongs" common place, although the courts have called a halt to much of that as a violation of privacy.
What if police ask a news organization to broadcast false information in order to trap a criminal?
A recent incident in Baltimore illustrated this situation. Police and news media worked closely during the four-day event. While the local newspaper criticized the stations for being manipulated by the police, the news directors said they retained the decision making process. The police merely sensitized them to safety issues. For that reason, they didn't cover much of the hostage situation during the event, but waited until it was over to provide all the information they had gathered. They didn't cover the final confrontation with police live until the police informed them that the perpetrator was sleeping because they knew he had been watching television coverage of the hostage situation.
WBAL-TV News Director Princell Hair : "We have to cover the story, and we have to make choices. We don't want to become agents of the police, but there are three people's lives at stake. And if we're making the choices, aren't we still retaining editorial control?" (Trogoboff, March 27, 2000 p. 14).
In January, 2001, the remaining two of seven escaped convicts from Texas, agreed to surrender peacefully if they were allowed to give an interviewed over local station KKTV (TV). There was a concern that anchor Eric Singer's interview compromised journalistic independence. Poynter Institute's Bob Steele said about the case, "I don't think this was an easy call...Once you agree to give these fugitives live television coverage you are not functioning fully as a journalist. And once you decide to cooperate and give this platform, you are serving the interest of police and public safety and not asking the questions you would normally be asking." (Trigoboff, 1/29/01).
While we question the coverage of anti-social behavior, the television program America's Most Wanted contributed to the capture of the fugitives. Residents in the trailer park where they were hiding recognized the men from pictures shown on the program and called the authorities. The program claims 646 fugitives arrested as a result of its efforts over the last 16 years. That's pro-social use of television.
In 2000, television became part of the story when Elian Gonzales came to the U.S. During the months-long controversy over whether he should remain with Cuban-American relatives or return to Cuba with his father, media followed every detail of the story and camped out in front of the family's home in Miami. In April, the six year old appeared in a home video which aired on Univision in which he said he didn't want to live with his father or return to Cuba. The video was subsequently shown hundreds of times on numerous television news programs. News media were accused of exploitation or of being exploited by the family to create public opinion favorable to their position.
An excellent resource for journalists is the book :
Cote, William and Roger Simpson. Covering Violence: A Guide to Ethical Reporting about Victims and Trauma. New York: Columbia University Press, 2000.
This book is practical, readable and a "must" for journalism and bj students.
Responsibilities and Anti-Social Behavior in Entertainment Media:
There are a number of specific areas of consideration here:
Talk Shows: (An excellent resource is Heaton's Tuning In Trouble. It's available in the library but out of print at this time. )
Some of the key questions involve
Jenny Jones Murder Trial:
In March, 1995, The Jenny Jones Show did a program on same-sex crushes in which Jonathan Schmitz was told someone had a secret crush on him. He was told it could be a man or a woman. It turned out to be a man who revealed a lurid fantasy involving Schmitz. Schmitz, a heterosexual was embarrassed by the fantasy and the show. A few days later, Schmitz shot Scott Amedure dead. In the trail that followed the responsibility of The Jenny Jones Show in the murder. Schmitz was found guilty of second degree murder and in 1999, the show was found liable and the family of Amedure awarded $25 million dollars. (Hyde, 1999)
Jerry Springer Show:
I probably don't have to say anything about this program....It speaks for itself. All it is ever about is anti-social behavior. A few years ago there were allegations that actors were hired to portray guests.
Reality Shows:
Beginning with "Who Wants to Be A Millionaire," reality game shows became extremely popular at the turn of the century. Survivor was the first raise serious questions about the message of the show. By placing contestants in extreme conditions and pitting them against each other, the whole focus of the program seemed to be on anti-social behavior. Back-stabbing and machiavellian strategies were a significant part of contestant's activities. In the summer of 2000, Big Brother offered more of the same, with contestants cooped up in a house for several weeks, and Temptation Island went in a different direction, luring partners in couples to be unfaithful to each other with lots of "skin" and provocative situations. Voting people "off" with biting remarks and ridicule was introduced as the attraction to NBC's reality entry, The Weakest Link. in 2001. NBC passed on another 2001 program, Chains of Love, in which one person is chained to four people of the opposite sex for up to four days. Again, sexual situations, skin and titillation are the attraction. Runner is planned for Fall, 2001, a program in which a person crosses the country while contestants try to find him. The chase concept could be dangerous, and that is one of the concerns ABC has while the program is in development. The question about these programs is, "What do they say about appropriate behavior in our culture?" (Remember what you know about prestige conferral from Mass Com Theory. )
Anti-Social Programming: These programs feature anti-social behavior as a regular course of action and a main focus of the content of the show. Some examples we will discuss in class include....
South Park:
Wrestling:
The Man Show:
Jackass:
Violence: The first amendment will protect most violent content, but what is legal is not always ethical. Considering recent events in Columbine should give us cause to consider the ethical implications of violent anti-social behavior in media content. For more information about the effects of the media violence, see the violence lecture linked from the Com 314 (Mass Com Theory) syllabus.
After the shootings in Littleton, Colorado at Columbine High School, considerable focus was placed on the issue of violence in entertainment. Hearings were held in Washington and the President called media leaders to the White House to discuss the issue.
There were indications that the two shooters had watched a dream sequence in the movie, Basketball Diaries, numerous times and may have patterned their crime after that scene.
Hitman Handbook: One of the more notable cases, this book was used to plan a murder. Was the publication liable? The courts said the liability suit could go forward. (Associated Press, 1998) Freedom Forum Online also had information about this case:
AP. "Hit Man Publisher Settles Oregon Law Suit" Freedom Forum Online 2/27/02 at http://www.rtnda.org/ethics/crisis.shtml
and
AP. "Oregon Woman Claims Would-Be Killer Used Book." Freedom Forum Online. 9/11/00 at http://www.freedomforum.org/templates/document.asp?documentID=3719
For more information: See the Paladin Press web site at http://www.paladin-press.com/bestsellers.html Is this ethical behavior on the part of a publisher? What do you think? Why?
The First Amendment will protect most violent programming, but what are the responsibilities of media practitioners?
The Old NAB code had some specific guidelines about violence
In real life sometimes crime does pay, so do such codes work? Are they valuable?
Why is there so much violence in media content? (Violence has always been part of drama and literature....)
Your author offers some guidelines:
Whose responsibility is violent content? What are the issues?
Advertising and Violence: Some magazines accept ads for paid assassins, illegal weapons, drug paraphernalia
Personal Conduct:
This is a very practical concern. As a representative of your station you can't "flip off" a driver who cuts you off or curse out the person at the bar who offends you in some way. Whether you want to be or not, you will be a role model and a representative of your company. If you don't represent them appropriately, you may not keep your job. Still, that's not the most serious concern. Some stations encourage outrageous behavior in their personnel ( i.e. Howard Stern) . YOU still have to look yourself in the mirror, and someday you'll have to explain to your kids why you did what you did and why they SHOULD NOT behave that way.........
Substance Abuse:
Since 1998, there has been a recurrence in the use of drugs, cigarettes and alcohol in motion pictures. While substance abuse has been a recurring topic in music, it had not been overly present in motion pictures in recent years. A study commissioned by the Department of Health and Human Services in 1999 found that people were shown using drugs, drinking or smoking in 98 percent of the top movie rentals and 27% of the most popular songs in 1996 and 1997. 93 percent of the movies showed alcohol use, 89 % portrayed tobacco use and 22 percent showed characters using drugs. About 1/4 of the movies which showed characters using drugs contained graphic depictions of HOW to use them. Only five of the top movies were free of substance abuse. (Riechmann, 4/28/99)
We'll spend a lot of time in class discussion. Be sure you're in class!
Copyright, 2002
Janet McMullen