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It¶s Sensationalc
I spent a few weeks of my summer at my grandparents¶ house. My grandma has

CNN constantly playing in the background and is very much in the know, especially

when it comes to celebrity drama and stories involving the criminal justice system. I

personally do not enjoy prying into the lives of celebrities, so when I awoke one morning

to Lindsay Lohan crying in court about the inhumane punishment she received for

violating her probation, I could not help but gag. Why was this drama receiving lead

story coverage on CNN? I flipped the channel to a few other major news networks, and

unfortunately, the Lohan story was major news in every source I investigated. It even

received print coverage from major newspapers including the New York Times and the

Washington Post. This irritated me. What separated these news sources from tabloids?

To make matters worse, my grandma, mom, cousins, and sisters proceeded to discuss the

story for the next several weeks. Rather than focusing on the societal implications of

healthcare reform, counterterrorism initiatives, or who is governing our community, my

family was worried about Lindsay Lohan spending 90 days in jail. The dilemma is not

just within my family; it is a societal issue. This bothered me all summer and triggered

some self-evaluation. What role do I as a journalist have in this distorted view of what

news is, or is it even distorted at all?

According to the Oxford Journal, the ³agenda setting´ theory suggests that the

media decides both what issues people think about and how they think about them

(Smith). If this theory is correct, then journalists¶ role in the public¶s focus, and

ultimately, knowledge, of the surrounding world is immense. The theory also makes the

media partially responsible for a misalignment in priorities regarding societal issues, that

is, if the priorities are in fact misaligned.

 

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I read a book this summer by Lynne Rienner Publishers entitled, Tabloid Justice:

Criminal Justice in an age of Media Frenzy. Unfortunately, I do not have access to the

entirety of book here in Missoula for exact quotation in this paper. However, some of the

statistics uncovered in studies reported by the authors are so alarming they stuck with me.

One study showed that more people know the name of the judge presiding over the O.J.

Simpson case than can identify a Supreme Court justice. Even more alarming is that

more people know who JonBenet Ramsey is than those who could point out the Vice

President of the United States. The book also stated that almost every major news

network interrupted the President¶s 1995 State of the Union Address to reveal the verdict

of the O.J. Simpson trial. (Fox)

The problem is not that the Lindsay Lohan story or the stories mentioned above

are being covered but that major news organizations are prioritizing these stories higher

than more significant news. We live in a time of economic hardship, political unrest,

energy crisis, terrorism, nuclear proliferation, and war. The public needs to focus on

these issues instead of celebrity gossip. In a May 1990 issue of the USA Today reporter

Judy Woodruff said, "Can the world's best democracy, the United States, survive given

the way our free press sometimes functions? Some of us in the media have gotten caught

up in the size of our audience, the profits to be made, catering to short attention spans,

and seeking the sensational. Consequently, we seem to have forgotten something basic --

that we are here to serve the public, to bring them informed judgments about their

community, the nation, and the planet.´ (Rowland)

While Lindsay got headline coverage, the relisting of the wolves on the

endangered species list, the pull-out of the last combat troops in Iraq, and the continued
 

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bad economic reports were left under-covered. The importance of these world-shaping

events is lost when focus is placed on more sensational and less important news. The

president of the Los Angeles based Bernstein Crisis Management, Jonathon Bernstein,

said, ³What¶s happened to the media in the past 20 years is what I call National

Enquirization. That is what happens in every paper now.´ (Schmelzer) The problem of

underage drinking is a significant societal issue, but coverage of it using celebrities is

more to sell papers than to provide the public with pertinent information.

An article by the Oxford Journal entitled ³Celebrity DUIs: Teachable Moments or

Problematic Social Modeling?´ took an in-depth look into the coverage of the Lindsay

Lohan story. The article looked at a study that concluded that the media focused on

glamorous celebrity images rather than aiming to provide information that could help the

problem of underage drinking and probation violation. The study found that not only is

this not helping the problem, but it is actually making it worse. When teens and young

adults see a glamorous celebrity breaking the law, they are more likely to follow her

example than be turned away from the crime. (Smith)

True-crime author, analyst, and co-editor of crime-rant.com, Gregg Olsen,

described the reasoning behind high profile, sensationalized news increasing societal

problems. He stated, ³You get people all of a sudden wanting to be on TV, wanting

money. Everybody assumes their story is worth something in the media and somebody is

going to pay them. It¶s that mentality and the presses¶ willingness to cater to it that can

manipulate public perception.´ (Schmelzer)

Then there is the issue of a rapidly declining confidence in the news media. A

poll by USA Today, CNN, and Gallup found that only 36 percent of Americans believe
 

c c

news organizations get facts straight. This is a nearly 20 percent decrease from the 54

percent in 1989. A study by the American Society of Newspaper Editors found that 80

percent of the American public said they believe journalists chase sensational stories

because they think it will sell papers, not because they think it is important news.

(Current Problems) I spoke with my father, Kelly Wooley, and several people of

different majors across campus and found that this was the common consensus. Wooley

stated, ³There were several very important stories that should have been the lead story

during the weeks the media obsessed over Lindsay Lohan. Unfortunately, they took the

back burner to a less important story because of the story¶s titillation factor. Lindsay

Lohan¶s story has its place in tabloid news. It is not serious news and should not be a

lead story on mainstream news networks.´

A journalist¶s job is to provide the public with information. The executive

director of the media analysis, education, and advocacy organization of women in media

and news (WIMN), Jennifer Pozner, said, ³Sensationalism does not help us as news

consumers get the information we need. It¶s not reflective of what¶s newsworthy, and it¶s

not journalistically ethical.´ (Schmelzer)

Yet, we live in an age of information overload. People can access information

with a click of a mouse or a television remote control at any moment. Different news

organizations are fighting for viewers and readers. With the creation of the 24-hour news

cycle, news agencies always have to have something to report, something that will keep

viewers interested. Unfortunately, the stories that attract viewers are often sensational.

A study by Massey University in New Zealand attributes a good portion of

sensationalism to in-court media coverage. The study found that 10 percent of judges, 17
 

c!c

percent of witnesses, and 20 percent of jurors involved in the cases studied were

dissatisfied with the accuracy of the coverage (Smithers).

While in-court coverage can be sensationalized, legal coverage also has many

benefits. According to Tabloid Justice: Criminal Justice in and Age of Media Frenzy,

media coverage of courtroom proceedings increases civic education about the inner

workings of the legal system, raises public awareness of due process by forcing the courts

to behave in the fairest way possible, and boosts overall public confidence (Fox 17).

Problems arise when the media takes the focus away from the issues and direct it to the

glamorous celebrity images, personality quirks of defense lawyers, hairstyles of

attorneys, and beauty contests. KPAX crime reporter Irina Cates said, ³Media coverage

in the courtroom is important because it holds the legal system accountable for the

punishment that is given out. I think it helps with making sure a fair punishment is given

without going overboard. I also think that in a way it helps the victims because they feel

like justice is being served when they see the person who hurt them in the paper or on

TV.´

Journalists sometimes feel the need to report sensational news in order to get the

public to pay attention to the important news. Cates said, ³I think sometimes it's hard to

avoid sensationalism because you want to make the story exciting, especially when it

comes to court hearings. But sticking to the facts is what helps me to stay away from

sensationalizing a crime story.´

Unfortunately, there is no cut and dry answer to the problem. Yes, journalists do

contribute to society¶s focus on various events to some extent. However, the public

wants to be entertained. Finding the line between entertainment and news can be
 

c"c

difficult. The first step to solving the problem is for reporters to go into covering a story

remembering his/her responsibility to give the public an accurate report of what is

happening in the community, nation, and planet. He/she needs to focus on the facts.

After the stories have been reported, the important news need to be placed first while the

more sensational stories take the back seat. Small changes such as these can leave a big

impact on society¶s knowledge of important world-changing events and the reputation of

journalists everywhere.

#
 

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Works Cited

Cates, Irina. Personal Interview. Sept. 2, 2010.

Current Problems in the Media. DailySource.org, 2010. Web. Sept. 1, 2010.

http://www.dailysource.org/about/problems

Fox, Richard, Van Sickel, Robert, and Steiger, Thomas. ³Tabloid Justice: Criminal

Justice in an Age of Media Frenzy.´ 2nd ed. Boulder, Colo.: Lynne Rienner,

2007. Print.

Rowland, Paul. "Sensationalism in the News." Northern Notes. Northern Illinois

University, April 8, 1998. Web. Sept. 1, 2010.

http://www3.niu.edu/newsplace/sen.html

Schmelzer, Randi. "Sensational Reporting can be Bad News." PR Week 04 Dec. 2007:

Web. Sept. 1, 2010.

http://www.prweekus.com/pages/login.aspx?returl=/sensational-reporting-can-be-

bad-

news/article/99588/&pagetypeid=28&articleid=99588&accesslevel=2&expiredda

ys=0&accessAndPrice=0

Smith, Katherine, Twum, Denise, and Gielen, Andrea. "Media Coverage of Celebrity

DUIs: Teachable Moments or Problematic Social Modeling?" Oxford Journals

(2009): Web. Sept. 1, 2010.

http://alcalc.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/full/44/3/256
 

c#c

Smithers, Mary. "TV in Court Adds to Sensationalism." Evening Post, Sept. 22, 1998,

Print.

Wooley, Kelly. Personal Interview. Sept. 1, 2010.