Media Sensationalism

If you keep track of what's going on in the media, you know that Washington's Amanda Knox was convicted of murder in Italy just a couple of days ago. She will serve twenty-six years for the slaying death of her roommate. It was a hugely sensational news story that wrapped around the world for the last two years. Amanda Knox was judged in the court of public opinion on the way she behaved, the pictures of her found on the Internet and her strange mix of stories immediately after the murder. We may never know why or what happened, only the people who were there know, but media has created a story of great sensation.

In America, we are very familiar with the media and the people whose lives get thrust upon the television screens, newspapers and magazines. In turn, we, the average citizen, form our own opinions of those people. Chris Brown, Tiger Woods, Courtney Love, President Clinton, and Michael Jackson are just a few people who have been judged in the court of public opinion in recent time. Their stories have been splashed and vamped up with minutia of information.

I have listed below some items that are quite interesting to read. Read as much as you can, listen to as many people and opinions as you can, then form your own.

Private Death of Public Discourse

Connecting Social Problems and Popular Culture: Why Media is not the Answer

Peaches & Daddy: A Story of the Roaring Twenties, the Birth of Tabloid Media, and the Courtship that Captured the Heart and Imagination of the American Public

Michael Jackson: The Magic, the Madness, the Whole Story, 1958-2009

Media Message: What Film, Television, and Popular Music Teach us about Race, Class, Gender and Sexual Orientation

Importance of Being Famous: Behind the Scenes of the Celebrity-Industrial Complex

Read as many newspapers and magazines as you can here.