Death Makes the News
How the Media Censor and Display the Dead
Jessica M Fishman
- Winner
- of
- the
- 2018
- Media
- Ecology
- Association's
- Erving
- Goffman
- Award
- for
- Outstanding
- Scholarship
- in
- the
- Ecology
- of
- Social
- InteractionWinner
- of
- the
- Eastern
- Communication
- Association's
- Everett
- Lee
- Hunt
- AwardA
- behind-the-scenes
- account
- of
- how
- death
- is
- presented
- in
- the
- mediaDeath
- is
- considered
- one
- of
- the
- most
- newsworthy
- events,
- but
- words
- do
- not
- tell
- the
- whole
- story.
- Pictures
- are
- also
- at
- the
- epicenter
- of
- journalism,
- and
- when
- photographers
- and
- editors
- illustrate
- fatalities,
- it
- often
- raises
- questions
- about
- how
- they
- distinguish
- between
- a
- “fit”
- and
- “unfit”
- image
- of
- death.Death
- Makes
- the
- News
- is
- the
- story
- of
- this
- controversial
- news
- practice:
- picturing
- the
- dead.
- Jessica
- Fishman
- uncovers
- the
- surprising
- editorial
- and
- political
- forces
- that
- structure
- how
- the
- news
- and
- media
- cover
- death.
- The
- patterns
- are
- striking,
- overturning
- long-held
- assumptions
- about
- which
- deaths
- are
- newsworthy
- and
- raising
- fundamental
- questions
- about
- the
- role
- that
- news
- images
- play
- in
- our
- society.In
- a
- look
- behind
- the
- curtain
- of
- newsrooms,
- Fishman
- observes
- editors
- and
- photojournalists
- from
- different
- types
- of
- organizations
- as
- they
- deliberate
- over
- which
- images
- of
- death
- make
- the
- cut,
- and
- why.
- She
- also
- investigates
- over
- 30
- years
- of
- photojournalism
- in
- the
- tabloid
- and
- patrician
- press
- to
- establish
- when
- the
- dead
- are
- shown
- and
- whose
- dead
- body
- is
- most
- newsworthy,
- illustrating
- her
- findings
- with
- high-profile
- news
- events,
- including
- recent
- plane
- crashes,
- earthquakes,
- hurricanes,
- homicides,
- political
- unrest,
- and
- war-time
- attacks.Death
- Makes
- the
- News
- reveals
- that
- much
- of
- what
- we
- think
- we
- know
- about
- the
- news
- is
- wrong:
- while
- the
- patrician
- press
- claims
- that
- they
- do
- not
- show
- dead
- bodies,
- they
- are
- actually
- more
- likely
- than
- the
- tabloid
- press
- to
- show
- them—even
- though
- the
- tabloids
- actually
- claim
- to
- have
- no
- qualms
- showing
- these
- bodies.
- Dead
- foreigners
- are
- more
- likely
- to
- be
- shown
- than
- American
- bodies.
- At
- the
- same
- time,
- there
- are
- other
- unexpected
- but
- vivid
- patterns
- that
- offer
- insight
- into
- persistent
- editorial
- forces
- that
- routinely
- structure
- news
- coverage
- of
- death.An
- original
- view
- on
- the
- depiction
- of
- dead
- bodies
- in
- the
- media,
- Death
- Makes
- the
- News
- opens
- up
- new
- ways
- of
- thinking
- about
- how
- death
- is portrayed.
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