Newspaper Coverage Of Celebrity Crimes Media Essay

Newspaper Coverage Of honor Crimes Media EssayMedia has a signifi nookyt influence on large number and so do the celebrities. These effect can be both positive and negative. The manikin of insurance reportage of celebrities and distinction crimes by pass excogitatepapers and magazines can influence the view of the creative activity on the glory criminals. This con changeion of influence can be greatly attributed to the process by which the tidings close far-famed person criminals is evaluated and presented for the readers to analyse. This paper is personnel casualty to look at the effects of the print-media coverage of fame criminals which could be dark or un slanted and its influence on the globe accordingly, thus oppugn media credibility.IntroductionMy interest in tralatitious form of media i.e., the word of honorpapers has always been deeper than the opposite forms of media. Also, I believe that countersign in the newspapers is split evaluated and services to form a strong opinion round issues and events that occur globally. This interest in collar the impact of newspapers on public opinion developed even advertise when I read about coverage of renown crimes. The manner in which news is presented in the newspapers whether it is about national or international famous person crimes is something that caught my interest. In addition to this, my interaction with hatful of different ages and status regarding celebrity criminals considerably inspired me to choose this topic for my research.Prosperity of both intelligence and culture has made people familiar with supply of information in abundance. Modern media, very much(prenominal) as the internet, mobile phones, television set and the traditional media such as newspapers and magazines make news and human body of information easily getatable to us. However, the most common form of news is that about the celebrities and public figures. It has break very evident in the recent me asure that media pays too much perplexity to the personal lives of the celebrities ( public figures).Addition to this, the important factor is that most of the reports on lives of famous people argon always focused on hopeful achievements, lavish lifestyles and exaggerated enjoyments which overstate the attractive part and understate the c arful part. on that draw a bead onfore, the plenty especially young people argon ofttimes sloped and tend to perceive celebrities as their idols. They happen to adore their idols with such craze and zeal that the amount of negative news and information about celebrities can even alternate their sensing towards life.The extent and quality of celebrity news in the media appears especially inordinate directly, multiplying and intensifying at such a rate that legitimate news has fallen in precedence (Brown, 31). Whether it likes it or non, the public knows more(prenominal) about Britney Spears and how umpteen an another(prenominal)(pr enominal) pills she swallowed than about many semipolitical issues (Wright, 1).It is a known fact that in India we treat celebrities no little than god. And the Indian media being very sound aw be of this fact ensures that celebs and celebrity crimes get a lot of coverage so as to conglomerate attention of the masses. In this process of application celebrity related news, media tends to sensationalize the stories, often focusing on ir pertinent details about celebrities instead of the main(prenominal) crime that has taken place. This research informs about the news coverage of celebrity crimes, the faith of public on media (print media) and the manner in which the presentation of such news coverage influences their opinion.In this vein, analyzing the content presented by newspapers, as substantially as celebrity-news magazines, offered the clearest method by which to examine how news on celebrity crimes is covered and publicized. Researching articles on the major, relevant to pics of media ethics, the role of celebrity news in Indian society and credibility of media was instrumental in gaining a better comprehending of the subject matter. More emphasis was placed on researching relevant topics, as it is difficult if not impossible to determine the exact effects of media coverage of celebrity criminals through a study or tell observation. One can constantly see and read about celebrity crimes, however the influence of such news on public opinion is what really matters. Through analysing media coverage of celebrity criminals, especially the print media with the help of severalexamplesof celebrity crimes will enhance the objective of this research paper. The place of thisresearch proposalis to see if media coverage of celebrity-crimes is biased and how this changes peoples opinion and perception on celebrities, thus questioning medias credibility.Articles and news reports covered by assorted newspapers (both English and regional), on the crimes move by celebrities like Sanjay Dutt, Salman Khan, Shiney Ahuja, Saif Ali khan and many more were looked upon in this research paper. Also a survey was conducted to escort the effects of newspaper coverage of celebrity crimes and how it influences opinions of the public. The survey acts as a supplement to the newspaper articles that were analyzed to gain a better sagacity of the objective of this research paper.The publications review volunteersLiterature ReviewTo envision the influence on the people of the portrayal of celebrity-criminals by media, it is important to understand the terms celebrity, crime, media bias and public opinion. These terms may not be connected with each other directly however the understanding of these in concert would contribute in assessing the study of this paper.Celebrity The word celebrity is derived from the word celebrate, in that a person is supposedly famous because the community celebrates him or her (Rockwell, 20). The term celebrity indicates som eone whose fame rests overwhelmingly on what happens outside the flying field of their work and who is famous for having lifestyle. The celebrity is thus constructed through gossip, wring and television reports, magazine articles and public relations (Redmond Holmes, 99).Public Opinion Commonly the creation of public opinion is taken literally to mean the opinion of the public. plot of ground this is not incorrect, it constitutes a rather nave understanding of the concept. A more sophisticated conception must acknowledge the element of publicity in public opinion public opinion as distinguished from cliquish opinion. Indeed public opinion is a shared aggregate phenomenon. It is a collective brotherly entity, and publicity is necessary for its formation. It is the knowledge of the very existence of others who share values, beliefs and concerns that forges a host of discrete opinions into a viable social entity (Shamir, 1).Based on these factors there have been researches that explain how biased media-coverage plays a all important(p) role in forming biased public-opinion. Media has a fixed agenda of providing certain news in a certain manner so that it is perceived in the manner that print media wants it to be perceived as by the people. Through their day-by-day selection and display of the news, editors and news directors focus our attention and influence our perceptions of what are the most important issues of the day. This ability to influence the salience of topics on the public agenda has come to be called the agenda ambit role of the news media (McCombs, 1). This theory of agenda setting is applied by the media and describes a very queenful influence of media its ability to tell people what issues are important. It explains the correlation between media and people the rate at which media covers a story and the extent that people think this story is important.Studies into the agenda-setting function of the pickle confirm that media have a gr eat deal of influence upon political decision making and that they are especially influential in sexual relation the general population what to think about (Kuypers, 5). The media tends to be biased whenever it provides flawed or irrelevant facts to support a certain viewpoint. It is also biased when it frames certain issues in a particular manner. such framing is do so that the issue is perceived in a particular way. consort to many scholars our perception of a certain issue is more or less dependent on the way the issue is framed (Kuypers, 7).There are millions of events that occur globally in todays knowledge domain. And to examine these events and report about them there are thousands of people around the world who are active by media organizations. The media decides and tells us which issues are important and which ones or not. We have never physically witnessed the war situations of Afghanistan, Iraq or even Kashmir. Despite this we have the pictures of these events in our heads. The media reports inform about the latest events and issues that are taking place in the world and are inaccessible to us. Thus, most of our perceptions about the world are based on the second-hand reality created by the media organizations. There is no guaranty that this reality is an accurate picture of the world (Saqib Riaz, 1). This explains how gate-keeping is done by the media, wherein it chooses the word of certain news and evaluates it based on a variety of reasons and preferences.The aspects of a certain event that are covered in the news and the kind of importance that is given to these aspects leads to significant differences in peoples perception of that event. The portrayal of news stories results in the peoples understanding of the journalists consideration of important issues and who the most prominent public figures of the day are. Thus from the details of the coverage of news stories and their evaluation by the media helps the public form their percepti on of these news stories and the public figures (McCombs, 7-8).Thus from the to a higher place literature it is evident that public opinion is formed on the backside of the kind of information that media prioritizes and later provides to the public. The media does set the agenda of what is discussed around the world on a daily basis. It chooses stories that are reviewed by the public regularly. non many people seem to be aware that the stories they read are picked by the media organizations before getting printed. The impact of someone selecting the news stories for the masses to read can be positive as well as negative.Therefore, even when crimes committed by celebrities are covered by the media, it tries to change peoples opinion depending upon a positive or a negative coverage of that particular news. Media can manipulate news using a variety of strategies that can alter peoples perception.It can navigate their audience through what it feels is steady and viable concerning to pics specifically related to celebrity crimes. The aspects that contribute in the estimate of opinions of the public are the audiences of the media, their lifestyle, interests and their level of sophistication. Nevertheless, there are many other dependent variables that create a different representation of truth. And through this, media has the power to influence peoples point of view.2.1 Media and CelebritiesUsually news about celebrities is considered to be crackers news (entertainment) unless a crime has been committed by a celebrity. Media today places a lot of importance to celebrity news. Reports of soft news outgo the amount of hard news that gets reported in todays mass media including the traditional media i.e., the newspapers and magazines.According to Bennett (2007), some of factors affecting the increase of soft news allow in the economics of the news business, journalists dependence on sources who control information, routine news-gathering practices, paid norms an d a need to fill the news hole that has been created by 24/7 news coverage. Celebrity focused, soft news tends to be brisk and easy to report about. Additionally, such stories have proven to be popular among audiences and are easy to dramatize. Celebrity stories may also serve the uses and gratifications of many audience members. Bennett (2007) suggests that in addition to learning, many viewers use news to satisfy their needs for curiosity and surveillance, entertainment and escape, and social and psychological adjustment. With the climax of the Web and the Internet, increasing numbers of citizens turn to alternative information conduct that deliver politically packaged information in a format better integrated with personal interests and various citizen-action options (Bennett, 2007). This statement is valid not only for politics but all kinds of news information. There are websites, magazines, newspapers, television stations, etc. to suit every different need and people have t he choice to visit only the ones that interest them. Therefore, the shift seen in news coverage from informative to entertaining cannot be blamed altogether on the media.Celebrities become products and are endowed with expertise outside of their celebrate areas (West Orman, 2003 118). The celebrity culture today expects that stars be spokespersons for all kinds of issues, as well as bear the responsibility for issues that are problematic. This power is not derived from at heart these stars, but rather from the audiences interest in them. Celebrities are expected by many to be shining examples of model citizens, yet their good whole kit like activism are overlooked in favour of scandalous, dramatic, negative reports about them (Amanda Jones, 2009 8). This sheds light on how media portrays celebrities. There are times when media will provide sensationalized news about celebrities to garner attention and increase readership.Journalist Caspar Llewellyn-Smith makes this point when h e states that the guiding principle of celebrity gossip magazines is to show famous figures off-guard, unkempt, unready and unsanitized (Llewellyn-Smith, 2002 120, cited in Holmes, 2005 23) (Holmes Redmond, 2006 184). According to McCrackens findings, the mass media are, in effect, making a design effort to provide unflattering coverage of celebrity personalities. It is these kinds of news stories that are increasingly present in our every day mass media outlets. Such stories provide the drama and sensationalism that media consumers are looking for (2009 311).The above literature explains that media often portrays the celebrities negatively by presenting sensational news about them. The news coverage on celebrities and celebrity crimes done by the media is negative often to create drama and stir the publics interest.2.2 Media Coverage of Celebrity CrimesThe role of the press is to educate and create awareness amongst the masses, however in the recent times it seems to have switche d this role with that of entertainment. Instead of focusing on the details of the crimes committed by the celebrities, media tends to divert the attention to the celebrities lives and sensationalizes the news about them. In covering the most titillating or personal aspects of a story, present-day coverage often trivializes more important structural and procedural issues. During the 2005 Michael Jackson harassment runnel, the Los Angeles Times, which ran approximately 317 stories on the case, printed only two pieces focusing on the crucial new California statute that allowed prosecutor Tom Sneddon to introduce establish of past allegations against Jackson. Much of the Times coverage offered almost daily trial updates, which consisted primarily of subjective descriptions of the personal behavior and appearance of the various witnesses and court of justice actors in the case (Fox et al., 2007 6).