The press is a business operation, run for profit. Its other roles are information provider and purveyor of entertainment to a targeted audience. These roles are often contradictory, although the commercial imperative remains the driving force of the industry. The research analyses press reporting of disaster. and tragedy. Human tragedy is immensely interesting to the reading public. In justifying intrusion into grief and shock the press frequently invokes the 'public interest defence', arguing that the public needs and has a right to know about events. This is a controversial and contested issue. Frequently the right to know is more accurately defined as a voyeuristic desire to live the experience second-hand. Press behaviour was the subject of heated debates in the 1990s, including two government inquiries and several failed private members bills. The industry argued that press freedom was essential to democracy and, despite numerous examples of insensitive, hurtful and inaccurate press reporting for which there are few effective remedies, has preserved its self-regulatory status. The research focuses on four case studies: the Strangeways Prison Protest (1990); the James Bulger case (1993); Fred and Rosemary West (1995); the Dunblane Tragedy (1996). Although these were very different events that occurred at different times during this extended period of press scrutiny, they reveal marked similarities in how events were depicted, how they assumed a wider significance and the treatment of those at the heart of the story. Analysis of newspaper reports is supplemented by primary research through inter-views with journalists, editors and others connected with the industry. The findings are presented thematically, addressing six key areas: the demarcation between public and private; reputation and identity; tone and style of reporting; press regulation; control of information; the industry's political economy. From these findings recommendationsfo r future disasterr eporting are made.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:393673 |
| Date | January 2000 |
| Creators | Berrington, Eileen M. |
| Publisher | Lancaster University |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
Page generated in 0.0024 seconds