Modern TV news is one of the most pervasive and influential mediums of communication in the modern world.
As time passes, it seems increasingly likely it’s for the worst.
As television as a medium has matured, it has relied more on sensationalism and creating and maintaining a spectacle instead of reporting what is newsworthy.
Most of the time, the exercise seems somewhat academic — the concern of only media critics or mass communications professors.
But sometimes TV journalism simply crosses the line.
The most recent example is the case of Caylee Anthony, the missing 3-year old whose disappearance triggered a media frenzy. While authorities and volunteers searched for the girl, the media latched onto the case. Reporters were stationed semi-permanently outside of her house, and that of her grandparents’ — who became overnight celebrities of the most macabre kind.
Media personalities descended like vultures on the story, commenting religiously on the most minor developments — or lack thereof. CNN’s Nancy Grace — the drawling “defender of justice” — took up Anthony’s disappearance as her personal crusade, calling in as many officials involved with the case as she could — and promptly grilling them for having not already found her.
Tragically, Anthony’s skeletal remains were eventually found. Her mother, Casey Anthony, has been charged with her murder.
The story of this toddler’s death is undeniably a heart-breaking tragedy. It is totally appropriate that the story be told and that condolences are offered to the family for their loss.
What actually happened is not appropriate — what should have been a private tragedy was blown into a public spectacle.
The circus reached its absurd climax at the public memorial service — a service attended by more than 1,000 people and aired on CNN last Tuesday.
The service, in many ways, conflicts with a eulogy written by the slain girl’s grandmother saying, “The family is requesting that those with only the purest of hearts and truly honorable intentions attend the service for their beloved child.”
These words seem hypocritical for a eulogy delivered to CNN for national publication, in reference to a memorial set in a venue with capacity for 5,000.
Although no amount of sympathy can suffice for the Anthonys, their actions during this ordeal hardly seem like those who value the privacy of their mourning. While the media obsessed over Caylee Anthony, her grandparents made regular TV appearances.
Their publicist – yes, they had a publicist — quit in exasperation, citing “the Anthony family’s erratic behavior.”
Yet the Anthonys can hardly be blamed for this. Instead, the journalistic behemoth that is modern television bears the responsibility for offering a golden pedestal of hypocrisy almost impossible to avoid. After all, it seems foolish to ignore the chance for national attention, especially when that attention is nominally for your missing granddaughter.
The memorial service was occasionally filled with blatantly disrespectful material. One commentator obsessed over the buttons the family wore — one of which memorialized Caylee, the other showed support for the mother Casey.
When one of the commentators noticed the father wasn’t wearing one of the buttons, they immediately launched into rabid speculation, claiming this was evidence he believed his daughter had killed her son, and was dead to him.
Although the Anthony story is a tragic one indeed, this kind of coverage is not of respectful condolence, but of a shallow, sensationalist publicity stunt.
In their quest for ratings, and to fill the insatiable maw that is a 24-hour news cycle, television networks will milk every ounce of drama out of a story — even if that means turning a private tragedy into a public spectacle.
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Contact Matthew Albright at malbright@lsureveille.com
Nietzsche is Dead: Media frenzy over Anthony’s death inappropriate
Published: Sunday, February 15, 2009
Updated: Sunday, February 15, 2009
 "Photo: (AP Photo/Red Huber,Pool)")
(AP Photo/Red Huber,Pool)
George and Cindy Anthony prepare to speak during the memorial for 2-year-old Caylee Marie Anthony at First Baptist Orlando in Orlando, FL on Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2009. Caylee Anthony went missing in June 2008 and her remains were found in December, less than a mile from her home. Her mother Casey Anthony is in custody on charges of first degree murder of her child.
19 comments
Some people might say, "Whatever, she deserves it."
I want justice as much as the next person, but humiliating and accusing Casey of activities like sleeping around with her brother is not justice. That is making money off misery. Do you really think that Casey was the only one suffering from this coverage? What about George, who just wanted to get away, momentarily contemplating killing himself, and now the media's been following him around and reporting on his psychological state of mind.
It doesn't change our lives. We watch this as if it were a show. As emotional as you or I may feel about the case, it doesn't change the fact that its entertainment of a most morbid type.