Can the media cause more potential deaths?

Question

I'm sorry if this sounds harsh, but I am truly disgusted with most of the media sources in Britain and world wide over the Ipswich murders. I personally think that titles such as "Ipswich Strangler' and 'Serial killer', and other names I can't recall, are turning this horrific situation into a circus!. It is, in my oppinion, giving this horrific killer the attention he wants. Bad attention is better then no attention. Any criminalogist will tell you that!. He is revealing in this.
headlines such as these are feeding his narcistic ego. I fear that all this coverage will encourage him to kill again. Yes, many of you may say that he will probably kill again anyway, but you don't know!. If he neve got the attention he has gotten now maybe a death could have been avoided or will be. I do beleive the media has a huge role to play in events that are to pass! There must be a way to present the news that does not treat these horrific events as morbid facinations!

Answer 1

I think it will encourage the guy, these journalists are hampering the police investigation, getting choppers to fly over the locations of the bodies and make endless endless speculations about what happened, references to jack the ripper etc. Not to mention the distress it must cause the families.

On an only slightly related note, it's also disgusting the way many programmes only refer to the victims as 'the prostitutes' - it completely dehumanises them. It's a disgrace that people have been interviewed and say, 'oh, i'm afraid the killer will mistake me for a prostitute when i go home at night'. Like the victims are on the lowest rung of society, and their deaths are only of interest because they may lead to the murders of 'nice girls'.

I am sure the police have witheld alot of information from the media, but they seem determined to get that information out of them and speculate on what certain actions by the police could mean. It appeals to the sensationalist, amateur sleuth instinct in all of us, which will not help the situation at all.

Answer 2

I wonder what you would rather. That the media ignored the fact that a serial killer is on the loose perhaps.
The media, through the police, have kept a worried public informed throughout this terrible sequence of events.
The police have received over 2000 calls from people with information. This would not have happened without the media coverage.
On top of that, the events in Suffolk are unprecedented. We don't, generally, have serial killers in the UK, unlike the USA where they are ten a penny.
And as for the jibe about morbid facinations [sic], of course the public is fascinated and the nature of the crimes means that this fascination is morbid.
Criminologists know that there will be a lull for a while before the killer strikes again. Yes, he is probably now sitting at home loving the attention, but this will only draw the police closer to him as the change in his behaviour patterns might just make the penny drop for someone who knows him well.

Answer 3

Definitely. In more ways than one. In a way, they help killers escape and bust the operation of the authority. They care only of the news, not the possible repercussions. They say that the public need to know but the truth of the matter is that there are some things best kept hidden for the benefit of all. This is why countries such the US keep some information from the public and look at them now. Industrialized, progressive and all that. It's because no matter what we do, one or more opinions will go against the others causing factions and that was what US has avoided. In a way it may seem unfair but nowadays, unfairness is something we have to live with in order to go well with the world.
Going back to what i was saying, i think the media of today have forgotten a very important thing- RESPONSIBLE JOURNALISM. I guess there's very little we could about now considering the changes the world has already gone through.

Answer 4

I will give you an example.
The media, where I live, are of the bandwagon type. Meaning that if someone is killed by a reversing truck (say) and they happen to get pictures. Then you can be guaranteed that every injury caused by reversing trucks will be front page news, with in-depth commentary and analysis, and questions in the legislature. People will then believe that there is a serious 'truck-reversing' problem requiring immediate and urgent attention. Then the media moves on, and forgets about it. Much later we learn that reversing trucks caused less injuries in this period than the statistical average.
Much fun and timewasting, you may think.
Now for the example.
Years ago the media did the same thing with teenage suicides, during the coverage much attention was given by the media to certain methods of suicide which would make it easier to achieve death. This city has never fully recovered, those methods are causing the almost daily deaths of children, even today.

As far as serial killers go, each is individual. We must hope that this one is caught and not helped by the coverage.

Answer 5

The media are the masters of hype. I hear that they are wasting tax-payers money to pop over to the US to look into similar killings over there. Has no-one heard of email or conference calling? I feel much needless coverage and possibly more tragedy will ensue before this person is apprehended. The media Love to grab a story and hang on for dear life and saturate everywhere with it. It has been a bit of a slow news week, I guess.

Answer 6

Maybe it's the only way to get him to commit another murder so they can catch him red-handed, or get enough proof that he did it (or they). The media is using their power as a bait, as well as cashing in in the process. The police is working closely with the media to catch the killer(s). It has worked in the past.

Answer 7

I understand what you are saying. Saw a programme last week about The Blank Panther in the 70s. When they finally caught him, guess what he he had a statue of in his bedroom? You got it - a blank panther - he loved the attention he was getting.

Hope they catch this sicko ASAP.

Answer 8

It;s called 'sensationalism'.
The media nowadays are totally irresponsible, and whip up scare stories to sell papers. The ITV and BBC news are just as bad.

Answer 9

the media is not to blame for what a creature so hell bent on killing does only the killer is responciable for his actions. as a radio news reporter i take offence to the media blame game.