Amy Winehouse Coverage

Amy Winehouse died in her apartment in July of this year. I remember going online to check my facebook and reading “RIP Amy Winehouse” on a friend’s page.

I switched pages and googled it to see what information that I could find. I didn’t go to a news source because I knew that serious news sources like CNN and Fox News couldn’t possibly concern themselves with the death of a junkie celebrity when there were actually stories worthy of coverage in the world.

The coverage could not comment on the cause of death until the autopsy was complete. There were candlelit ceremonies paying respect to the artist. 

As soon as I saw that she was dead, I knew that it was from drugs or alcohol. I know a couple of lines to one of her songs and that is the extent of my knowledge of Amy Winehouse other than the irony of those couple of lines that I did know. “They tried to make me go to rehab, and I said ‘no, no, no.’”

After the initial shock wore off, there was no more coverage of her death or autopsy report. I had to dig online to find that the coroner labeled her death due to “alcohol intoxication.” There was never another story after the story of her death. The media does not bring its stories full circle.  

Trick or Tweet

After listening to the comments about Twitter the other day in class, I decided to check out what all the fuss was about. I agree with Professor Dawers that Twitter is more for celebrities, writers, and corporations than for the normal citizen.

As I created my account, the site instructed me to pick some popular tweets to follow. I chose my favorite Food Network chefs and the US Navy to keep up with the big Navy vs. Army game this weekend. As I tried to tweet my first message, I got the message that the site was “over capacity” and that I should come back later and try again.

I didn’t understand the faded text in some of the posts, but found out that they were links that did not work in many cases.

From just the quick look that I took on the site, I see how twitter can be a great marketing tool for businesses and celebrities. I know that the tv show “Let’s Make a Deal” uses its Twitter account to alert the audience to bring certain items to the show that will get them monetary prizes if they are selected. 

Coverage of Occupy Wall Street

Coverage of the Occupy Wall street movement was extensive in the beginning of the movement. Whether the news program agreed with the movement or not, there was ample coverage of what the movement stood for and the message that they wanted America to receive.

Every news station had coverage of this new social movement. There were personal interviews and expert opinions on the movement. The news programs took the message of the movement and dissected it.

I understood who the 99% were and who the 1% were and what each was fighting for in the beginning. Then the coverage showed a break down in the philosophy of the 99%.  Some demonstrated for global human rights while other protested “the delusion of free will” and governmental control.

Despite the recorded breakdown, the Occupy Wall street movement became global and now has people planning a global protest on Saturday, December 10. This protest encourages every citizen in every country to stand up for their rights and take back democracy.

Troy Davis Trial & Execution

This very controversial trial began when I was only a few months old. After twenty years on death row, Davis was executed by lethal injection for murdering off-duty police officer Mark MacPhail, former Army Ranger.

The coverage of the Troy Davis trial was scattered and inconclusive. I had never heard of the Troy Davis trial except for a few weeks before his execution. I wondered about the case that was moving so many of my fellow students to action.

I watched my local news programs that were all covering the execution.I had to watch several different news programs on different stations and piece the information together myself because some information was given on one channel and not given on others. 

One channel reported on the witnesses who recanted their original statements while another station reported the death of witnesses.

I thought that Davis was just a cop killer who was being executed after waiting for twenty years. It was difficult for me to see the other side of the story through only the news coverage of the trial and execution.

I still wondered what all the fuss was about until I talked to the campus President of the NAACP about the trial and her efforts to support Davis and stay his execution.

Future of Newspapers and the General Media

The future of newspapers is more uncertain now than ever. Not just the future of the physical newspaper with the invention of Kindles, but the future of news sources is also uncertain.

Reading the newspaper is becoming less of a daily ritual every day. There are a few people who still drink their coffee and read the newspaper in the morning, but most people are too busy with their lives. They grab Starbucks on the way to drop the kids off at school and might peak at the newspaper online during their lunch break.

I have a subscription to the New York Times on my Kindle because it is so convenient to automatically have the newspaper every morning that I can take with me in my pocket. The actual printing on newspapers has declined with the invention of Kindles, Nooks, IPads, and other e-reader devices.

 Many newspapers are solely online now and do not even go to print because of the cost and sustainability of newspapers.There are so many news sources that compete with online newspapers that the future of even online newspapers is uncertain.

I think there will always be a need for newspapers because of the security that they provide. Newspapers have reputations for being the most credible in contrast to all of the unfounded stories on the internet.

Nancy Grace

Where do I start in my dislike against this woman?

It all began with the Casey Anthony trial. Nancy Grace convicted Anthony before the police even found Caylee’s body. Grace had Americans so convinced that Anthony was guilty that people assumed she would be found guilty in court which led to the shock of the year when Anthony was released with a “not guilty” verdict.

Maybe if Grace had found real evidence and had not sensationalized Casey as a person, the people would have pushed for iron-clad evidence instead of just assuming that everyone would agree with Grace.

I don’t understand how Nancy Grace counts as a source of news. One of the basic principles of journalism is inviting criticism and being able to refute that criticism. Grace will invite an expert onto her show, and then interrupt and cut them off the air when that expert disagrees with her.

But she is effective at bringing in viewers. My dad who hates her still watches her everyday just to “see what she’s bitching about today.” So obviously, she is adept at creating interest in the stories that she supposedly “reports” on.

Caylee Anthony Murder Coverage

The media coverage of the Caylee Anthony murder was outrageous. I remember sitting in the living room with my mom watching Nancy Grace’s news hour when the story first broke about the missing three year old.

We watched Nancy Grace every day waiting for news on Caylee. Every day she had something new, but it was like watching a soap opera. Every day is a new challenge, but if you don’t watch it for several months and tune in one day, you find that almost nothing has changed.

My biggest concern with the news coverage of Caylee’s murder was that the news covered issues that were salacious instead of covering factual investigative reports. After three years of covering the same story every single day, the media couldn’t produce enough evidence to convict Caylee’s mom of the crime that the media condemned her to years ago.

 It really speaks to the investigative powers of the media that after three years of “finding” evidence, a court of her peers couldn’t convict Casey Anthony of her daughter’s murder.

I remember hearing the verdict over the radio on my way back from a trip to Ohio. My husband commented, “Who is Casey Anthony?” The rest of us could not believe that she wasn’t convicted in the face of so much evidence. My mother was disgusted and could not believe the justice system would let something so corrupt happen.

Looking back at all the “evidence” that was presented by the news media, I still don’t understand how the defensive and prosecutor left so many holes in their arguments. I suppose the influence of tv shows like CSI, Criminal Minds, NCIS, and other crime dramas have created a more thoughtful society where people can easily spot faulty logic.