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Justin Frix
Professor Campbell
UWRT (TR 11:00)
27 September 2015
Topic Proposal
Sensationalism is defined as - (especially in journalism) the use of exciting or shocking
stories or language at the expense of accuracy, in order to provoke public interest or excitement.
This interest or excitement has potential in the eyes of the media because it can boost ratings,
promote agendas, and influence the publics beliefs and behaviors. Sensationalism will distort an
issue by utilizing empathy, inflating a narrative, using over-the-top language, and working from a
basis of feeling rather than accurate reporting. Sensationalism can be an issue because,
depending on the angle of coverage, it can influence a demographic to act based on a distorted
point of view. The media can also push a narrative further than it needs to be pushed, which can
sometimes be very intrusive to the families of victims. Even though we now have two negative
social results of sensationalism, the media is still making money, which influences them to keep
adding fuel to the fire. While the media can sensationalize crimes for a bigger salary and political
support, it makes sense to be skeptical of the influences and coverage brought upon by them. For
example, if a minority is killed by a police officer, the media will see an opportunity to facilitate
a biased coverage of the event, provoking a strong interest/excitement in a particular
demographic, allowing them to continue a biased coverage of the situation for the sole reason of
boosted ratings and attention. This drives peoples inflated, sometimes extremist beliefs, and
leaves a stain of ignorance on society. If it bleeds, it leads. Dr. Mustafa L. Anuar, a journalism

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professor at University Sains Malaysia in Penang, says that to ethically report crime stories, one
must:
1.

Be responsible, balanced, and fair in the coverage of the story.

2.

Respect the rights, interests, and privacy of the victims of the crimes and their

families.
3.

Devote a reasonable amount of space to the story and choose a fair angle of

coverage.

Some of my questions about the topic include:

-Is it clear to the majority of the population when the media uses sensationalization to
introduce their bias?
-Is liberal or conservative media more prone to sensationalizing crime?
-What are some specific agendas that these media driven narratives are promoting?
-How can one acknowledge the media without conforming to a bias?
-How do ratings correlate with the magnitude of the crime?
-Is sensationalizing crime to conform with an agenda unethical?
-Is it even effective?
-What are the consequences of dividing Americans through controversy that might be
unnecessary in the long run?
-Is the controversy a good thing?
-What are some protests that have been caused by a media driven controversy?
-What are the target audiences of the various media in terms of age and socioeconomics?

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-How has the sensationalization of crime in media effected certain groups of people?
-Are police being demonized?
-Should police be demonized or are they just doing their job?

I am interested in this topic because I have been influenced by media before. Societys
source of information is important. Acknowledging information from a tainted source is similar
to drinking water from a tainted source, its not going to be beneficial and its rather unhealthy.
Though, the fact of the matter here is that media in America can be very tainted and the majority
of us are drinking out of the same few wells. People who are influenced by media also spread
that influence around them. I would like to clarify to myself the fine line between crime
reporting and sensationalism. At what point does crime reporting go beyond pure reporting, and
into the realm of agenda driven coverage? At what point does ones personal influence spread
and ignite social outcry? How can a social outcry that is being fueled by a biased media coverage
be exhausted? How can you help one practice responsible skepticism and rationalize/process
objective information rather than following a source blindly and with feelings?

The next steps that I should take are to do more general research, to find numbers and
data to support my claims, to research important figures in the media industry, to research the
industry itself, to find an overview of the money that is handled in the industry, and to find
specific examples of sensationalism by means of language and coverage angles. I also need to
research the societal consequences of sensationalism more and locate some examples of properly
covered crimes.

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