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Justin Frix
Professor Campbell
UWRT (TR 11:00)
27 September 2015
Sociological Consequences of Sensationalism in Journalistic media
Sensationalism is defined as - (especially in journalism) awkward placement 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 choose one adjective or use and 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

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society. If it bleeds, it leads. Dr. Mustafa L. Anuar, a journalism 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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Kinda confused about your topic, but essentially you want to examine the effect of
sensationalism on present day marketing and advertising?