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Introduction:
Today, the media plays an important role in giving the public information on a variety of
current events and the status of the world they live in. However, the media can also greatly
influence the beliefs of the public based on how the news is presented, which in turn can affect
the publics actions toward a certain event. The news industry and mass media are not only
responsible for informing the public, but also need to earn a profit by maintaining public interest.
In order to achieve this, the press may sometimes vary the truth of the story to benefit them. An
early case that showed the significance of the media in this way was that of Jack the Ripper in
1888. That year, East London faced her first serial killer who took the lives of five prostitutes in
horrific ways. The killer was called Jack the Ripper by the press and police and to this day, his
identity remains unknown as he was never caught.
At the time, the London public found much fascination in sensationalized murder
mystery news; it was the perfect opportunity for the press to cover the murders along with the
mystery to increase circulation. While newspaper circulation did peak in 1888 when the five
murders were committed, the press had overdramatized and fabricated much of the events in
order to maintain sales in between murders. This presentation of the stories influenced the
publics beliefs and actions, inducing prejudice, riots, and copycats of Jack the Ripper, all of
which disrupted the police investigation of the case. This leads to the question: To what extent
did the London Press hinder the Jack the Ripper investigation? The public becomes subjected to
beliefs fed by the media because murder and crime relates to all humans, and when it is
presented in a way that makes them feel threatened, it is feared and action is taken to protect
themselves. It is difficult to believe that information in the news is false because all news is
based on a real event affecting the world; it is merely the use of language that shapes our
perspective of it. Steve Chibnall, of the Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies of British
Press believes there is no clear boundary between sacred facts and profane interpretations
(Curtis, 2001). This characteristic of the media is what the London press was subject to during
coverage of the Jack the Ripper investigation, demonstrating the medias powerful influence on
the publics actions, which created more work for the police force in some cases.

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History of the London Press:
Between the years of 1850 1880, the London Press underwent advancements that
triggered increasing amounts of newspapers and a nationwide audience (Curtis, 2001). The
technological advancements included the telegraph and invention of the web rotating printing
machine that could print 200 000 papers per hour. In 1870, the Education Act increased literacy
in Britain, allowing for a wider audience for the press (McNicoll, 2005). In 1885, taxes on papers
were removed resulting in a rise of the number of papers from 795 papers in 1856 to over 2000
in 1890 (Curtis, 2001). These advancements contributed to the response of hysteria over a large
population when the Ripper murders were covered.
In the 1880s there was a trend of sensationalism in the news (Curtis, 2001). The news
often featured love triangles, murder by greed, anger, and jealousy to attract readers. Editors
began to assign these stories with murder, gore, and mystery bigger headlines and more space. It
was only natural that when the serial killer Jack the Ripper began committing atrocious murders
on prostitutes in East London, that the press covered it enthusiastically. Between August 31 and
November 9th of 1888, Jack the Ripper killed five female prostitutes whose bodily mutilations
varied but all shared the same signature trait of a slit throat (Rubinstein, 2000). Jack the Ripper
worked swiftly and was never caught by the police.

Dramatization and Misinformation by the Press:

During the investigation of Jack the Ripper, the London press was in an era of journalism
that involved much dramatization of its stories to seize interest of the reader and read for
entertainment, similar to the function of horror movies. Maria Tatar, professor of German
Cultural Studies at Harvard University explains the publics fascination with murders and gore
by the quote we may be repulsed by images and descriptions of bodily violations, yet we also
feel irresistibly drawn to gape, ogle, and stare - to take a good hard look to make sure that we do
not miss a word, (p. 199). The press took advantage of this human trait to boost sales of the
papers which peaked in 1888 during publications of Jack the Ripper news.

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In order to maintain sales through the interest of the reader, the press would exaggerate
the gore when possible, and when the murders slowed down, the press would often publish
dramatized rumours or completely fabricated stories regarding the case (Curtis, 2001). This
writing to create drama and sales lead to false crime waves, panic among the public and false
leads for the police which wasted time within the investigation.
One way the press mislead the police and created false crime waves was by connecting
unrelated murders to the Jack the Ripper murders. Sir Melvill McNaughton, a senior police
officer, said the press was unhelpful and misleading as they caused unreasonable panic by
connecting unrelated murders with Jack the Ripper before the police had evidence to do so
(Manchester University Press, 2007). One instance of such was when newspapers tried to
connect the murder of a woman named Jane Savage who was murdered in Birtley Fell, near
Gateshead, which was nowhere near Whitechapel, but the police were forced to investigate it as
they had to follow all leads. In the end however, they found no resemblance to the other Ripper
murders and it only wasted their time in the investigation (Curtis, 2001).
In addition to the false leads the police received from fabrication of news stories, the
press also featured letters written by those who claimed to be Jack the Ripper that were sent to
the news agency, gathering public interest as this gave Jack the Ripper a persona, as if he was
communicating his inner thoughts to the public, as in a film or novel. The first letter was
received by the Central News Agency on Sept 27, in which Jack the Ripper addressed his boss
and mocked the police (See Appendix). It was not given to the police for two days, as the News
Agency believed it a joke (Harrison & Barret, 1993). However, the letter had stated The next
job I do I shall clip the ladys ears off and according to Ryder (2010), in the murder of Catharine
Eddows on Sept 30th, part of her earlobe was cut off, leading the police to reconsider it to be real.
A postcard from Jack the Ripper (See Appendix) following the letter caused Whitechapel
murders to become famous among the public (Harrison & Barret, 1993). The letter was dated
Sept 25 and published on the papers on Oct 1 for the police in hopes to make progress on the
case if someone recognized the handwriting but instead it triggered many more fake letters to be
sent to both the police and the news agency. According to Palmer (1995), the police were
receiving up to 1200 letters a day. This caused them to waste valuable time investigating letters
that were not really from the killer.

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One of these fake letters was reported on the press as a real one between Oct 8 and Nov 9
when there was little news about Jack the Ripper. Pall Mall Gazette printed a letter from Jack the
Ripper to George Lusk, head of the Whitechapel Vigilance Committee which turned out to be a
fake as of Oct 13 (Manchester University Press, 2007). One of the fake Ripper writers was
caught, and the investigation wasted valuable police time. It was believed that Tom Bullen of the
Central News or his chief Moore was the creator of fake letters as a way to maintain the attention
of the readers (McNicoll, 2005). On top of the fake letters, the police and news agency were
continuously swamped with letters claiming to know information on Jack the Ripper and advice
on how to catch him (Manchester University Press, 2007).
The press linked unrelated murders to the Ripper murders and published fake Ripper
letters in order to increase circulation when there was little action regarding the Ripper murders.
This not only forced the police to investigate false leads, greatly hindering the investigation, but
also questions the validity of any news featured on the press as well whether their true intentions
are to inform the public of current events, or solely to make sales regardless of credibility of
information published.
Problems with the Police Force:
The press could not be held responsible for the methods used by the police force at the
time. There had been many mistakes involved, and the leader of the police force, Sir Charles
Warren had been criticized by the public for having lead the investigation poorly. There were
two different police forces involved with the case of Jack the Ripper. The fourth victim,
Catharine Eddows was found on Mitre Square on the 30th of September, under jurisdiction of the
City of London Police headed by Sir Henry Smith while all four other murders were under
jurisdiction of the Metropolitan Police lead by Sir Charles Warren (Palmer, 1995). When
Eddows body was examined, a piece of her apron that she was wearing was missing (Harrison
& Barret, 1993). Constable Alfred Long of the Metropolitan Police was on duty in Goulston St.
and on the staircase of Nos. 106 to 119 of a dwelling house he found a piece of the white apron,
unmistakably the same as the piece cut off of the one Eddows had been wearing which was later
confirmed when taken to the police station (McNicoll, 2005). However, this murder was
discovered in the City Police territory so when both forces came together, there was confusion

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which made the killers escape more easy (Harrison & Barret, 1993). Written in chalk above the
stairs where the piece of the apron was found was The Juewes are the men that will not be
blamed for nothing. This area was frequented by Jews and so the police thought it was written
by the killer to diverge the suspicion onto the Jews rather than himself (McNicoll, 2005, p. 81).
Although the City Police wanted to photograph it (Harrison & Barret, 1993), according to
Manchester University Press (2007), Warren of the Metropolitan police decided to erase the
writing because there was already much prejudice among the people that the killer was Jewish so
he feared a riot against them. He did not photograph because it required light, and by the time
the sun came up, people would be coming into this area. However, the writing was regarded as
the only piece of genuine evidence left by the killer, so naturally Warren would later be criticized
heavily on destroying it (Curtis, 2001). If the writing was in fact a possible lead to the identity of
the killer, Warrens actions would have not only hindered but completely held up the
investigation.
Another case where valuable evidence was destroyed involved the first two victims: Polly
Nichols and Annie Chapman. In both cases, the inmates of the mortuary cut off pieces of their
clothing to prepare for the doctors examination of their bodies (McNicoll, 2005). The inmates
did not realize that the clothing could have been valuable evidence. In response to this, Wynne
Baxter, the coroner for the inquest of these two murders along with the jury complained that
there were no proper mortuaries in Whitechapel and that the current one they were using was
simply a shed belonging to the workhouse officials and that the inmates were not qualified to
prepare the bodies which were vital to the case (McNicoll, 2005, p. 44). This destruction
evidence and lack of cooperation between the two police forces slowed down the case whether or
not the press criticized them.
Another problem the police faced was that at their time period, there was no forensic
technology available such as DNA testing. Police did what they could with witness accounts and
interviewed many suspects, but never gathered enough evidence and were unable to prove who
was guilty. Therefore, the limitations of the police and their mistakes contributed in slowing
down the investigation of Jack the Ripper regardless of the press actions, so in relation to such,
the press took no part in hindering the investigation.

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These mistakes and slow progress of the investigation by the police was not taken well by
the press and most newspapers were against the actions of the police. Editors and journalists
were able to expose this view to the masses, which triggered many to be concerned and complain.
The police refused to release information to the public for fear of panic. However, not releasing
information or their speculations on the murder led the public to believe there was no progress so
rumours were spread and the police criticised heavily. This caused further pressure and
frustration on the police as the press strained the relationship between the police and the public.
Many newspapers especially bashed Warrens leadership (See Appendix), notably The Star,
calling him hopelessly unfit (The Star, 1888). East Londons Advertisers editorial of Oct 13,
1888 was entitled: Our Defective Detective System due to Warrens mismanagement. East
London Observer said that the police made false alarms, fake arrests, fruitless theories, and
useless house to house visitations, (East London Observer, 1888). However, as this case was of
a societal murder, the police were forced to conduct many interviews, visitations, and arrests
daily in order to best prevent Jack the Ripper from slipping through their fingers, yet newspapers
seemed to disregard that fact and instead caused unhappy citizens by presenting the progress of
the case in this way. As a result of the fear and panic caused by the press criticism of the police
force, some citizens would complain to the government about the lack of progress. This was
responded with changes of people in the police force which forced inexperienced officers to be
transferred in and experienced ones to be transferred out, disrupting the course of the
investigation. (Russel Tarr, 2010)
Influence of the Publics Actions by the Press:
The popularity of Jack the Ripper coverage in the press lead to much influence on the
press as people of all classes read the paper and the public treated murder news like popular
entertainment (Curtis, 2001). These influences caused prejudice, complaint, and false accusations
and confessions which triggered actions by the public that slowed down the investigation as it
created more work for the police. During the course of the investigation, Jack the Ripper was
never identified, so the press would often speculate the identity of Jack the Ripper based on
leaked information or prejudice leading to riots against the Jews which created more work for the
police.

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Earlier suspects of the case were Jewish because the public believed that an Englishman
could never commit such atrocities as Jack the Ripper had, concluding that the murderer must
belong to an inferior race which at the time pointed to the Jews as a result of the anti-Semitism
(Curtis, 2001). One false accusation began after the first murder of Polly Nichols when a reporter
from the Star claimed to have interviewed fifty women in three hours for information on who
they feared, to which he claimed they all gave the same description of a man called Leather
Apron (Harrison & Barret, 1993). The police found a Polish Jew nicknamed Leather Apron
who was actually John Pizer, a slipper maker and was arrested by Sergeant William Thick for
suspicion. He was proven innocent as he had an alibi and was given compensation from
newspapers for the publicity it caused. When the police arrested him however, it caused a riot by
the public against Jews, which the police had to stop (Manchester University Press, 2007).
Although Pizer was found to be innocent, the image of Jack the Ripper as a Jewish man carrying
a knife was still popular and Jack the Ripper was continuously represented as a Jew in the press,
(Walkowitz, 1992) (See Appendix). This incident not only shows how the press affected the
actions taken by the public and how that created more work for the police, but may have been the
reason why Warren erased the anti-Semetic message on the wall of Goulston Street, as he feared
another riot against the Jews. In this way, rather than completely blaming Warren on erasing the
only genuine piece of evidence, the press could have been responsible for the reasons behind his
actions, further revealing their role in hindering the investigation.
One of the few beneficial influences was that the press drew attention to petitions for
better security and for monetary award for info on Jack the Ripper to the Government and Queen
(Manchester University Press, 2007). This included petitions for better lighting in Whitechapel
which would aid the police in their search for the murderer at night along the dark alleyways that
Jack the Ripper worked in. In fact, this was possibly the reason why the Ripper murders slowed
down after Eddows and Stride. However, as stated previously, when murders slowed down, the
press also had less news about Jack the Ripper which actually caused more false reports in order
to maintain interest and sales which in turn lead to slowing down of the investigation as the
police had to investigate these false leads.
Also because of the popularity of this case caused by the press, the police would be faced
with false confessions on a daily bases, usually by drunks. As the police had to follow any lead,

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they were forced to investigate these confessions wasting time in the investigation. The
popularity and the way the press dramatized these murders also encouraged males to intimidate
females. There were copycats of Jack the Ripper in which some men would go out exploiting the
fear in women. In one case, a woman by the name of Humphires passed George Yard on
November 11th and was scared by a man in the darkness who laughed at her, then when asked
what he wanted had ran off (Walkowitz, 1992). The woman was terrified and called out murder
attracting attention from the police. Several other acts similar to this were usually performed by
drunken men at bars who would try to threaten prostitutes to give them money and would beat
them if they did not. One lead writer of the Morning Post believed the copycat acts were caused
by the gore and drama used to present the Ripper murders saying: narrative of a terrible deed
works like a poison in the diseased imagination and tends to spread a kind to contagion" (Curtis,
2001, p. 149). This shows that the press had a significant role in causing people to act in this way,
which then created more work for the police, hindering the investigation.

Another unhelpful influence the press caused the police force was rioting among the poor.
As papers were available to all social classes, the poor were also aware of the murders and
decided to take action based on the speculation of the murderer as being Jewish, a doctor, who
were usually of higher class. The poor would then riot against the rich and justify these attacks
with suspicion of them as Jack the Ripper (Walkowitz, 1992). So the press triggered the copycats
and the rioting among the public which required the police to suppress and control them. This
wasted their time and slowed down the investigation.

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Nature of the Case:
Two factors that hindered the investigation for which neither the press nor the police
could be held responsible for was the nature of the case itself and the location in which it had
occurred.
The Ripper murders were societal murders in which the murderer killed random
victims who appeared to have no connection with him or each other (Curtis, 2001). At this time
period in London, the more common type of murder was domestic murder in which the victim
knew the killer. In domestic murder, there was a small pool of suspects and there was less fear
among the public as they felt they could prevent such situations to happen to them if they acted
wisely. The Ripper murders however had a large pool of suspects as there was no known
relationship between the killer and the victims making it a far more difficult case than the police
were used to, and also, as the killer appeared to strike randomly, fear struck all women of
Whitechapel, putting pressure on the police to solve this case. This characteristic of the case
shows that the press was not completely responsible in hindering the investigation as the press
has no influence on the type of murder committed.
Catching Jack the Ripper in action however would not be an easy task for the police.
According to Judith R. Walkowitzs book on the sexual dangers in Late-Victorian London,
Whitechapel was a poor district of Eastern London during the time of the murders (Walkowitz,
1992). There was homelessness, poverty, disease, and starvation. These desperate social
conditions lead to much street crime and forced many women to become prostitutes. These
prostitutes would take men to dark corners in order to avoid the price of a room. This was perfect
for them as Whitechapel was mazelike with dark alleys making it especially easty for them to
hide, but unfortunately, also difficult for the police to catch Jack the Ripper killing a prostitute
when they were taken to these same dark alleyways. In fact, murders could go unnoticed by
police for hours because of the structure of the town and the poor lighting (Curtis, 2001). So
regardless of the influence of the press, the Ripper case already began as a difficult one set in a
town that hid criminal activity well, so the press cannot be held completely responsible for
hindering the investigation.

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Conclusion:
By considering the press involvement on the Jack the Ripper case through their coverage
that influenced public opinion by criticizing the police, profiling the killer, and misinformation, it
shows their responsibility in triggering responses from the public in form of riots, false
accusations, and fake letters which created more work for the police, thus hindering their
investigation. However, by considering the nature of the case as being one of societal murder and
the nature of Whitechapels conditions, made it difficult to catch him regardless. Although
internal problems of the police force including mistakes slowed down the progress of the
investigation, these were further exaggerated by the press which influenced shifts and actions of
the police, ultimately hindered the investigation. So, the press held responsibility for hindering
the investigation through influencing public actions that created more work for the police such as
riots and false confessions, misinformation, and shifts in the police force, but cannot be held
responsible for the nature of the Jack the Ripper case as one of societal murder and the
conditions of Whitechapel that made criminals difficult to catch.

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Appendix:

Letters from Jack the Ripper:

Scanned microfilm from The Times (Oct 15, 1888) publishing one of the many letters from
Jack the Ripper believed to be fake.
Transcriptions of two letters from Jack the Ripper believed to be real:
Letter from Jack the Ripper:
Dear Boss,
I keep on hearing the police have caught me but they wont fix me just yet. I have laughed
when they look so clever and talk about being on the right track. That joke about Leather
Apron gave me real fits. I am down on whores and I shant quit ripping them till I do get
buckled. Grand work the last job was. I gave the lady no time to squeal. How can they catch
me now. I love my work and want to start again. You will soon hear of me with my funny
little games. I saved some of the proper red stuff in a ginger beer bottle over the last job to
write with but it went thick like glue and I cant use it. Red ink is fit enough I hope ha. ha. The
next job I do I shall clip the ladys ears off and send to the police officers just for jolly wouldn't
you. Keep this letter back till I do a bit more work, then give it out straight. My knife's so nice
and sharp I want to get to work right away if I get a chance. Good Luck.
Yours truly
Jack the Ripper
Dont mind me giving the trade name
PS Wasnt good enough to post this before I got all the red ink off my hands curse it No luck
yet. They say I'm a doctor now. ha ha

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Postcard from Jack the Ripper:
I was not codding dear old Boss when I gave you the tip, you'll hear about Saucy Jacky's
work tomorrow double event this time number one squealed a bit couldn't finish straight off.
ha not the time to get ears for police. thanks for keeping last letter back till I got to work again.
Jack the Ripper
(Ryder, http://www.casebook.org/ripper_letters)
Newspaper Criticism of the Warren and the Police Force:
The police, of course, are helpless. We expect nothing of them. The metropolitan force is rotten
to the core, and it is a mildly farcical comment on the hopeless unfitness of Sir CHARLES
WARREN that when red-handed crime is stalking the streets he has assigned his men the fresh
duty of sharing with providence the looking after drunken men.
(Excerpt from The Star, Oct 1, 1888, Front Page)
That there is gross mismanagement at Scotland Yard is beyond a doubt. If there were not, the
public would not have been deprived of the services of such able and experienced officials as Mr.
Monro and Mr. Jenkinson. Mr. Monro's retirement seems to have thrown the detective
department into confusion. Sir Charles Warren is an able man, but he is a military man, and
military ideas of organisation are quite unfitted for detective work. If a detective has no margin
for discretion, if he is obliged to conform to some narrow standard of military red-tape, his
usefulness must be enormously impaired. They manage these things, at all events, better in
France. There no military official ever dreams of interfering with the detective organisation. The
chief of the police employs all manner of people, women as well as men; but if anybody
suggested a woman detective to Sir Charles Warren, that gallant officer would probably stand
aghast.
(Excerpt from East London Advertiser, Oct 13, 1888)
The history of the week has been little more than a repetition of previous weeks - a series of
false alarms, false arrests, fruitless theories, and useless house to house visitations on the part of
the police.
(Excerpt from East London Observer, Oct 20, 1888)

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Jewish Prejudice in Newspaper Representations of Jack the Ripper:

(From Illustrated Police News, Oct 20, 1888)

Jack the Ripper sketch resembling a Jewish man.
According to Peter Dan, dark beard and moustache, dark jacket and trousers, dark felt hat,
spoke with a foreign accent, were common words used to describe Jack the Ripper in
newspaper articles.
(Dan, http://www.peterdanpsychology.ro/ro/pagina/26/How Vampires Became Jewish.html)

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List of Sources:

Curtis, L. P. (2001). Jack the Ripper and the London Press. New York: Yale University.
Dan, P. (2009). How Vampires Became Jewish. Retrieved from
http://www.peterdanpsychology.ro/ro/pagina/26/How Vampires Became Jewish.html
The East-end murders. (1888, Oct 20). Illustrated Police News, p. 1.
The East-end murders. (1888, Oct 15). The Times, p. 6.
Evans, S., & Gainey, P. (1995). Jack the Ripper: First American Serial Killer. NewYork:
Kodansha America.
Harrison, S., & Barret, M. (1993). The Diary of Jack the Ripper. New York: Smith Gryphon.
Jack the Ripper: Media, Culture, History. (2007). Manchester: Manchester University Press.
McNicoll, S. (2005). Jack the Ripper: Murder, Mystery and Intrigue in London's East End.
Canmore: Altitude Publishing Canada.
Our defective detective system. (1888, Oct 13). East London Advertiser.
Palmer, S. (1995). Jack the Ripper: A Reference Guide. London: The Scarecrow Press.
Rubinstein, W. (2000, May). The Hunt for Jack the Ripper. History Today, 50, 11-19.
Ryder, S. (2010). Casebook: Jack the Ripper Ripper Letters. Retrieved from
http://www.casebook.org/ripper_letters/
Tarr, R. (2010). GCSE History: GCSE Crime and Punishment. Retrieved from
http://www.activehistory.co.uk/Miscellaneous/menus/GCSE/Crime_and_Punishment.ht
m
Walkowitz, J. (1992). City of Dreadful Delight. Chicago: The University Of Chicago Press.
What we think. (1888, Oct 1). The Star, p. 1.
The Whitechapel horrors. (1888, Oct 20). East London Observer.