Death makes the news : how the media censor and display the dead

Because it is impossible to create an unfiltered mirror to reality, the news media selectively rely on particular pictures and words to shape our understanding of world events. The construction of news is never a random process, and photojournalism is far more than a mechanical undertaking. Because photographs literally craft boundaries, systematically hiding one reality while illuminating another, this book extensively examines how pictures represent tragedy, uncovering surprising editorial forces that persistently structure the way the news media cover death. Some deaths are concealed, while others are illustrated in great detail, and this book develops formulas predicting these fates. We see how deep political cleavages, especially those powered by nationalism, create remarkable patterns of visibility and invisibility. The patterns are striking, but they overturn long-held assumptions about which deaths are newsworthy, raising fundamental questions about the role of news images. This behind-the-scenes account shares many photographs, including images that were censored from the news. It also explores in-depth interviews with industry leaders who admit to self-censorship and industry censorship. It engages impassioned controversies over bearing witness, protecting privacy, and other sensitive topics. Death Is Considered One Of The Most Newsworthy Events, But Words Do Not Tell The Whole Story. Pictures Are Also At The Epicenter Of Journalism, And When Photographers And Editors Illustrate Fatalities, It Often Raises Questions About How They Distinguish Between A Fit And Unfit Image Of Death. Death Makes The News Is The Story Of This Controversial News Practice: Picturing The Dead. Jessica Fishman Uncovers The Surprising Editorial And Political Forces That Structure How The News And Media Cover Death. The Patterns Are Striking, Overturning Long-held Assumptions About Which Deaths Are Newsworthy And Raising Fundamental Questions About The Role That News Images Play In Our Society. In A Look Behind The Curtain Of Newsrooms, Fishman Observes Editors And Photojournalists From Different Types Of Organizations As They Deliberate Over Which Images Of Death Make The Cut, And Why. She Also Investigates Over 30 Years Of Photojournalism In The Tabloid And Patrician Press To Establish When The Dead Are Shown And Whose Dead Body Is Most Newsworthy, Illustrating Her Findings With High-profile News Events, Including Recent Plane Crashes, Earthquakes, Hurricanes, Homicides, Political Unrest, And War-time Attacks. Death Makes The News Reveals That Much Of What We Think We Know About The News Is Wrong: While The Patrician Press Claims That They Do Not Show Dead Bodies, They Are Actually More Likely Than The Tabloid Press To Show Them-even Though The Tabloids Actually Claim To Have No Qualms Showing These Bodies. Acknowledgments -- Introduction -- Death Concealed: The Picture Problem -- Cold Bodies Are Hot Stuff -- Alternative Images -- The Industry's Ample Access -- Intentionally Ambiguous Images -- Layers Of Resistance -- Word Versus Image -- Death Revealed: Exceptions To The Rule -- Pictures In The Popular And Patrician Press -- Nationality And The Newsworthy Image -- Innocence And The Newsworthy Victim -- Mass Tragedy And The Biggest Disasters -- The Fantastic Feats Of Some Photos -- Victims Seeking Visibility -- In The End -- Appendix: Defining A Postmortem Picture -- Notes -- Index -- About The Author. Jessica M. Fishman. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Winner of the 2018 Media Ecology Association's Erving Goffman Award for Outstanding Scholarship in the Ecology of Social Interaction Winner of the Eastern Communication Association's Everett Lee Hunt Award A behind-the-scenes account of how death is presented in the media Death is considered one of the most newsworthy events, but words do not tell the whole story. Pictures are also at the epicenter of journalism, and when photographers and editors illustrate fatalities, it often raises questions about how they distinguish between a “fit” and “unfit” image of death. Death Makes the News is the story of this controversial news practice: picturing the dead. Jessica Fishman uncovers the surprising editorial and political forces that structure how the news and media cover death. The patterns are striking, overturning long-held assumptions about which deaths are newsworthy and raising fundamental questions about the role that news images play in our society. In a look behind the curtain of newsrooms, Fishman observes editors and photojournalists from different types of organizations as they deliberate over which images of death make the cut, and why. She also investigates over 30 years of photojournalism in the tabloid and patrician press to establish when the dead are shown and whose dead body is most newsworthy, illustrating her findings with high-profile news events, including recent plane crashes, earthquakes, hurricanes, homicides, political unrest, and war-time attacks. Death Makes the News reveals that much of what we think we know about the news is wrong: while the patrician press claims that they do not show dead bodies, they are actually more likely than the tabloid press to show them—even though the tabloids actually claim to have no qualms showing these bodies. Dead foreigners are more likely to be shown than American bodies. At the same time, there are other unexpected but vivid patterns that offer insight into persistent editorial forces that routinely structure news coverage of death. An original view on the depiction of dead bodies in the media, Death Makes the News opens up new ways of thinking about how death is portrayed. Because it is impossible to create an unfiltered mirror to reality, the news media selectively rely on particular pictures and words to shape our understanding of world events. The construction of news is never a random process, and photojournalism is far more than a mechanical undertaking. Because photographs literally craft boundaries, systematically hiding one reality while illuminating another, this text extensively examines how pictures represent tragedy, uncovering surprising editorial forces that persistently structure the way the news media cover death