Representing Death In The News: Journalism, Media And Mortality

Representing Death in the News Journalism, Media and Mortality Folker Hanusch Representing Death in the News This page intentionally left blank Representing Death in the News Journalism, Media and Mortality Folker Hanusch © Folker Christian Hanusch 2010 All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission. No portion of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, Saffron House, 6-10 Kirby Street, London EC1N 8TS. Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. The author has asserted his right to be identified as the author of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. First published 2010 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN Palgrave Macmillan in the UK is an imprint of Macmillan Publishers Limited, registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS. Palgrave Macmillan in the US is a division of St Martin’s Press LLC, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010. Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies and has companies and representatives throughout the world. Palgrave® and Macmillan® are registered trademarks in the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe and other countries. ISBN-13: 978–0–230–23046–0 hardback This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully managed and sustained forest sources. Logging, pulping and manufacturing processes are expected to conform to the environmental regulations of the country of origin. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 Printed and bound in Great Britain by CPI Antony Rowe, Chippenham and Eastbourne For my parents This page intentionally left blank Contents Acknowledgments viii 1 Introduction 1 2 A History of News about Death 13 3 How News Media Place Values on Life 35 4 Visual Displays of Death 55 5 The Impact of Covering Traumatic Assignments 79 6 Audience Responses to Death in the News 99 7 Journalism’s Role in Constructing Grief 125 8 Representing Death in the Online Age 145 9 Conclusion 161 Bibliography 172 Index 193 vii Acknowledgments Book projects are never strictly the work of one person alone, and this one is no different. I have been fortunate enough to have had the support of a number of people, without whom it is unlikely this book project would have come to fruition. First and foremost, I thank my wife and son, who have, especially over the last two months before completion of the manuscript, been an eternal source of encouragement and moral support. Most importantly, they have been more than understanding when I needed to shut myself away in order to work on the manuscript. Weekends with daddy will now return. Thanks also go to my parents, without whom none of this would have been possible. This book is dedicated