Introduction to Mass Communications 02/02/16

Are We Comfortably Numb?

Rachel Maddow video:

o Human hand photo after 9/11 was run exactly one time, and then
not run again.
o Editors and producers choose which photos are shown, and how
often.
They balance news value and human value.
o We now have distributional access to raw eyewitness visual
information through the internet.
o Pictures can be used to hold others accountable for their actions by
the wider world.
o Photos could also provide useful information for investigators.

Lecture:

Photos:
o Image of four Palestinian boys killed by rocket playing on Gaza
beach Huff Post
I thought picture was good and necessary
o Malaysian airliner bodies photo
I thought the picture was unnecessary; words could have
conveyed it
o Man leaping from the burning twin tower
Needed image to reinforce the words
o Enormous tornado image from Moore American
Preferred to have the image with it
o Crash site with personal artifacts
Didnt need the image
o Boston marathon bloody man injured in wheelchair
Wanted picture
o ISIS attack that killed 38 people in the middle of the beach scene
Didnt need picture
o Paris massacre bloody bodies picture
Human Carnage is Inevitable in Wars and Crashes
o Our job is to deliver the news; in an international tragedy, we have
a responsibility not to shy away form the real human toll.
o It should not be a horror movie; it should be storytelling
o Images were posted with a warning statement
Does it Add Value to the Story?
o We can look at photos from abroad and say its not our world
o It spoke of the people still up in the towers and the loneliness of
death
o The photo is a reporting of fact
How Do We React?

o Tragic or violent images affect the amygdala the fear and stress
sensor of your brain
What is desensitization?
o The diminished emotional response to a negative or aversive
stimulus after repeated exposure to it.
Used to have the image of the person being beheaded by ISIS
o The problem with images like this is how the people directly
involved with the event would feel about having the photo shown to
the public
How Do You React to Violent Images in the Media?
o Gaza Rocket Attack: sad, angry, hopeless
Sometimes a kind of interest on the part of people who WANT
to see the violence this is a feeling to see more; like
watching a train wreck
o The Malaysian Airliner Shoot-Down: sad, angry, helpless
Information about the AIDS researchers on the plane came out
after the original release of information
Source of anger: the AIDS researchers loss of life affected the
lives of millions
o Jumping Man from the World Trade Center: Sad, Angry, Helpless
The ANGER in the room was palpable
Inspired talks about acts of violence to fight back
Islamic terrorists connecting with the anger inspired by the
image
Including certain words linking with the emotion of an
event can have LONG lasting effects
o Tornado image: Awe
o Image of Childrens Artifacts: Sad, Helpless
Inspired sympathy, sense of human connection
o Image of Boston Marathon Bombing: Sad, Frightened, Helpless
Causes people to feel like we are being targeted
Connects the event to personal experiences or other events
Desensitization:
o I am perplexed and dismayed at how desensitized may of us have
become to senseless and violent images
o We live in a society in which a public conversation over even the
smallest of actions which might avert futures deaths skews toward
doing little or nothing
o Desensitization has occurred on a national level
Desensitization can lead to:
o Making us oblivious to the pain and suffering of others
o Dulls our reactions to the perception that an emergency exists until
its too late
o Diminishing personal responsibility to help those who need it

o Permanent sense of despair over the world in which we live

We will continue to be exposed to tragic images in the mass media
o Average adults will continue to see over 11,000 tragic or violent
media images a year
o Not-for-the-squeamish photos will continue to be circulated by the
major news agencies
o It is our responsibility to not sugar-coat the news.
Balance between censorship, not inspiring desensitization,
personal filter, BALANCE
??Let the public censor themselves, dont censor the news??