How Far Do You Go and How Much Do You Show [electronic resource] : Pittsburgh Television News Media and the R. Budd Dwyer Suicide / John Matviko.
Only one Pittsburgh television station (WPXI) chose to show the entire event when R. Budd Dwyer, Pennsylvania state treasurer, shot himself at a televised news conference. Within 12 hours, the focus of the story had shifted from Dwyer himself to the media's coverage. Was WPXI wrong to show the...
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| Format: | Electronic eBook |
| Language: | English |
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Distributed by ERIC Clearinghouse,
1988.
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| Summary: | Only one Pittsburgh television station (WPXI) chose to show the entire event when R. Budd Dwyer, Pennsylvania state treasurer, shot himself at a televised news conference. Within 12 hours, the focus of the story had shifted from Dwyer himself to the media's coverage. Was WPXI wrong to show the suicide? Were the other stations wrong to curtail the public's right to know? On an "Action News Special Report" news editors reasoned that showing the suicide was too gruesome, too graphic, served no purpose, and that the audience did not want to see it. "Pittsburgh 2Day," a locally-produced talk show, devoted its entire hour to media coverage of the suicide. Media persons on the show questioned whether it was right to "manage" the news. A telephone poll of viewers revealed that 46% felt the entire suicide should have been shown and 54% felt it should not. WPXI's decision not to participate in "Pittsburgh 2Day" lessened the effectiveness of the discussion and led people to conclude that WPXI staff regretted having shown the suicide. The media missed an opportunity to address the larger issue of the need for differing points of view in a democracy. The next time such a controversial event happens, each Pittsburgh station will probably make the same decision as the others regarding proper coverage. (Twelve figures are included.) (MHC) |
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| Item Description: | ERIC Document Number: ED294257. ERIC Note: Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Eastern Communication Association (79th, Baltimore, MD, April 27-May 1, 1988). Figures may not reproduce clearly. |
| Physical Description: | 18 p. |