Amanda Todd and Bullying:
Does a person have to be deceased to get media attention?
This is not about artists being recognized after they die. Certainly my career speaks otherwise. This is about what the media deems newsworthy.
I recall many years ago having a burger with my kids north of Toronto. Outside of the pinball establishment next door a truck pulled up and four big nasty looking guys got out and went into the pinball place. Something told me is wasn’t for a game or two of pinball.
Moments later they came out with this guy in tow and began pounding him to bits in the parking lot! Then they dropped him half conscious on the pavement and left.
I always carried a camera with me and I had the presence of mind to shoot on motor drive the whole incident.
That same afternoon I dropped my kids off at home and took my roll of film to the local police department where they obtained copies and sent me on my way. Then I went to the Newspapers, all three major Toronto dailies. All three asked me if the pictures were bloody and gory. I said no. Only blood in the pic’s was the guys face which wasn’t much cause they laid their beating all over his ribs and stomach. So not much gore.
The papers, all three were not interested. They said it had to be really bloody or no one would pay any attention.
Wow.
That was the last time I ever tried to submit to a paper.
This past week we have been flooded with news about Amanda Todd. We know that this is a very tragic and terribly sad story. My heart pains for her and this torn family. They did everything they could for her. We also know that teen suicide, or just suicide in general is a terrible thing to encounter, to say the least. We know that suicides are happening every single day all over this land. What made this one stand out and hit the airwaves was the plea for help Amanda posted on Youtube. Ripped my heart to pieces seeing it. I have a daughter who is 14 and it is horrible to imagine. Had to block it out as quickly as possible.
The fact remains that if Amanda had not posted that YouTube video she probably would have become just another statistic. Unknown, untold, passed over by the mass media. This is of course not what happened. Thankfully the media did tell her story. Continues to tell her story. But I sincerely question why. Do they do it for the sparing of other lives? For the possibility of raising awareness about teen suicide and bullying? Or do they tell the story as long as it attracts viewers to the news cast or the papers mages? I’m a skeptic on this one. Experience tells me it is the later and that saddens me as much.
RM
Does a person have to be deceased to get media attention?
This is not about artists being recognized after they die. Certainly my career speaks otherwise. This is about what the media deems newsworthy.
I recall many years ago having a burger with my kids north of Toronto. Outside of the pinball establishment next door a truck pulled up and four big nasty looking guys got out and went into the pinball place. Something told me is wasn’t for a game or two of pinball.
Moments later they came out with this guy in tow and began pounding him to bits in the parking lot! Then they dropped him half conscious on the pavement and left.
I always carried a camera with me and I had the presence of mind to shoot on motor drive the whole incident.
That same afternoon I dropped my kids off at home and took my roll of film to the local police department where they obtained copies and sent me on my way. Then I went to the Newspapers, all three major Toronto dailies. All three asked me if the pictures were bloody and gory. I said no. Only blood in the pic’s was the guys face which wasn’t much cause they laid their beating all over his ribs and stomach. So not much gore.
The papers, all three were not interested. They said it had to be really bloody or no one would pay any attention.
Wow.
That was the last time I ever tried to submit to a paper.
This past week we have been flooded with news about Amanda Todd. We know that this is a very tragic and terribly sad story. My heart pains for her and this torn family. They did everything they could for her. We also know that teen suicide, or just suicide in general is a terrible thing to encounter, to say the least. We know that suicides are happening every single day all over this land. What made this one stand out and hit the airwaves was the plea for help Amanda posted on Youtube. Ripped my heart to pieces seeing it. I have a daughter who is 14 and it is horrible to imagine. Had to block it out as quickly as possible.
The fact remains that if Amanda had not posted that YouTube video she probably would have become just another statistic. Unknown, untold, passed over by the mass media. This is of course not what happened. Thankfully the media did tell her story. Continues to tell her story. But I sincerely question why. Do they do it for the sparing of other lives? For the possibility of raising awareness about teen suicide and bullying? Or do they tell the story as long as it attracts viewers to the news cast or the papers mages? I’m a skeptic on this one. Experience tells me it is the later and that saddens me as much.
RM
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