MEDIA AND ANTISOCIAL BEHAVIOR CONTENTS Media Lessons and

MEDIA AND ANTISOCIAL BEHAVIOR

CONTENTS § Media Lessons and Moral Responsibility § Antisocial Acts and Professional Obligation § Media’s Influence on Antisocial Behavior a. News b. Entertainment c. Advertising § The Media and Civility

Examples of Antisocial Movies and Programs § Jackass---Johnny Knoxville (Warning: MTV's hit show Jackass featured silly pranks, absurd antics and idiotic stunts performed by total jackasses. Leading the sick and twisted pack of sadomasochists was Johnny. . . ) § Natural Born Killers---Juliette Lewis and Woody Harrelson (The two went from being a normal married couple who suddenly decide to go on a killing spree to unwed social outcasts who were molested and beaten by their parents. )

Outcomes of these Programs § 13 -year-old Jason Lind got burned after imitating the stunt § Edmondson and Darras went on a killing spree in a convenience store

Is it possible to delete violence and crime in our media content? § It would be unreasonable to do that because our media content would lose its dramatic vitality, especially when the effect on the audience is unpredictable.

MEDIA LESSONS AND MORAL RESPONSIBILITY Issues surrounding the media and antisocial behavior fall into two categories: § Practitioners’ commission of antisocial acts in connection with their professional obligation § Media’s influence on antisocial behavior

ANTISOCIAL ACTS AND PROFESSIONAL OBLIGATIONS § Like public officials, media practitioners should be expected to seek the ethical high ground in their conduct… …but more often than not, media practitioners fail at that…

§ Overspeeding to get to a story… § Illegally gaining access to confidential information from government… § To illustrate the child pornography situation, a reporter downloads some representative material from the web… …Does the public’s interest outweigh the reporters’ obligation to obey the law?

§ If journalists are truly representatives of the public, they should not engage in conduct that they would not approve of in their constituents. § If the commission of the criminal acts in search of a story became commonplace, respect for the rule of law within society would be undermined. § if the public interest is the sole justification for antisocial behavior, then many groups would demand for exemptions

MEDIA’S INFLUENCE ON ANTISOCIAL BEHAVIOR

NEWS

Undoubtedly, many immature viewers may learn lessons in antisocial behavior from news coverage. Ex. The pervasive media coverage of the Columbine High School massacre. An incredible number of copycats were reported across the nation.

One of the most risky forms of news coverage is the live transmission of police chases. Such events are unpredictable and limits editorial judgment.

MEAN WORLD THEORY/CULTIVATION THEORY Essentially, theory states that heavy exposure to mass media, namely television, creates and cultivates attitudes more consistent with a media conjured version of reality than with what actual reality is. The cultivation theory asserts that heavy viewers' attitudes are cultivated primarily by what they watch on television. Gerbner views this television world as "not a window on or reflection of the world, but a world in itself" (Mc. Quail 100). This created version of the world entices heavy viewers to make assumptions about violence, people, places, and other fictionalized events which do not hold true to real life events. (WIKIPEDIA)

GUIDELINES FOR GOVERNMENT CRISIS SITUATIONS § Reporters must avoid revealing information that might reveal the location or tactics of law enforcement officials. § Reporters must avoid making contact with gunmen or hostage takers.

ENTERTAINMENT

§ Does violence on TV and in the movies increase the aggressive behavior of children? § Do problems about crime contribute to the growing crime rate in society? § Is the drug culture glorified in primetime TV drama? § Should Hollywood be blamed for the decline in in family values?

PROFESSOR DENI ELLIOTT “Mass media entertainment in print or broadcast does more than help people fill time between dinner and bed, entertainment pieces educate and socialize…”

Guidelines for “Ethics of Violent Content” § § Is there an adequate warning by the producer? Is the violence essential to the plot and script? Does the material depict violence as desirable? Is there just punishment for unwarranted acts of violence? Or are such acts rewarded? § Are heroes and villains clearly delineated?

ADVERTISING § Chevrolet TV ad showing a woman in a Camaro passing a leering trucker. She thrusts an out-of-focused arm into the air, a subtle imitation of an obscure gesture. § Commercial for Maryland mall emphasizing theme of defecation. § Featuring oral sex § NFL’s tagline, “deadly long-range passing. Linebackers without conscience. NFL Blitz, it’s a wretched assault on the sense of fair play. No refs, no rules, no mercy…”

§ Commercial for Snickers featuring a youngster emblazoning an inner city wall with the candy bar’s name---symbolic of a gang practice of “tagging” walls with graffiti.

We have to be civil. A civil society is more likely to be a virtuous society.