Who’s Saari Now: The 12th Rule Of Tabloid Journalism
THE 12th Rule of Tabloid Journalism states:
“Each and any incident that can be linked to a website on the internet must be. If victim or perpetrator of crime or deed has a social networking account it should be mentioned at all times, preferably in the headline. The inference should be that the web was the trigger to the action.”
Example:
Matti Saari, 22, shoots and kills 10 people at a school in Kauhajoki, western Finland. He had posted online videos of himself at a gun range. He killed himself.
Headlines:
“10 KIDS SHOT DEAD BY YOUTUBE SICKO” – Daily Star
“YOUTUBE GUNMAN KILLS 10 AT SCHOOL” – Sun
“YOUTUBE GUN KILLER” – Daily Mirror
“Net gunman kills ten in school attack” – Daily Mail
YouTube gunman kills 10 at school” – Daily Express
Had Saari not died, he could have said that the web drove him to it, and tabloid writers would have believed him…
Posted: 24th, September 2008 | In: Tabloids Comment (1) | TrackBack | Permalink
