The early reporting of Tom Petty’s “death”
and his actual death by different news sources sheds light on many different issues.
The two issues that I will be discussing in more detail are the consequences of
fake news stories as well as the consequences of being in a rush to be the
first to report. Many different sources, such as the LAPD, CBS, Variety
Magazine, TMZ, and Rolling Stone Magazine, reported on Tom Petty’s death before
he had actually died. This caused mass confusion and upset some people, such as
Tom Petty’s daughter. She was clearly angry about the false reporting when she
commented at Rolling Stone saying, “my dad is not dead yet but your f***ing
magazine is. How dare you report that my father has died just to get press
because your articles and photos are so dated.”
That last sentence from Tom Petty’s
daughter brings me to the issue of being in a rush to be the first to report on
something. Sources rush to be the first to report on something because they
want the publicity from it and all of the views and ratings. I think that sources
are sometimes in such a rush to be the first to report on an issue that they don’t
take the time to verify that it is actually true. This can lead to many negative
consequences, as was shown in the case of Tom Petty’s “death” and death. Another
consequence of sources being in a rush to be the first to report on a celebrity’s
death could be disrespect to the family members. An example of this is Philip
Seymour Hoffman’s death, which may have been reported on before his family
members even knew about his death. You can read more about The Rush to Report PhilipSeymour Hoffman’s Death here.
Although this paper focuses on the
fake news of celebrity deaths, most of fake news is politically charged and
tries to sway people a certain way. There are numerous consequences that come
with reporting fake news in general. You can read more about the consequences
of fake news here, as well as why our brains love fake news, and how to avoid
being persuaded or giving in to fake news.
I like how you talk about the impacts of the family members. I think you do a great job of putting this into perspective.
ReplyDeleteI really like how you expanded on the idea that news reporters are rushing to be the first to tell a story. I think that makes it easier to see how stories get miscommunicated and jumbled.
Thanks for sharing!
I agree with Carsyn in that I liked how you talked about the impacts that the fake news articles have on family members of those involved. That is something that I wished I mentioned on my blog post but you did a great job at shedding light on that topic.
ReplyDeleteReading the article about Philip Seymour Hoffman made me so sad! I can't imagine being his family members and finding out that someone you love passed away from twitter. The article made a good point of saying that just because you can share information quickly doesn't mean that you should. Good job Jayci!
ReplyDeleteI thought that this blog post was put together really well. I like how you tied in political fake news as well, bringing a new perspective into a reflection that deals with a celebrity death. I also liked that you pointed out how fake news is still a problem today. Well done!
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