Watch the following link :
http://www.hlntv.com/video/2012/08/30/did-identical-twin-sister-beat-stab-mom-death
With the given frame of the story, how is public opinion shaped upon viewing. What are some good techniques and poor techniques Nancy Grace uses to report the story on her show? What would you do differently as a communicator, journalists, etc.?
Within the news story, i noticed that most of the information was presented in a way that would paint the girls as guilty. Nancy Grace's angry demeanor as well as the accusing way in which she described the story made me feel like she had already decided that the girls had committed the murder. In addition, she only talked to a family friend who also seemed to think the girls were guilty. I believe that these were two poor reporting techniques, due to the fact that they basically eliminated her impartiality. She did, however, do a good job of describing the girls and their activities. This helped the audience get an idea of who the girls were, and made the accusation of murder even more shocking. After all, who would murder their own mother simply because of several disagreements? If I were Nancy Grace, I would try to tone down my voice, and take a more neutral stance. After all, the murders happened fairly recently and it seems that much investigative work is left to be done.
ReplyDeleteI feel like there wasn't any hard proof that the girls are guilty. I think there should have been more forensic evidence provided to the public before creating what seemed to be an inaccurate 'picture' of these two girls. I think she should have also talked to more people about the murder, maybe some friends of the twins or another person that could have told a different side to the story other than just a side that made them appear guilty. I do like how she was able to give a lot of information about the girls and their lifestyles, but I do think that more hard evidence should have been provided. I also feel that she made it very obvious which side she was one and what she thought happened. I think she should have had a more 'neutral' tone and should have represented both sides fairly and evenly. I think that journalism tends to be biased most of the time but when it comes to murders and other important information that the public needs to be aware of that it should be taken from a completely neutral perspective and presented with hard facts and not opinions.
ReplyDeleteAfter watching this clip, I found that although this is an interesting, yet slightly disturbing, story, it failed to actually prove the twins of being guilty. Obviously it is implied that the girls killed their mother by the tone and storytelling of Nancy Grace, but there was no evidence discussed about how (physically), or if, the girls are murderers. I would assume that there is a lot more to the story, but the fact that no information about the girls' and mother's relationship is revealed, rubs me the wrong way. Basic information is neglected, and this helps take part in the fact that society is quick to form judgement, especially since the interviewees and Nancy Grace seem to be taking sides and projecting the story. Grace asks some good questions, such as how did the girls react at the funeral; however, she also asks through an accusing tone and it is inferred that she believes the girls completed the murder. Personally, I would do my best to be objective and to not let my opinion seep through the cracks if I were in her position. I understand that every one is entitled to their opinion, but as a professional, it is not necessary to dish it out to the public when the job description is to inform the public with facts.
ReplyDeleteThis was absolutely the most ridiculous news story to have to watch. First of all, it was one of those glorified and dramatized murders that always cover the news. It's just sickening that this can cover so much of the news, meanwhile, our troops are being underreported on, among so many more issues that are much more important. Secondly, the reporting is horrible. This is why people criticize the media and journalism world so much, because in these cases they more than deserve it. At no point is this fair reporting and it's all hypothetical. I don't have any idea whether these girls were the murderers or not but people all deal with pain differently- I know when I found out one of my friends had killed himself I couldn't even cry because it was such a hollow emotion. Or when my grandpa died I never went near the casket during the funeral. I didn't murder either of them, obviously, but I just didn't have the dramatic reaction commonly associated with the deaths. I think it's ignorant for Nancy Grace to frame the story as an over-the-top event as opposed to stating facts. This isn't even a case where people should draw their own conclusions. People need to stay in their own business for this and wait for the Judge and Jury (call me crazy but I think this is their job to take care of) to decide. Objectivity is so important and Nancy Grace failed to hit the mark on any sign of being a good reporter.
ReplyDeleteThe way this news story was presented was in a way to make it into a dramatic murder mystery kind of story. There is a time and place for stories like that and it is not on the news. The story was not presented objectively by any means and led everyone to believe these twin girls were lying and murdered their own mother. No evidence is presented to incriminate them. Additionally police have the ability to pick out a time frame of when someone died so it would be easy to verify if they were in class or not at the time of death. This is a poorly written story with no facts and all assumptions and jumping to conclusions.
ReplyDeleteThroughout the duration of this newscast I felt as though Nancy Grace was set on the fact that the twins had killed their mother. This would then give the audience a predetermined notion to agree with her and then want to question the girls and the close family friend. Nancy Grace does a good job of asking questions like "Did the girls approach the casket?" and "How do you think the girls took this?" to try and find out what was going through the minds of the twins during this time period. I think some poor techniques would be the way her questions were derogatory. She really seemed bent on the idea that while these girls loved their mom so much, they still killed her. Nancy Grace seemed quite bitter about the whole situation, which really bothered me. As a journalist or newscaster, I believe that you should remain objective to the issue and just find out information that helps to retell the story to the public in a non-biased way.
ReplyDeleteVIDEO RESPONSE LIKE PROMISED:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w89F_t0h0sU&feature=plcp
I feel like Nancy Grace reports the story well, but at the same times very biased. Yes, she does feed the viewer the facts, but you can totally tell that she feels like the twins committed the crime. I sensed by that by the tone of her voice and her one and only source; the victim's best friend, who only spoke in a negative sense about the girls. As a communicator, I would provide more sources, like in addition to her friend, I would have someone who feels as if there was another suspect... Not two sixteen year old children.
ReplyDeleteDuring the video Nancy painted a very poor picture of the girls. She portrayed them in a negative light and showed a strong bias against them. Her attitude about the girls was a poor technique. I do however believe that she asked good questions and provided a lot of information on the girls daily lives. The story led the public to believe that the girls were guilty and that is unfair to them. I think the story should have been presented in a less accusatory manner.
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ReplyDeleteThroughout the clip, the girls were constantly looked at as guilty of committing murder. This clip was completely ridiculous as there was no real proof of the girls murdering their mother. After reading some of the comments at the bottom, it is clear that Nancy Grace has quite an impact in fabricating her own version of a story that will garner interest. Most people believed the girls were guilty and sounded off on them being terrible children. The only "good" thing Grace did was ask good questions. However, since her entire argument was one-sided, the questions did not represent a fair look at both sides of the story. As a journalist I would make sure to always cover both sides of the story and only deliver facts, not beat around the bush and jump to certain conclusions that would give me a better rating.
ReplyDeleteI think that they focused on things that had nothing to do with the event, trying to change our perception of the girls. It asks "Did gorgeous identical teen twins beat, stab their mom to death?" First of all, that is a loaded question which forces you to prove their innocence rather than their guilt. Secondly, why do they need to include gorgeous? It is all about entertainment. This story is way more exciting if two good-looking, seemingly normal girls kill their mom rather than some random person, because the later happens more often. The more you build up the story to be extraordinary, the more people will tune in, which drives up ad prices. If I were reporting this story, I would focus more on the facts (which she did for a short period of time) and less on details that have nothing to do with the event, like how good-looking the girls were.
ReplyDeleteNancy Grace, a well-known reporter in the 24 hour news cycle, does little reporting throughout her story about a woman's murder. What we get from beginning to end is a biased, one-sided account of a trial that has yet to reach its impending verdict. Journalism is supposed to inform the viewer of what's going on – it in no way, shape or form should speculate. Grace starts her story with whopping editorializations, asserting that the girls "love mommy" with no evidence to back up her claim. She goes on to say that "when puberty hits, it all changes." Grace displays an overwhelming and infuriating tendency to make big pronouncements with little to no attribution. What's more, all of her sources take the same stance as her – she makes no attempt to get the other side of the story. Grace may have thought she was reporting on the murder of a mother, but it ultimately was a biased, sensationalized story that was more theatrical than journalistic. It's hard to find anything good to say about that.
ReplyDeleteNancy Grace does little investigating into the murder. She lets her biases take over the television broadcast, and she creates a negative image of the girls for the national audience to take in. Alluding to what Jack said, Nancy Grace chooses to speculate rather than dig deep into the issue, which is not an element of a good journalist. It is clearly evident from the start of her show that she is not well-informed of the issue, and her mission is to establish a negative perception of the girls. From my point of view, her show is more dramatic than journalistic because she is not confronting a wide range of news sources. Even her voice is of a downgrading tone toward the two girls. I do not usually watch Nancy Grace's show, nor have I been very critical of her show up to this point in time. From watching this video, I believe that I am starting to become more media literate. I learned a lot from this video and from reading the comments of my fellow FIG mates, and I hope I can incorporate different characteristics into my future career. Even though her presentation was not put together well, I treated this viewing as a positive experience.
ReplyDeleteNancy Grace doesn't cover this story in an unbiased fashion. From the very beginning her word choice paints the picture of killers rather than the accused. She says in the very beginning that they might "Get away" with the crime that they are being accused of, not convicted for. Her entire assessment as well as the questions she asks are designed to sway the viewer in one direction without giving sufficient evidence to allow for intelligent thought about the serious issue at hand. She does ask a friend of the victim but even the victim can't give a sufficient amount of information to be considered credible. I would have tried to contacted the twins for their account in response to the police report that the evidence will support the theory. In a story which may have lasting consequences for two people I think this is a very poorly displayed story on behalf of Nancy Grace.
ReplyDeleteI agree with what everyone is saying. I believe that journalism, especially broadcast reporting like Nancy Grace tries to do, should be about informing the public and letting them make their own decisions about a situation. Nancy Grace is turning the art of journalism into a show based solely on entertainment (if you can call her show even that). I think that she is inaccurately portraying this family and using phrases that are meant to arouse emotion in her targeted demographic, not report the story to a general audience. She is trying to shape her viewers emotions for the twin girls into those of anger and hatred. She does effectively capture her audience but I, along with many other viewers I'm sure, develop a feeling of disgust and intolerance for her biased rant. She does not give the audience a chance to formulate their own opinions about the story because of the sensationalized version that she gives. I would definitely give a more general description of the story without bias because reporting on news stories in our country should be unbiased and meant to only inform the public, not force them on one side of it. I would also have more factual information including what the girls felt like during this time to give my audience many different areas to draw their opinions about the story from.
ReplyDeleteNancy Grace's coverage of this story is very sensationalized and biased. Rather than reporting on facts, Grace places the guilt on the daughters even though she has no solid proof they killed their mom. She adds a lot of fluff to her story, pointing out how beautiful the girls are or assuming that they must have loved their mother, to make it more interesting for the viewers. If I were reporting on this story, I would want to talk to the girls or at least the case investigator to get some solid evidence. From there, the audience should be allowed to make their own decisions based on the facts present, not based on the assumption reporters like Nancy Grace may make.
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