Our Hysterical Media

By Laura James

I have three theories on why the mass media hypes certain types of true crime stories. First, certain kinds of cases hit our buttons and drive up viewership. Second, exaggerating a case to "historic" proportions makes the journalist feel more important, since it strokes the ego to think one is reporting on a history-shattering event. Third, whatever drives up ratings is likely to have a divisive political angle worth exploring for ratings the next day.

Every media outlet in the country is guilty of these sins. I can prove that. Outrageous sensationalism is most often associated with mass murders, especially those committed with a "semi-automatic weapon" (news flash: most guns are "semi-automatic"). Another kind of case that attracts a lot of hype, over-analysis and speculation is the family annihilator.

There are dozens of workplace shootings every year. We'll hear about one and only one, I'd guess, this year. Sadly, that recent massacre took place in a city that had experienced just such a madman's rampage decades ago. Very few news outlets bothered to mention that earlier incident. Why? They prefer to think of every story they cover as unprecedented and unique. Precedents spoil hype.

Here is more proof. The most respected media outlets in the United States sensationalize true crime stories to the point of making blatantly false statements for the sake of a great opening sentence.

The mass shooting at Virginia Tech was not even close to being the worst massacre in US history, or even the worst school massacre in US history. But it was hyped exactly as such by none other than these outlets. (I noted the exact quote in case the links expired, and many did.)

On the Virginia Tech massacre, every single statement a false one:

MSNBC - "the worst school massacre in US history"
ABC - George Stephanopoulos: "The worst campus massacre before Virginia Tech was back in the University of Texas in 1966."
Newsweek - "worst massacre in U.S. history"
Time - "the worst massacre in US history"
Baltimore Sun - "the worst school massacre in US history"
Los Angeles Times - "the worst school massacre in history"
Court TV Crime Library "the worst mass murder in American history," indeed! This is a particularly egregious and unforgivable error on a website that purports to offer encyclopedic treatment of historic crimes, including articles on the Bath massacre and Mountain Meadows.
New Jersey Star-Ledger - "America's worst campus massacre"
Atlanta Journal-Constitution - "worst campus massacre in US history"
New York Daily News - "the worst campus massacre in American history"
Troy Record - "the nation's worst massacre"
WorldNetDaily - "America's worst school massacre"
Campus Times - "worst school massacre in United States history"
Shreveport Times - "worst massacre in American history"
Asheville Citizen-Times "The worst massacre in U.S. history"
Janesville Gazette - "the worst massacre in US history"
Roanoke Times - "worst school massacre in US history"
Daily Titan - "worst massacre in US history"
Bakersfield Californian - "the worst massacre in the country's history."

You'd think the press would've remembered having to correct their reporting when they erroneously fluffed the Columbine massacre as the "worst ever." Oops - I assume too much - did they correct themselves?

For the record, the worst school massacre in U.S. history took place in Michigan. The worst massacre ever is more difficult to discern because of all of the horrific examples. There was never a need to exaggerate any of them.

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Once a newspaper touches a story, the facts are lost forever, even to the protagonists.

--Norman Mailer

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Crime Clutter

by Kathryn Casey

Ever wonder what a crime writer keeps in her office? Awhile back, I spent the day going through piles of books and stacks of files, trying to whittle down. My husband constructed four sturdy wire shelves in my office closet – a converted bedroom – and I was determined to stow what I need and get rid of the clutter covering every possible surface, including the upright piano I had to have and still don’t know how to play. (It is a great place for stacking books though. The keyboard is just the right width. And maybe someday, if I retire…)

Anyway, all went well until I dug into the wire mesh office organizer I bought at The Container Store about 12 years ago. The theory at the time was that this would help clear up the debris by allowing me to categorize everything in hanging folders. Instead, it’s beneath three feet of newspaper clippings. At one point or another, it seems, I thought knowing about Stonehenge, jet propulsion and tooth bacteria would all help me write mysteries and true crime. Don’t ask. I haven’t the foggiest.

Those were quick throw-outs.

The harder articles to part with are those that offer intriguing theories. For instance, there’s an August 2, 2002 Chicago Tribune article by Ronald Kotulak with the headline: “Scientists ID gene linked to violence.” (A later study at Florida State labeled it the Warrior Gene and linked it to gang membership.) The Chicago Tribune article quoted a report published in the journal Science citing evidence that both genetic and environmental factors influence human behavior. We already suspected this, right? It’s that old thing about how our urges or tendencies are hard-wired, but we may or may not act on them depending on whether or not experience flips the switch, like the serial killer who’s abused as a child. (Of course, then how do we explain serial killers who aren’t abused as children?)

My question: If they found this d**n gene in 2002, why haven’t they found a way to fix it and rewired all of the monsters for us?

Then there's the April, 22, 2007 article "Study of brain may show link to violent acts," by Houston Chronicle reporter Todd Ackerman. Charles Whitman (photo right), the University of Texas UT Tower sniper, had a brain tumor, and, according to the article, Seung-Hui Cho, the Virginia Tech killer, showed evidence of a brain-abnormality-induced psychosis. The theory is that when the frontal lobe is damaged it can disconnect the part of the brain that censors impulses. A March 2007 study published in Nature suggests that injuries and abnormalities behind the forehead, two inches into the brain, affect moral judgment in life or death situations, and that those who suffer this type of injury can be more inclined to kill or harm one person to save the life of another. One Houston doc, Pamela Blake, a Memorial Hermann neurologist, released a study in 2004 of Death Row inmates that concluded 40 percent had a frontal lobe injury or impairment. Hmmm. Makes you think, doesn't it? I've got to admit, however, that whenever theories like these pop up I recall the double Y chromosome theory.

You know the one: about four decades ago they tested a sample of the male prison population and found a percentage with an extra Y chromosome, XYY instead of XY. It was suspected at the time that the extra male chromosome increased testosterone levels and made these men more prone to violence, landing them in the slammer. The theory fell apart when other studies discovered XYYers have normal testosterone levels and that men in the general population have approximately the same instance of the XYY pattern. Ah, well.

Okay, back to my stash of articles going into the to-be-kept file.

This final article I couldn’t throw out simply because of the title: “Local ‘Polka King’ goes missing.” The Polka King is 48-year-old Bobby Jones, who was last seen on the night of June 22, 2007. He didn’t show up in El Campo, Texas, for a radio station emcee gig. He’d been acting unusually sad and, according to the article, no foul play was suspected, so maybe there’s no crime to write about. A while later, his car's license plate was found in the Colorado River. But the guy left his accordion behind. Would a Polka King do that? Sounds fishy to me

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College School Violence

by Connie Park

Xin Yang, a 22 year old from Beijing, China, arrived in the United States on January 8, 2009, to pursue the American dream. She wanted to further her education and hoped for the opportunities that are available here to have a better life. Xin Yang began her studies as an accounting major at the prestigious business school at Virginia Tech less than a month ago. On January 21, 2009, her hopes and dreams came to an abrupt halt.

At approximately 7:00 p.m. on January 21st, Xin Yang and Haiyan Zhu, a 25 year old Chinese national student, and several of their friends were having coffee at the Au Bon Pain Café located at the Graduate Life Center on the Virginia Tech’s campus. Haiyan Zhu apparently was a friend who Xin Yang listed as her emergency contact. Shortly after 7:00 p.m., the Virginia Tech campus police received two 911 calls from the Graduate Life Center. Shortly after the calls, police arrived and discovered Xin Yang’s decapitated body at the location. There were seven witnesses who observed the horrific incident.

According to the Collegiate Times, Virginia Tech’s newspaper, the police affidavit stated that the first arriving officer found Zhu holding Yang’s head and blood on his clothing. The murder weapon was a kitchen knife was recovered at the scene.

Virginia Tech’s Campus Police Chief Wendell Flinchum stated that, “It was a horrific crime scene and the victim had been decapitated. There was no motive for the slaying.”

The alleged suspect, Haiyan Zhu, was charged with first degree murder and is being held without bond in the Montgomery County Jail. There have been no police reports or any kind of problems with Zhu in the past. Zhu is an international graduate at Virginia Tech from Ningho, China.

This incident comes shortly after the Virginia Tech Massacre that occurred on April 16, 2007. The massacre was the deadliest school shooting in U.S. history. Seung-Hui Cho, a 23 year old Virginia Tech student, killed 32 people and injured 21 people in two hours. The first shooting occurred at approximately 7:15 a.m. at a residence hall where he the two victims. Cho then proceeded to the opposite side of the campus to another residence hall and continued his rampage and shot additional victims. He eventually turned the gun and shot himself in the head.

Cho had a history of mental illness beginning in middle school where he was diagnosed with anxiety disorder and depression. In 2005, a judge deemed Cho mentally ill and that he was “an imminent danger to himself and others”. One professor asked Cho to seek professional counseling. Additionally, Cho was accused of stalking two female students in 2005.
It appeared that Cho was planning the shooting massacre for months. Police officials traced the handguns that were found by Cho’s body and found he had purchased the handguns back in February and March of 2007.

This brought on the debate of gun control laws again in the United States. As a result of this incident, there were rapid changes that were made to the Virginia gun laws. In addition, a major federal gun control law was signed that created tighter measures and standards with NICS-National Institute Criminal Background Check System signed by President George W. Bush on January 5, 2008.

This Wednesday incident only brought back the horrible memories to the Virginia Tech students and faculty members.

In light of recent school campus violence, Congress and the Senate passed the School Safety Law Enforcement Improvement Act on February 26, 2008. Senate bill S.2084 was sponsored by Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT). The Act provides the following:

-assistance programs to improve safety and security of school institution of higher education

-firm pilot programs to develop cutting edge programs for schools

-funding for school campus police

-improvement to the Law Enforcement Officer Safety Act of 2003

-focuses on prevention

-incorporates the Terror’s Hoax Improvement Act of 2007

The question still remains of why there has been an increase in school violence over the years and what solutions and programs will improve the safety and security issues.

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