How the Authority of the Media was Challenged in the Aftermath of the Sandy Hook Shooting
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2019-06-17
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en
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For a long time, the American news media have been met with challenges to their authority. Firstly, media have struggled with the ethical principles of the field of journalism, as it has been difficult to define common values in the contemporary media paradigm. Secondly, social media has posed another challenge, as it remains debatable how social media coverage can contribute to reliable news production. Thirdly, it has become increasingly hard to identify what roles citizens and technology perform in the process of news coverage. These challenges have impacted the credibility of the news media, which was evident in the aftermath of the Sandy Hook shooting that took place in Newtown, Connecticut, on December 14, 2012.
In the case of the coverage of the Sandy Hook shooting, the problems with media credibility shooting have led to the emergence of conspiracy theories that were put forth on alternative media like Infowars, the alternative media platform founded by the notorious conspiracy-theorist Alex Jones. Conspiracy theories about the events that took place in Newtown have since been persistent, and have put forth a challenge on their own regarding the authority of the news media.
This thesis will explore the challenges that news media face regarding their authority over news coverage and how media are impacted by the involvement of new technologies and social media. Furthermore, it will discuss the media discourse on Sandy Hook shooting as an exemplary case of how the news media’s authority was challenged, and how social media and alternative media have impacted the coverage of the shooting.
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