The Media Could Have Helped Ashley
It was in documented that Ashley Smith was unstable mentally and needed help( A preventable Death,2010) . Yes Ashely was guilty of throwing crab apples at someone, and caused harmed to herself while inflicting danger upon the many guards who she encountered( A preventable Death). She was locked in solitary for long periods of time, handled in a forceful manner, tasered, and ignored bu the guards on many occasions(Smith, 2010). However, the media did not take Ashely's story of confinement for a such a petty act to be aired on national television or on world wide radio stations;Ashely Smith was unheard of until she hung herself and died. This story was made big on the News in no time shortly after her death because it was shocking it is a story that stops and captures people attention it is "newsworthy." The media, news casters, and radio hosts could have gone into these juvenile institutions and spoke with some of these young people such as Ashley and got their story beforehand, publicly reporting the conditions that she was facing, and her reason for being incarcerated, and why so long.But when Ashley's death occurred her story was aired in no time, everything she had ever faced, her mental disabilities, her parents struggle to seek efficient help for their daughter was revealed instantly; When it was to late to save her. The medias use of the manipulative model directly effects the behavior of the world, this model incurs that we are shown what the media feels is great for us to see, rather than what we need to see (Surette,2007). Ashely Smiths tragic behavior of committing suicide leads to the belief that women are too criminals and have gruesome actions, the recordings shown in regards to Ashely's behavior while in confinement displays a side of women that seems to be unstable, out of control, vicious, and harmful.
The Media Could Have Helped Caylee
Evidence was found leading to find 2 year old Caylee Anthony's body, over 400 pieces worth( Casey Anthony Trial Verdict, 2011). However, Casey Anthony was not found guilty of 1st degree murder and she was only charged with giving false information to the police officers that spoke with her (Hayes, 2011). The Media has aired this case on multiple news castings to draw peoples attention, but the real question is did they draw their attention towards the right thing? They could have done a better job with finding a way to locate Caylee Anthony during the 31 days she was missing( Hightower, 2011). However, after her body was found that is when the media decided to step in and take on a much major role than before. Some viewers complained that they discussed the case entirely too much and this would only give Casey Anthony fame when they should have been talking about the case drastically during the time that 2 year old Caylee was no where to be found(. The Media centralized to this case because it was unusual and newsworthy. Women are known to be more prone of killing their children than men, but these cases do not happen often, but now that Casey Anthony was not charged with killing her daughter the media is held responsible for manipulating people to believe that women kill their children and are so sneaky that they get away with it. The media took this case and showed it to view the violence of women and their horrifying behaviors, when they should have spent more time promoting the fliers for missing Caylee and interviewing detectives to give instruction to all viewers on where to search and how to go about reporting any found evidence, this would have been a moire effective outreach and positive outlook.Maybe a life could have been saved, or a better verdict could have been reached.
The Media Could Have Helped Wendy
Police officers were called on many occasions from different neighbors who believed that Wendy was being abused by her husband, due to the verbal disputes, and loud comotion that they could hear from their own homes( Maldonado, 2009). Also, On the night that Aarron Maldonando was killed by Wendy and their oldest son Randy, Randy called the police in fear that his father would kill him and his mother;unfortunately, the police officers that arrived asked was everything okay, and when Wendy responded with a yes they left, despite the neighbors who told them to stay(Maldonado, 2009). Ultimately, The Justice System failed at protecting Wendy and her children, and the media did not make any difference or strive to help her situation in any way. When Wendy went to trial for murdering her husband, her story became big and HBO made a documentary of her lifestory with her violent husband, from the verbal, to the mental and physical abuse. The question that lies beneath is why was this documentary created? Was it to air her case and potentially change the minds and hearts of those who may see it and persuade them to advocate for her freedom or a lesser sentencing? or Was it to put a shocking stor of a mad woman who brutally killed her husband in cold blood with her innocent child as her accomplice? The media interviewed Wendy to get an overview of her life leading up to her killing her husband with a hammer because it was newsworthy, stories of abuse are often heard, even stories where women kill their abuser, but not stories where a woman kills her husband with a hammer and is assisted by her child who finished the death with a machette. How can a wife, a mother, and most of a ll a woman be so cruel and unorthodox? Are the questions that the media may provoke people to ask. However, the media, could have helped Wendy if radio stations and popular television programs were authorized to air what happended to her. Talk show host such as Oprah Winfrey or Dr.Phil could have been asked to dedicate a show to Wendy Maldanado by carrying out a recap of what previously happened in her trial or how life has changed for her and her children considering that she was sentenced to 10 years in prison. Nothing was done to help Wendy, and lack of the medias assistance to reach out to the public made her appear as an unjust murderer who was evil, dangerous, and kept behind bars where she belonged.