Archive for the ‘Health journalism’ Category
How Journalism’s Portrayal of the Thin Ideal contributes to Anorexia
Journalism plays a key role in the depiction of extremely thin celebrities and fashion models in magazines targeted for teenage girls and young women. Key magazines depict the image of the ideal body which celebrities possess. These images can be seen in magazines such as Heat, Closer, Reveal, Star, Love It and New only to mention a few. Read the rest of this entry »
Monsters, maniacs and madness: Press coverage of the English special hospitals
The Sun’s 2003 front page headline “Bonkers Bruno Locked up” attracted widespread censure (Cook, 2003), and was criticised as indicative of the tone of press coverage of celebrities with mental illness. The episode led to the replacement of the headline about the former heavyweight boxer with the anodyne “Sad Bruno in Mental Home” and a vow from The Sun’s editor Rebekah Wade to attend mental health training (ibid). More recently, use of the terms “nut”, “psycho”, and “schizo” have been criticised (Batty, 2008), and the social inclusion quango “Shift” have urged journalists to use less stigmatising terminology when reporting on the mentally ill. Read the rest of this entry »
