Media and the Murderer - Jack the Ripper, Steven Avery and an Enduring Formula for Notoriety

Some criminals become household names, while others--even those who seek recognition through their crimes--are forgotten. The criminal's actions are only a part of every famous true crime story. Other factors, such as the setting and circumstances of the crimes and the ways in which others take control of the narrative, ultimately drive their notoriety. Through a comparison of the tellings and retellings of two famous cases more than a century apart--the Jack the Ripper killings in 1888, and the murder trials of Steven Avery as documented in Making a Murderer--this book examines the complicated dynamics of criminal celebrity.

List of contents

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments

Introduction: The "Popular" in "Popular Crime"

Part One. Myths and Men

1.¿Criminality and Celebrity

2.¿Best Foot Forward

3.¿A Criminal's Roots

4.¿Humanity and Monstrosity

5.¿Guilt, Innocence and the "Truth"

Part Two. Situating the Story

6.¿Emerging Media Forms

7.¿"The wrong side of the tracks"

8.¿Making Headlines

Part Three. (Not) Naming the Dead

9.¿The Canonical Five

10.¿The Candy Store Owner and the AutoTrader Photographer

11.¿The "Real" Victim

Part Four. Good Men Gone Bad

12.¿Behind the Badge

13.¿Dark Conspiracies and Noble Intentions

14.¿The Coroner and the Special Prosecutor

Conclusion: Stories for the Ages

Chapter Notes

Bibliography

Index

About the author

Rebecca Frost is an independent scholar and freelancer. She lives in L'Anse, Michigan.

Product details

• Authors: Rebecca Frost
• Publisher: Exposit Books
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 01.08.2020
• EAN: 9781476681528
• ISBN: 978-1-4766-8152-8
• No. of pages: 202
• Dimensions: 152 mm x 229 mm x 12 mm
• Weight: 336 g
• Subject: Social sciences, law, business > Law > Criminal law, criminal procedural law, criminology