Media Events

Daniel Dayan and Elihu Katz refer to a media event as "a high holiday of mass communication." This provides a great start in understanding the significance of media events and their increasing influence in today's highly connected world. The so-called media event is able to utilize the various methods of communication and make it possible for a society to experience the same event together. The assassination of John F. Kennedy reveals in depth the elements of a "successful" media event. In her book, Zelizer discusses not only the media event of his funeral, but also how such widespread media coverage "constructed a reality in specific and perhaps conflicting ways." Interestingly enough, this construction is often intended to establish "discursive" positions and to "maintain power". Although this is not always true, it certainly seems to hold true in the major media events of the 21st century.

Based on the reasoning provided by Dayan and Katz, media events clearly have a large impact on our society. As for the 21st century, although countless media events occurred, one takes the cake as being the most influential and having the most effect on the future. Although you might have guessed, that event has to be the atrocities witnessed on September 11th, 2001. Needless to say that the events witnessed were tragic and unfortunate. However, due to the media coverage the events received, it compounded the effects. Furthermore, Through various news channels, such as CNN and FOX, covering the happenings around the clock and footage taken by civilizians, that media reached thousands and thousands of people. Although Facebook and other presently viral social media channels were not present, the television was able to create the manifestation of the 9/11 media event.

[1] Couldry, Nick/Hepp, Andreas/Krotz, Friedrich (eds.): Media Events in a Global Age. 2009. London, New York: Routledge 2009

[2] Zelizer, Barbie. Covering the Body: the Kennedy Assassination, the Media, and the Shaping of Collective Memory. Chicago: University of Chicago, 1992. Print.