Anybody know any unethical media stories / ads?

[nathan]

I've got to do a project for a Mass Communication class. I've got to find an original case study that is deemed "unethical." It has to have happened within the past 5 years. It can be anything from a racist billboard to slander. I've been trying to find ideas but it's been more difficult than I thought.


Can anybody help me out?

[Croox]

they had some divorce laywer here who had a "sexy" billboard that promoted divorce last may

http://abcnews.go.com/TheLaw/LegalCe...ory?id=3154874

[blueskid]

joe wilson's wife, valery, and the drama with them. what's his name...one of the big ones that was fired for reporting on stuff that turned out not to be true.

i sound real smart don't i?

[skaliwag66]

Originally Posted by Croox

they had some divorce laywer here who had a "sexy" billboard that promoted divorce last may

http://abcnews.go.com/TheLaw/LegalCe...ory?id=3154874

[Ericman197]

I have an idea that's very controversial: you could do the project on autism (or any number of other disorders). Like so many other conditions, a number of studies has been done on autism - some were good, others not so good. In health and science, the media will sometimes latch on to a study that is obviously flawed, but will sell. An example is the myth that there is a link between mercury (thimeserol) in vaccines and increased rates of autism.

As it turns out, the studies which suggested these links were either retracted or discredited, but the idea lives on. I believe this would be a more interesting subject than racism because it's a bit abstract and not entirely black and white. It isn't a case of being offensive, but rather the news media reporting on something that may not be factual. This is unethical because it has led thousands of parents to choose not to vaccinate their children for the wrong reasons, and to seek out ill advisable treatments for their autistic kids.

[MyUsernameHere]

How about the recent flap with Reuters using staged and fake photos for their middle east stories. http://www.nppa.org/news_and_events/...8/reuters.html

and... http://www.zombietime.com/reuters_photo_fraud/
and still more... http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1679236/posts

You might want to find less partisan sources than the last two I linked, but it shouldn't be hard to do.

Also look out for some photos they were using for their Iraq stories about US troops shooting up civilian homes. Reuters was using photos of a woman holding unspent AK rounds and captioning them as if she had pulled them out of her walls and bedding after the Americans shot at her. They used the same woman for at least two separate incidents...not to mention that US troops don't use the type of bullets she was holding.

There are tons more of these as well. If you don't want to use the war propaganda stuff look for their story about the Russians claiming the land under the Artic ice cap. They used stock footage from the movie Titanic (from the very beginning where the two little robot subs are looking at the wreckage) and described it as a photo of Russian exploratory subs.

[wdinc01]

http://www.joystiq.com/2006/07/04/ad...harged-psp-ad/

This was over in Europe, so I don't think it's as big as a deal as it would have been in the US. I wouldn't really consider it racist, but whoever thought it'd be alright to put these up was an idiot.

[peaveyuser]

Originally Posted by wdinc01

http://www.joystiq.com/2006/07/04/ad...harged-psp-ad/

This was over in Europe, so I don't think it's as big as a deal as it would have been in the US. I wouldn't really consider it racist, but whoever thought it'd be alright to put these up was an idiot.

no it's pretty freakin racist albeit I can get what they are trying to say.


If it were art and in a more understanding context I guess it wouldn't be racist.

[Ericman197]

Originally Posted by wdinc01

http://www.joystiq.com/2006/07/04/ad...harged-psp-ad/

This was over in Europe, so I don't think it's as big as a deal as it would have been in the US. I wouldn't really consider it racist, but whoever thought it'd be alright to put these up was an idiot.

You probably know this since you posted the link, but The Netherlands and black people have a very weird relationship. Look up Sinterklaas and Zwarte Piet for more strangeness. It is not altogether clear to me that the intention of the ad was racist. For example, in many countries blackface is still accepted (albeit not without controversy). Of course in America we would be offended by juxtaposing blacks and whites to represent video game consoles, but I would think this would be more acceptable in Europe.

[wdinc01]

Originally Posted by peaveyuser

If it were art and in a more understanding context I guess it wouldn't be racist.

How is that not art?

And actually Ericman, I don't really know much about the Netherlands at all. I'll look that stuff up whenever I get a chance. Honestly, I just assumed (and I know what they say about assuming) that in Europe there's less controversy about racism against blacks than in America, since they didn't really have to deal with slavery (at least, to the same degree as America). I might be wrong though, I haven't really researched that much.

[peaveyuser]

Originally Posted by wdinc01

How is that not art?

when you place an ad your showing it to the world and there are uptight PC people there that won't like this.

Stupid marketing campaign.

[Ericman197]

Originally Posted by wdinc01

How is that not art?

And actually Ericman, I don't really know much about the Netherlands at all. I'll look that stuff up whenever I get a chance. Honestly, I just assumed (and I know what they say about assuming) that in Europe there's less controversy about racism against blacks than in America, since they didn't really have to deal with slavery (at least, to the same degree as America). I might be wrong though, I haven't really researched that much.

Well, it varies from country to country. But I know that in The Netherlands, blackface is fairly common. There are some who disagree with it, but it's pretty common practice. My friend sent me this picture of a caricature of Obama in blackface. You'd think they were lampooning the idea of a black president, but they were actually supporting him in that case. As you said, it's mainly because they have a different history with regards to race relations, so these images don't have quite the same connotation there as they do here.

It is also my understanding that blackface is common in Japan as well, where it is thought of as cool, rather than degrading. It definitely isn't universally accepted though, I think over time there have been attempts to tone it down and eliminate it, but the Zwarte Piet character is definitely still very popular.

[wdinc01]

Originally Posted by peaveyuser

when you place an ad your showing it to the world and there are uptight PC people there that won't like this.

Well if that's the case, then everything that offends everyone isn't actually art of any kind, but just offensive. I can't really think of good examples because it's already tomorrow where I am, but I dunno, just because there's politically correct people who'll complain doesn't mean those people are right.

[Disco_Gee]

Originally Posted by wdinc01

http://www.joystiq.com/2006/07/04/ad...harged-psp-ad/

This was over in Europe, so I don't think it's as big as a deal as it would have been in the US. I wouldn't really consider it racist, but whoever thought it'd be alright to put these up was an idiot.

Interesting. I'd hardly call it racist, though.

I understand what they were trying to do with the ad, and I think they achieved it. Race had nothing to do with it.

[heroincredible]

http://www.indymedia.org.uk/images/2005/03/307813.jpg

I believe this is a British billboard. Make of it what you will.

[Bad Brains]

Originally Posted by nathan

I've got to do a project for a Mass Communication class. I've got to find an original case study that is deemed "unethical." It has to have happened within the past 5 years. It can be anything from a racist billboard to slander. I've been trying to find ideas but it's been more difficult than I thought.


Can anybody help me out?

For an idea, look into anti-drug campaigns. Epically the hypocrisy of having anti-drug ads sharing commercial segments with alcohol ads.

[heroincredible]

Originally Posted by Bad Brains

For an idea, look into anti-drug campaigns. Epically the hypocrisy of having anti-drug ads sharing commercial segments with alcohol ads.

A Bill Hicks fan I presume?

[bongomania]

Pretty much anything on Fox News could qualify as unethical IMO.

[T-Bird]

Hi, nathan.

Originally Posted by MyUsernameHere

There are tons more of these as well. If you don't want to use the war propaganda stuff look for their story about the Russians claiming the land under the Artic ice cap. They used stock footage from the movie Titanic (from the very beginning where the two little robot subs are looking at the wreckage) and described it as a photo of Russian exploratory subs.

You mean this one?


http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2007...andpublishing2

Hilarious

My vote goes for that one. Sex, politics and racism scandals will burn themselves out in the long run, but cases like that fraud will be embarassing for a long time IMHO.

Regards
Sam

Edit: OOPS, that link is for the Guardian, hardly a respectable source as such. But the story is reported in more respectable sources too, You might want to look at those too .

[Tegzsa]

WMD's