News Media Critique: "Crazies in the Streets"

Date
2005-11-21
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
eCOMMUNITY: International Journal of Mental Health & Addiction
Abstract
Media representations of mental illness are powerful and often override people’s own personal experiences in relation to how they view mental illness. Unfortunately, media representations of mental illness are often inaccurate and fraught with stigmatizing attitudes. Drawing from a Canadian example, media coverage of a domestic violence killing and the killing of a Royal Canadian Mounted Police Officer by a man with schizophrenia is compared. It is clear that the media has stigmatizing attitudes towards people with mental illness. These inaccurate portrayals influence the generation of public opinion regarding how a person with disability should be treated and our views of how disability should be managed. As consumers of news media we must be aware of the messages contained within the articles and recognize oppressive, prejudicial, and discriminatory content that perpetuates stereotypes and disabilities.
Description
Copyright © Masood Zangeneh, Editor-in-Chief, International Journal of Mental Health & Addiction
Keywords
Mass media -- Social aspects -- Canada, Mental illness -- Public opinion
Citation
Webster, C. L. (2005). News media critique: “Crazies in the streets”. eCOMMUNITY: International Journal of Mental Health & Addiction, 3(2), 64-68.