No Such Thing As Bad Publicity

PR folks maintain that any mention in the press, good, bad or indifferent is good for getting one’s message out. PT Barnum, a 19th century showman believed it. Newspapers have published repeated variations on the theme from 1916 onward. So why does it come as a surprise that a media feeding frenzy over a mass shooting spurs other shootings?

An article, reporting the results of a study on suicide, purports to show that publicity surrounding mass shootings trigger more mass shootings.

The Influence of Suggestion on Suicide: Substantive and Theoretical Implications of the Werther Effect

David P. Phillips American Sociological Review Vol. 39, No. 3 (Jun., 1974), pp. 340-354 Published by: American Sociological Association DOI: 10.2307/2094294 https://www.jstor.org/stable/2094294 Page Count: 15

How was the media supposed to know?

“I don’t care what people say about me as long as they say something.” 

P.T.Barnum

“It is silly of you, for there is only one thing in the world worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about.”

Oscar Wilde

The writer Barry Popik noted that variations on the theme appeared in print as early as 1916.

“There isn’t any such thing as bad publicity” has been cited in print since at least 1916. “Any publicity is good publicity” has been cited in print since at least 1925. “‘There isn’t any such thing as bad publicity,’ or, to express the same idea in reverse, ‘all publicity is good publicity’” was written in 1939.

Tune in to the local news. At least once a week, if not nightly there will be a story featuring a “perp walk.” A perp walk is when the TV cameramen haunt a location so that they can broadcast the cops leading a suspect away in handcuffs.

Times Change

Used to be, perps taking the walk were rather camera shy. It could be they were trying to preserve their anonymity. There is an outside chance that shame might have been a motivating factor.

Old fashioned perp walk

Then there is the school of thought that a confident stride, bold look and smiling face projects confidence while things appear dark now, truth will set one free in the end. That, or the parole board.

Yeah, I was famous before the perp walk

There are some out there that aspire to be ne’er-do-wells. These folks have failed at everything they have ever attempted. They are so low that efforts to achieve obscurity are beyond their ability. Their appearance in the local paper, as they are led away in handcuffs is a level of fame for which they are proud. The hell of it is, his mama probably had the photo framed.

Hey Mom, I’m famous. I made the newspaper.

This guy took the opportunity to promote his latest effort at being a hip hop star. Guess he needed money for his criminal defense.

Be sure you buy my latest hip hop mix
Oh, Shit, that hurt!

Thirty years ago, prisoners transferred from the jail to the courthouse were chained together and placed in a van. The courthouse did not have a secure loading zone. The prisoners were paraded from the van, across a downtown sidewalk and into the courthouse.

A father, bent on revenge, for a dead son. Waited on the sidewalk. As the chained prisoners passed he stepped up and shot the guy charged with murdering his son. The shooting victim was handcuffed to the guy ahead of him and behind him. The guy ahead went forward and the guy behind went back. The father kept shooting waiting for the victim to fall down. His fellow prisoners kept him upright.

One of the downsides of mass communication, the Internet and MSM is that it removes barriers and a sense of isolation. Generally that is a good thing. But some segments of the public are emboldened.

Pedophiles suddenly find out that their desires and activities aren’t universally condemned. There are folks out there that share their idiosyncrasies.

Crazies of any stripe can find a fellow wacko who will validate their beliefs. News stories not only describe an event but offer whatever warped thinking gave rise to the act.

Probably the most glaring error is the propensity for media whores to characterize the actions of a deranged individual as the work of a political zealot of whatever stripe.

Cool reflection usually show that the ramblings or manifesto represent a Chinese menu of ideas, oftentimes in conflict with one another.

I comment on a variety of criminal acts. I almost never name names. I don’t want to give the bastards the satisfaction. Ultimately it is the act and aftereffects that are of interest. The perpetrator is of less concern to me than anything I ever scraped off a boot after walking across a barnyard.