Full Description
History is replete with examples of media-created scares and panics. This book presents more than three dozen studies of media scares from the 17th century to the 21st century, including hoaxes perpetrated via newspapers, radio, television and cyberspace. From the 1835 batmen on the Moon hoax to more recent bird flu scares and Hurricane Katrina myths, this book explores hoaxes that highlight the impact of the media on our lives and its tendency to sensationalize. Most of the hoaxes covered occurred in the United States, though incidents from Europe, Asia, Africa, South America and Australia are featured as well. Several are global in scope, revealing the power global media wields.
Contents
Table of Contents
Preface
Section One : It Came from the Airwaves—Radio
1. The London Riot Hoax
2. Radio Daze—The Martian Invasion Broadcast
3. The Martians Return
4. Infamous Disc Jockey Hoaxes
5. Playing with Fire: Nuclear Scares
Section Two : It Came from the Small Screen—Television
6. "This Just In..." NBC Frightens Viewers
7. "Look! Up in the Sky!" Asteroid Panic
8. Pokémon Panics and Creepy Crawley Scares
9. The "Documentary" That Fooled England
10. Hurricane Katrina Mythmaking
11. Chicken Little and the Bird Flu Panic
12. The Russians Are Coming!
13. The Video Nasties Scare (Peter Hassall)
Section Three : It Came from Ink—Newspapers
14. The Batmen on the Moon Hoax
15. The Central Park Zoo Panic
16. The Halley's Comet Scare of 1910
17. How the Press Created an Imaginary Terrorist
18. The Hook Hoax
19. The Ghost Slasher of Taiwan
20. The Phantom Clown Panic
Section Four : It Came from Cyberspace—The Internet
21. Chemtrails and Conspiracies
22. Morgellons: The First Internet Disease?
23. Katrina Evacuee Myths
24. The E-mail Virus Panic (Bill Ellis)
Section Five : It Came from a Friend of a Friend—Media-Spread Urban Legends
25. Urban Legends and the Media
26. The Curse of the Crying Boy (David Clarke)
27. Photos of the Gods (David Clarke)
Section Six : It Came from Everywhere
28. The Satanic Cult Scare
29. Halloween Panics
30. Stranger Danger and the Predator Next Door
31. The School Safety Panic
32. "Out of the Water!" Media Shark Frenzy
33. The Great Puerto Rican Chupacabra Panic
34. YouTube, Popcorn and the Killer Cell Phones
35. Someone Stole My Kidney! Organ Theft Scares
36. Killer Vaccines (Felicity Goodyear-Smith and Helen Petousis-Harris)
Notes
Bibliography
Index
