Scrambled Media Coverage: Network Power of Distraction and Agenda Setting

I would have liked to address this issue earlier, but with the lingering media attention I think it is nonetheless relevant.

It goes without saying that Penn State has become embroiled in one of the most controversial child abuse incidents in the history of sports and perhaps the U.S. What bothers me most about this other than the alleged acts themselves is the way that the media has handled the story, especially which aspects of the story were discussed most.

For days, a preponderance of coverage was dedicated to the Penn State students protesting against head football coach, Joe Paterno’s dismissal. I make this assessment based upon cursory review of online and television news sources. The most prevalent topic appeared to be focused on the “current” action-taking place on Penn State’s campus. I am sure this is directly related to the active nature of the events and the ability for such “breaking” moments to captivate audience attention.

I suppose images of the student mobs is significantly more attention-grabbing than the most critical aspect of the story, the allegations made against Jerry Sandusky and the history of the cover-up of the incidents. It seems almost as if the media told the story out of order with initial coverage dedicated to the student reaction to Paterno’s firing. In fact, if one were to have glanced at the news he or she would likely understand that a much-revered coach had been fired without any insight as to why.

It wasn’t until late last week and early this week that the media covered details regarding the allegations, the history of the alleged perpetrator, and the victims. It all seemed to have been told out of order for the sake of covering the action of the demonstrations while they were still taking place. Perhaps, it was a media tactic to lure readers and viewers into the story only to reveal more relevant, but less time sensitive details later.

Surely, it can be argued that specifics regarding the allegations and the victims only began to surface as the story developed. But, I can’t help but feel that the massive networking of the student body to rally behind their head coach somehow diverted attention from the important aspects of the issue. If the coordinated action of a network has the power to successfully attract attention to a trivial issue (the dismissal of a head coach presumably guilty of obscuring the truth) from the real issue (the alleged crimes committed) then networks have really demonstrated their power to agenda-set, manipulate media and take advantage of its interest in “action” and “breaking news.”