Adding Titillation to Tragedy

[krugin72]

Being honest I'd rather read more about Jim Mitchells trial for killing Artie, Thats a lot more interesting then his kid who's just plain nuts, Like father like son. At least the elder Jim justified his means which claims of jealousy extortion and threats Artie made on his life. Its wrong with what both of them did but at least Jim Sr made a life for himself before killing his brother.

[RodEOpallo]

You can even look at the titles or names of the channels and kind of get pissed. The "History Channel" plays shows about how cool it is to be in a rough gang and be in prison killing people for cigarettes and alcohol. They have Ice Road Truckers (it's a good show but not real historic). They claim greek religions as myths and tailor to the majority's fairy tales by claiming present religions as fact: including Nostrodamus' surge in popularity.

But in the end: I loves me my cable! So...

[RodEOpallo]

Not only does sex sell, but so does negativity. This could be an example of what you might hear an hour before your local news in one of their promos: tune in at ten to find out which 100 counties' citizens could die right now from drinking their city's water.

It seems as though morals and the media have gone their separate ways.

Although, look at most people. They, for the most part, walk around talking about what's wrong with the world. This includes myself right now!!

[twister7boy]

no. why. insurence agent doesnt sell news pappers. the point beng. too many sleezy people in the world. porn forget. waste of money. paying for sex. forget it waste of money and dont know what you might get. ill stick with a life long partner. yeah it is free. if you really think about how much more your gettig out of everything. i bet that hooker isnt gonna help you buy a house. or be there when you really need somebody for other reasons. porn is just a waste. peace. gregg

[TamHickey67]

Here in the UK, the tabloids are much worse. There would have been 5 or 6 pages trawling back through ancient history with little comment given to the actual story. That's why I don't read tabloids. 10 pages of sport, 3 pages of gossip re celebrities, another 10 of a sexual nature re the same celebrities, a page with a partially naked woman, 1 page of politics, 2 with ACTUAL news, 4 more devoted to television, the rest given over to advertising. That's just the titles Rupert Murdoch owns!

[kenrg]

I expect that from the tabloids - but this was from a "serious" newspaper. But then, is there any difference anymore? I guess not.

[PaintedRavensong]

Perhaps papers are so desperate nowadays that they'll use any tactic to gain readers. I agree with you...it is disturbing. It almost sounded like they were glorifying his past. Sad, truly.

[kenrg]

It's as if they're thrilled the kid killed somebody so that they have an excuse to re-run all the stories about the father.

[garouHH]

I blame modern capitalism. Seriously. It is what drives papers to dumb their articles down and make them more entertaining, and that is why of all the stuff that could have been written about the case, the most entertaining (to the average reader) is selected for the article instead the relevant stuff. If it had been an insurance salesman, yes, I think it'd have been the first paragraph plus a little more info on the arrest, to fill the page.

[kenrg]

The bottom line is the bottom line, and a newspaper is a business. Good points.

[garouHH]

By the way, you could also say that it's the costumers fault, after all, they're buying and not boycotting that kind of journalism... Oh well, those who *are* boycotting are of course the cause for the death of papers. Maybe the real problem is the costumer who the papers are written for, those in the head of journalists. After all, can you show me one journalist who doesn't think that he has to dumb things down and sex them up for the rest of us?

[kenrg]

Perhaps it's gotten to be an even murkier, nastier shade of yellow.

[rextrek]

American nws has gone down hill in my lifetime,and Im 48......a few yrs back..Ted Turner said he was sorry he sold CNN, cause what it is now, is not what he intended it to be.

[kenrg]

Well, as one 48 year-old to another, I can only agree with you.

[Mudhooks]

Of course, this is partly the fault of the public. In this day and age of "instant information" if a news outlet only publishes or presents the slim facts, people are jumping all over them for "more information" even if there is nothing to tell.

Then, if they publish what little they have and flesh it out, people are jumping all over them for TMI.

[Mudhooks]

I see it all the time with the CBC online news stories. Half the commenters are saying "you haven't printed enough" and the other half are complaining that they shouldn't print anything until the whole story is known. (and half of both halves have "solved the case" based partly on the few "facts" that are known, a lot of imagination, and the facial expression of the person who is in the only photo on the site -- invariably wrong, as it turns out when all the facts are finally out there.

[21stCenturyCat]

well I don't know how famous the porn king quoted is in your parts, but regardless I do believe if his father had been famous for any reason (i.e. a singer) the headline would have been 'singers son blah blah b;ah'

[kenrg]

Probably right, but I would still say, "What has that to do with THIS story?" It's part of the story, but not part of the headline (IMO).

[Moonchimes]

I agree with you one hundred percent, Ken. It is disgusting that anyone would find that information relevant. Hugs,~Moonchime ♥

[kenrg]

Interesting, yes (I admit it), but not relevant, and not important to the headline. Thanks.

[Dlorezzz]

I totally agree with you..

[kenrg]

Well, thank you!

[andymooseman]

I agree with you Ken.

I bet the media couldn't believe their luck when they realised who the fugitive was?

Whether we like it , or not & i don't like it. Sex sells :)

[kenrg]

I'm perfectly fine with sex selling. Sex is good. I just don't think it should be used to sell -Everything-.

[bohogirl1]

i think i would have liked to know the background if it included being a porn king's son, but certainly not in the headline. insurance agent's son - not so much.

[kenrg]

What if he were a really popular insurance agent's son? ;^)

[PappyStu]

William Randolph Hearst made quite sure we hammered Spain for the Maine... We have our "new" yellow press...

[kenrg]

Hearst would be proud.

[PappyStu]

I saw a comment on the Billings Murder story this am blaming them for their affluence...

[liz1060]

Everytime I ponder "the end of the world as we know it," I have to think -- wouldn't that be nice ... lol. I think the report went this way because there isn't much front story yet and the writer felt justified "filling in" the backstory. I think the legacy might make the story more satisfying generally since we like to think that "sin" has terrible consequences or that "bad seeds" run in families. I agree -- the habit of focusing on sensation is disgusting -- so don't focus on it -- lol.

[kenrg]

If it had only been to "fill out" the story itself I wouldn't have even commented. It's the placement of "porn king" in the headlines that wasn't necessary ... at least, not to me. Also, it's not just he "consequences of sin" ... porn has little to do with the story ... it's more likely a legacy of untreated mental illness and/or drug abuse that led both J. Mitchells, father and son, to the murder of a former loved one. Porn was just a side note to the real tragedy.

[liz1060]

I couldn't agree with you more. I've become jaded in my dotage, though, I have objected to so much for so long that I'm burned out.

[LilCav68]

Apparently, it's not in vogue to have class and ethics.

[kenrg]

Class AND ethics - Come on, isn't it greedy to ask for them both?

[raycolondotcom]

Hi Ken, undeniably, the media, more often than not, opts for titillation over substance. Headlines and news broadcasts are dominated by celebrity news, the odd or unusual, or anything having to do with sex. Regrettably, this formula works. The proliferation of nonsensical reality TV and the encroachment of "entertainment" news into formerly serious news venues have distorted what is considered to be newsworthy. Perhaps this speaks to an appetite that people may have for the bizarre. Ray

[kenrg]

I enjoy the bizarre and lurid as much as anybody - But I'd also like some serious information once in a while too. I guess I'm odd that way.

[periurban]

News media generally sucks. I'm permanently disgusted by it, and I don't even live in the USA! I do feel for ya!

[kenrg]

Any murdering porn kings up in your neck of the woods?

[periurban]

A few, metaphorically speaking.

[TooLooseLeTrek]

As you noted with text on the screen, the father was a convicted murderer, and if they had played up that angle, it would have added some interest and irony to the story. But on the strength of the dad's involvement in the porn industry, no. I wonder what that paper's basic position is on the porn industry, or with Mitchell himself? Maybe they have issues with him.

[kenrg]

I think the only issue that the papers have with the Mitchell Brothers is that they haven't made the headlines for a few years ... till now ... All will be forgiven if the trial of the son can drag on into another year of lurid headlines.

[NiteBlogger]

Can be frustrating...(to say the least)

[kenrg]

Yep. You said it.

[LeSaMilano]

I'm glad I don't have a television!

great points. seems there is no news outlet that can report just the facts anymore - sensationalize, sanitize, supersize.

[kenrg]

The amazing thing is, the television station did it right - They cut in with just pertinent facts about a current manhunt and abducted child - Nothing salacious. It was the "serious" newspaper that turned it into the latest adventure of the porn and murder kings, the Mitchell Brothers.

[OhhhThatGuy]

When mass media advertising has tanked you've got to go for numbers, so you pander to the lowest common dominatrix - oops! - I meant denominator.

[kenrg]

LMAO - A very Mitchell Brothers comment.

[Rikotistic]

I have a most difficult time finding a media outlet I can trust in how news is delivered. The Slate has a story that suggest that the media is avoiding the story that that kid who accused Michael Jackson has recanted twice. And no, I do not think the title Insurance Salesman's Son... would have been the leading blurb.

[kenrg]

Interesting that the kid's recanted twice and the media's ignored it - In all the MJ coverage I was wondering that one thing; where's the kids now, and does he still stand by the charges? News without filters, wouldn't that be nice?

[sundancefilmfestival]

Keng knows we are in a recession, Keng knows newspapers are doing bad, Keng knows headlines sell newspapers/online ads, Keng makes a video that should be entitled observations every individual makes and dismisses as fact of life.

[kenrg]

Keng says you're absolutely right but sometimes he likes to make a vlog anyway.

[ChristopherMast]

You said TIT-illation... huhuh...

I only watch online gonzo porn, so...

just another murderer to me...

Incidentally, I live on O'Farrell St. in San Francisco.

[kenrg]

You LIVE in the Mitchell Brother's Theater!?! That explains a lot about your videos....

[Zed2six]

I'm not entirely sure if the story would have even been published if they couldn't have drawn some extra 'celebrity' pull...

[kenrg]

What gets me is that it -was- important enough a local story to issue the Amber Alert on Sunday night without mention of the family business. But by Monday morning that was old and boring and required some "spice."

[Pippilly]

I am always disgusted with the media... it's chronic. Errrr excuse me? I swear an ad was just talking to me out loud! lol

Even your video got interrupted by media, that was a first.

Thanks for sharing this story Ken ~ PiP

[kenrg]

The ads on YT are now speaking? Holy Jiminy! Now they've gone too far.

[blackturtleshow]

Good points. The media always blames this sort of thing on the audience for some reason. They say they just serve up what people want to know about. Inquiring minds want to know and all that kind of thing. It's hard to say who's actually at fault for this state of affairs!

[kenrg]

I think they have a lot to do with training us to look for such salaciousness and lowering our expectations. I really don't believe the majority of people turn to the daily paper and say, "Let's find something really naughty!"

[Mudhooks]

In fact, when Michael Jackson died, short of any actual information, they played the same 1/2 minute clip of the 911 call over the same 1/2 minute clip of the body being taken out of the house.... over and over and over and over and over for 15 minutes. Gee... let me watch and listen one more time in case I missed something the first 150 times...

[kenrg]

It's more important to fill the time with the appearance of covering the story than to actually convey useful information.

[battim]

you mean they didnt mention a michael jackson connection somehow? what is news coming to?

[kenrg]

Didn't you know that MJ was in "Behind the Green Door"?

[Mudhooks]

I could find some relevance if they said "Ironically.... " and following it with a SHORT blurb about "the porn kings". It makes me think of the "Buckwheat Shot" segment on Saturday night live following the attempted assassination of Ronald Reagan. It satirized the absolutely absurd REAL CNN coverage of the RR event. CNN, like many media outlets when short on ACTUAL details will fill out with anything it can just to keep their numbers up.

[kenrg]

You got it: "Actual details to fill out what they need for the numbers." It's like, "We haven't run anything on the Mitchell Brothers porn empire for a while... Hey! One of the kids killed his wife, let's run that 30-year old story again!"

[Mudhooks]

Yep!

[qiranger]

It should have been reversed. A few sentences about his family history and three columns of the actual news of the abduction and murder.

[kenrg]

Exactly. tell us the actual NEWS first, then maybe some of the backstory. But certainly not as the headline.

[sukatra]

I'm really, really sorry about leaving that comment on a serious topic, but I just couldn't resist. I'm a very sick woman, a fact to which many other youtubers will readily attest.

[kenrg]

And we're all very pleased to humor your sickness ;^)

[sukatra]

Porn King? I thought that was a fast food place I used to go to when I lived in the midwest. They had great kielbasas.

[LeSaMilano]

best comment of the day! ROFL

PS ..I loved their loose meat sandwiches. hahaha

[kenrg]

Kielbasas, eh?! LMAO. Yeah, I think the Mitchell Brothers were known for some of the kielbasas featured in their films...

[AlSaysIt]

This is why I NEVER read newspapers, magazines etc. Other than the fact that a majority of the stories are fabrications - they use sex etc... to sell REAL stories. Had the father been a lawyer, doctor, cosmetic surgeon, tree surgeon, teacher, whatever, of course they wouldn't have mentioned this in the headlines -- press = filth.

[kenrg]

And yet they wonder why we turn to twitter (etc) to keep each other informed of what's going on in the world.

[channeIreview]

I think you better not kill your wife because they probably won't be able to stick a very sexy headline on the story and the whole thing might end up go unnoticed by the masses. I think that's moral of the story.

[kenrg]

My wife thanks you for reminding me of that ;^)

[juliact]

I can only reiterate what

thizizliz said. Even major newspapers are looking more and more like tabloid sensationalism everyday. Sadly, I'm not surprised by this story.

[kenrg]

Yep. If only this example were a rarity. Oh well.

[ChromeGhost0219]

I agree with you, I bet if he could his father would sew for puting his name on it

[kenrg]

Well, the senior Mr. J. Mitchell died a few years back, but I don't know if he'd be upset at this story or thrilled with any publicity. It's an odd family...

[ChromeGhost0219]

true

[OhCurt]

Well that's certainly a violent little family line, YIKES!

But, yeah, I'd have had a similar reaction to the shape of that headline and story too. It sounds like blatant use of sex to sell a product.

As for insurance agents, they may be less violent on the whole, and it's a far less titillating industry, but there's no reason to believe they snort any more or less cocaine than those who work in porn and murder their brothers.

...I wonder if we could get funding to do this kind of research?

[kenrg]

I'm sure my insurance is going to be canceled tomorrow morning for using that comparison... damn. As for the family line, the little girl who was abducted is a beautiful little baby, but holy sh** is she going to be f***ed up!

[OhCurt]

I wonder if anyone at FOX has contacted her for the movie rights yet.

[battim]

NBC beat them to it...lol

[thizizliz]

Excellent point Ken. I believe the direction the 'news' is going is a major contributing factor to the death of newspapers in America. Yeah, if they are related to someone famous (or infamous) give it a mention, that's reasonable, but making the parentage the major story with the tragedy an "honorable mention" is P*ss Poor Journalism. I say that in caps because I'm SHOUTING!

[kenrg]

Exactly. I mean, I admit it, I'm interested in the Mitchell Brothers connection - But that's the back-story after they tell me the NEWS!