Abstract The paper presents an analysis of media concepts and methods in Part III of Dan Berkowitz's book "Social Meanings of News". It discusses news as social narrative or familiar stories, and news as myth.
From the Paper In order to organize the variety of research and concepts in his text-reader Social Meanings of News Dan Berkowitz uses a conceptual scheme that highlights key topics about news and network. Theories and practices of mass communications are the core of the ..."
Abstract This paper presents an analysis of chapters 9-20 of Dan Berkowitz's text-reader "Social Meanings of News". It discusses various methodologies and theories presented by authors of various articles on media.
Tags: News, Berkowitz, Social, Methodologies, Mass, Communications, Media
Abstract This paper discusses the value of Berkowitz's book as a text-reader. It explores it major themes. The author expands on the concept of the news as a social production. It also reviews the strengths and weakness of the book.
From the Paper "News as a human construction shaped by its social world is the major idea in Daniel Berkowitz's book, "Social Meanings of News". The book is a text-reader and as Berkowitz points out the readings represent a blend of classic studies and lesser-known pieces that ..."
Abstract This paper discusses David Berkowitz whose reign of murderous terror gripped New York City from 1976 to 1977. David Berkowitz, known as the Son of Sam, was eventually arrested, tried and convicted for the series of gun-attacks that left six people dead, seven wounded and an entire city in fear. The paper shows that when caught, while there existed a potential for his being determined to be insane, Berkowitz pleaded guilty to the six murders and, under the sentencing rules of the time, was given twenty-five years to life. The paper examines how Berkowitz, while in jail, turned his crimes into profit by writing and authorizing books to be written about him. Outrage against this led to the "Son of Sam Law" which now disallows criminals in jail from profiting from their crimes while behind bars. Berkowitz has become an icon in the study of the psychology of murder, of serial killers and of the sociology of fear. This paper examines the life of David Berkowitz, the nature of his crimes and offers an analysis of the serial killer's mind.
From the Paper "People like David Berkowitz have been part of our human society since humanity began. Thomas Hobbes observed that communities form for the purpose of mutual protection and that they are a refuge from the Wild. For people like David Berkowitz, communities are, in essence, the wild and their psychopathology is the protection from that. The problem, however, is that the psychology of murder is one that cannot truly prevent such people from becoming murderers, it can only explain them once the horror has happened. David Berkowitz, the Son of Sam, terrorized a community that he had perceived as rejecting him. He retreated into a world of delusion, of fantasy, and of fear of the supernatural. Once in that world, he rationalized the destruction of human life and carried out his murders with the calmness and purposefulness of a mail carrier delivering a package. "I wasn't going to rob her, or touch her, or rape her. I was just going to kill her" (Berkowitz quoted in Chelser & Robb, 1996). What psychologists, sociologists, and anthropologists have determined about people like David Berkowitz, is that they almost universally suffer from significant psychological breaks, traumas often suffered in childhood, that have changed the very nature of their thought process and moral structure."
Abstract Presents a summary and analysis of the first eight chapters of Dan Berkowitz's text-reader "Social Meanings of News". The paper discusses the notion of the gate keeper, the media, paradigms, and news selection.
From the Paper "Dan Berkowitz is prominent among American writers on the sociology of news work and the process of newsmaking. In the text reader Social Meanings of News editor Berkowitz chooses media readings by communications and media experts representative of both ..."
Abstract This paper explains that David Berkowitz, who, during the 1970s in New York, murdered six innocent people and severely injured many other victims, experienced a troubled childhood and early adult life. The author points out that, at his recent parole hearing in 2002, he sent a letter to the Governor stating that he did not wish to have parole granted because he did not deserve to spend a single day free after the pain and suffering he had caused many families during what he says now was the work of the devil. The paper relates that the Son of Sam Law was enacted to prevent any future violent offenders from profiting after they commit such heinous crimes.
From the Paper "Even as a small child Berkowitz was not a social person. He preferred to stay to himself and, as he grew older, he was physically much larger than other children his age, which he later reported made him significantly uncomfortable. He became a bully and spent much of his childhood picking on other children and taking their money from them. He was called hyperactive, which was the term used for ADHD in those days, and he was prone to have violent outbursts with little or no warning."
Abstract This work is a short examination of the primary habits and characteristics of serial killers. Some of the serial killers profiled include famous names like Ted Bundy, John Wayne Gacy, Jeffrey Dahmer and David Berkowitz (Son of Sam). Subjects explored concerning the killers include method, family background, and religious background.
From the Paper Murders are committed everyday in this world. Many people constantly walk in fear that some person lurking in the shadows will jump out with a weapon and kill them. Even though people fear all types of killers, perhaps the most feared types of killers are serial in nature. These people kill repeatedly and often torture their victims before their murderous outburst. Athough most serial killers share a few characteristics in common, they are all quite unique in one way or another.
Abstract This paper looks at the root of evil which manifests itself in serial killing. It also analyzes the morality of serial killers by studying the behaviorial patterns of Bundy, Berkowitz, Gacy, and Toole. It examines the lack of moral development in serial killers, specifically those which fall into the category of psychopaths.
From the Paper "The lack of morality displayed by serial killers is something that is easily identifiable through hindsight. Once their malicious and brutal "secret lives" have been brought to the forefront, it is quite easy to say that these men (and sometimes women) have no concept of morality. If this lack of morality is so obvious, why then do we not notice it prior to their murderous rampages? The most likely answer to this question is that the majority of serial killers can be classified as psychopaths. According to John E. Conklin (1997, 564) a psychopath is "a person who has a specific cluster of personality traits; is asocial, aggressive, highly impulsive, and unable to form lasting bonds of affection with others; and feels little or no guilt for antisocial activities." Clecky (1976) has outline 16 major characteristics of psychopaths, which include: intelligent, rational, calm, unreliable, insincere, without shame or remorse, having poor judgment, without capacity for love, unemotional, poor insight, indifferent to the trust of kindness of others, over-reactive to alcohol, suicidal, impersonal sex life, lacking long term goals, and inadequately motivated antisocial behaviour. Due to their high levels of intelligence, psychopaths are capable of being very manipulative, and thus are able to feign the appropriate emotions necessary to blending in with society. Psychopaths make a conscious effort to distance themselves socially, and share intimacy with only those whom they can control psychologically. Thus, the immorality of psychopaths often goes unnoticed by the general public. It is not until a serial killer is captured that their personality is scrutinized closely enough to recognize the symptoms of psychopathology. These symptoms may even continue to hide after the killer has been apprehended. When Ted Bundy was first arrested he quickly made friends with his captives, and was granted special privileges which eventually lead to his ability to escape. Thus the very symptoms of psychopathology are what make it so difficult to detect prior to a serial killer's conviction."
From the Paper "The insanity defense has been a controversial legal tactic for centuries. The centuries-old idea that mentally ill criminals should not be held responsible for their actions has infuriated observers of American law. Those who seek a get-tough approach to crime see the insanity defense as legal fakery, one more tactic in a defender's bag of tricks.
Jeffrey Dahmer, John Hinkley, Jr., David Berkowitz, and Jack Ruby, among many others, will forever be linked in the public mind by their courtroom use of the insanity defense as much as by their infamous deeds. In his The Insanity Plea: The Uses and Abuses of the Insanity Defense, Winslade adds the following high-profile criminals to the roster of those who have attempted to use such a defense: Dan White, Prosenjit Poddar, Leonard Smith, Tex Watson, Robert Torsney, and James Grigson."
Abstract Serial killers have long fascinated the general public, not only because their crimes are so heinous, but also because they embody the extremes to which psychological disorders can take a person. In the name of psychological insight, the lives of serial killers are dissected down to the most minute detail in the hope of understanding what factors contribute to making a 'monster'. This paper shows that what motivates the serial killer is an area of much research. Whether we are any further ahead in our understanding of the psychotic personality is debatable, however. The question of environment versus genetics is a matter of contention in the study of serial killers, as is the question of power versus pleasure in the motive. By looking at such serial killers as John Wayne Gacy, Ted Bundy, David Berkowitz, and Jeffrey Dahmer, this paper provides a clearer understanding of the many influences in developing the antisocial or psychotic personality.
From the Paper "The serial killer who seeks sexual pleasure may be of several different types. "Lust murders can be disorganized or organized, and the sexual orientation can be either heterosexual or homosexual. The primary difference is that an organized lust killer can usually escape police detection." (Connor, 2004). Ted Bundy fits the profile of an organized lust killer, who seemed quite personable, and was able to seduce at least twenty-two women to their deaths. A variety of deviant practices often accompany the lust murder. These may include pedophilia, bestiality, pyromania, necrophilia, torture and cannibalism, although the latter three are usually found in the disorganized serial killer. (Connor, 2004)."
Abstract The paper determines that this is a book for scholars, for Zionists, for historians and for any one with an interest in understanding modern Zionism by learning more about its historical development. The paper discusses how it constitutes a valuable contribution to historiography and Zionism, in that much of the subject area has not been dealt with elsewhere. The paper states that Berkowitz draws on contemporary popular cultural sources and unearths much that is new and surprising.
Abstract This research examines the role and work of forensic psychology in solving serial murder cases. The serial murders who are studied for this report are Ted Bundy, John Wayne Gacy, Stephanie Wernick, Jeffrey Dahmer, and David Berkowitz; all convicted of brutal serial murders.
Outline:
Abstract
The Art and Science of Forensic Psychology
Fame and Stardom
Forensic Psychology and the Psychopath
From the Paper "Bundy had the appearance of a college student, which must have made it easy for him to move around the campuses where he stalked young murder as potential victims. Also, Bundy's appearance as a young, handsome looking college student explains why he was able to lure more than 30 victims, because he had the appearance of being a trustworthy person. He was visually - and this was not lost on him - good television, because he was a handsome young man."
