INS agents recover Elián González by force from his uncle's house; this photo, taken by AP photographer Alan Diaz won him a Pulitzer Prize.

A media circus is an event that occurs when an aspect of a popular news event receives almost ludicrously high levels of media attention. The image of a circus is thus evoked by the vast troop of reporters who are sent to cover the story, as well as a seemingly endless parade of pundits, spin doctors, and spokespeople. This file has been listed on Wikipedia:Images and media for deletion. ... This file has been listed on Wikipedia:Images and media for deletion. ... Elián González (born December 6, 1993) was a young boy when his mother escaped from Cuba (which has strict laws forbidding emigration) and floated to Florida. ... Associated Press logo The Associated Press, or AP, is an American news agency that claims to be the worlds oldest and largest. ... The Pulitzer Prize is a United States literary award given out each April. ... NeWS, for Network extensible Window System, was a windowing system developed by Sun Microsystems in the late 1980s. ... The Big Top of Billy Smarts Circus Cambridge 2004. ... A reporter is a type of journalist who researches and presents information in certain types of mass media. ... Marines on parade A parade is an organized procession of people along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by decorated vehicles called floats or sometimes large lighter-than-air balloons with complex shapes. ... A pandit or pundit(पन्दित् in Devanagari) is a Hindu Brahmin who has memorized a substantial portion of the Vedas, along with the proper rhythms and melodies for chanting or singing them. ... In public relations, spin is a usually pejorative term signifying a heavily biased portrayal in ones own favor of an event or situation that is designed to bring about the most positive result possible. ...

A media circus will commonly appear when a story revolves around one central location. For example, when "Baby Jessica" (Jessica McClure) fell down a well, the well became the site of a huge convocation of reporters and cameramen. Elián González's home in Miami following his custody conflict was also home to a enormous media circus, complete with tents, food vans, and dressing rooms camped outside for the television networks' vast staffs. Jessica McClure (born March 26, 1986) became famous at 18 months after getting herself trapped in a Midland, Texas well in October 1987. ... Elián González (born December 6, 1993) was a young boy when his mother escaped from Cuba (which has strict laws forbidding emigration) and floated to Florida. ... This article is about the city in Florida. ...

In some cases, increased coverage may be because of an underlying social issue that the case represents. For example, the Scott Peterson case may have been amplified because it concretely represented the opposing vocabulary in the abortion debate, i.e., whether someone could be tried for the 'murder' of an unborn child [1] (http://www.canadafreepress.com/2005/barber010405.htm) [2] (http://www.meaning.ca/articles/news_commentary/murder_unborn_child.htm) as compared to the 'termination' of a fetus/pregnancy.

Media hype is another word used frequently in reference to a critique of media for their giving undue focus on an issue that is less important than the coverage would warrant. The general critique is often that there is a significant opportunity cost when other more important news issues that should be covered get less air time as a result of coverage of the hyped issue. (See: Fnord). Hype! is also the name of a documentary film about grunge music. ... Opportunity cost is a term used in economics, to mean the cost of something in terms of an opportunity foregone (and the benefits that could be received from that opportunity), or the most valuable foregone alternative. ... A fnord is disinformation or irrelevant information intending to misdirect, with the implication of a conspiracy. ...

Events

Events sometimes described as a media circus include:

• In Australia:
  • The Azaria Chamberlain disappearance of 2 month old baby in outback Australia (1980)

• In the United States:
  • Baby Jessica rescued from a well (1987)
  • The trial of Pamela Smart (1990)
  • Menendez brothers trial (Early 1990's)
  • John Wayne Bobbitt
  • The trials of O. J. Simpson, especially his criminal trial (1994 and 1995)
  • The Blizzard of '96 (1996)[3] (http://dailybeacon.utk.edu/issues/v71/n3/blizzard.3v.html)
  • Titanic movie of 1997
  • The sex scandal of President Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky (1998)
  • The Columbine High School massacre (1999)
  • Marketing/merchandising for many of the Star Wars movies released in the 2000s
  • The Elián González custody conflict (2000)
  • The Florida Recount of Election 2000
  • Y2K crisis (1999-2000)
  • Chandra Levy (2001) - missing Washington, D.C. intern
  • The sex scandal of Congressman Gary Condit (2001)
  • Andrea Yates (2001) - the Texas woman who drowned her five children
  • Jessica Lynch (2003) -- female POW in the Iraq war
  • Janet Jackson's wardrobe malfunction (2004) during the super bowl
  • The trial of Martha Stewart (2004)
  • The Scott and Laci Peterson case (2004)
  • Ronald Reagan's funeral (2004)
  • The trial of Kobe Bryant (2004)
  • Last episode of Friends (2004)
  • Breakup of Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston (2005)
  • The Terri Schiavo coverage (2005)
  • Death of Pope John Paul II (2005)
  • The trials of Michael Jackson (2005)
  • Britney Spears' pregnancy (2005)
  • The runaway bride incident with Jennifer Wilbanks (2005)

• In Canada:
  • The marriage of Janet Jones to Wayne Gretzky

• In the United Kingdom:
  • The marriage of Lady Diana Spencer to Charles, Prince of Wales
  • The death and funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales, in August/September 1997
  • The detention of general Augusto Pinochet

• In Brazil:
  • The Candelaria Church Massacre
  • The Chico Mendes murder case

• In Portugal:
  • The Casa Pia child abuse scandal (1993 onwards)

Two month old Australian baby Azaria Chamberlain disappeared on the night of 17 August 1980 on a camping trip with her family. ... A typical outback scene, somewhere north of Coober Pedy. ... 1980 is a leap year starting on Tuesday. ... Jessica McClure (born March 26, 1986) became famous at 18 months after getting herself trapped in a Midland, Texas well in October 1987. ... 1987 is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Pamela Smart (born August 16, 1967), born Pamela Wojas, lived in Derry, New Hampshire at the time her husband, Gregg Smart, was violently murdered. ... 1990 is a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Joseph Lyle (Lyle) Menendez (born January 10, 1968) and brother Erik Galen (Erik) Menendez (born November 27, 1971) were arrested for the murders of their parents in 1989. ... John Wayne Bobbitt (born 23 March 1967) is best known because his wife Lorena Bobbitt sliced off his penis on the night of 23 June 1993 with a kitchen knife. ... O.J. Simpsons mugshot Orenthal James Simpson (born July 9, 1947 in San Francisco, California) Publicly known by the initials O.J. (a common American abbreviation for orange juice) and nicknamed The Juice, is a Hall of Fame former college and professional football player and film actor. ... 1994 was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International year of the Family. ... 1995 was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Titanic is a 1997 dramatic movie released by Paramount Pictures and 20th Century Fox. ... A sex scandal is a scandal in which a public figure becomes embroiled in a situation where embarrassing sexual activities (or allegations of them) are publicized. ... Order: 42nd President Vice President: Al Gore Term of office: January 20, 1993 – January 20, 2001 Preceded by: George H. W. Bush Succeeded by: George W. Bush Date of birth: August 19, 1946 Place of birth: Hope, Arkansas First Lady: Hillary Rodham Clinton Political party: Democratic William Jefferson Clinton (born... Monica Lewinsky receives a hug from U.S. President Bill Clinton during a fundraising event in Washington, DC Monica Samille Lewinsky (born July 23, 1973) is an American woman who was thrust into the public limelight after having a private a sexual affair with U.S. President Bill Clinton, conducted... 1998 is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean. ... The Columbine High School massacre occurred on Tuesday, April 20, 1999 at Columbine High School in Jefferson County near Littleton, Colorado, United States. ... 1999 is a common year starting on Friday of the Common Era, and was designated the International Year of Older Persons by the United Nations. ... The DVD cover of the Star Wars trilogy. ... Elián González (born December 6, 1993) was a young boy when his mother escaped from Cuba (which has strict laws forbidding emigration) and floated to Florida. ... 2000 is a leap year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Bush lost the election. ... Presidential electoral votes by state. ... The year 2000 problem (also known as the Y2K problem and the millennium bug) was a flaw in computer program design that caused some date-related processing to operate incorrectly for dates and times on and after January 1, 2000. ... Chandra Ann Levy (April 14, 1977 - 2001) was an intern who worked at the Federal Bureau of Prisons in Washington, D.C. and is notable for disappearing after having an affair with U.S. Rep. ... Aerial photo (looking NW) of the Washington Monument and the White House in Washington, DC. Washington, D.C., officially the District of Columbia (also known as D.C.; Washington; the Nations Capital; the District; and, historically, the Federal City) is the capital city and administrative district of the United... A sex scandal is a scandal in which a public figure becomes embroiled in a situation where embarrassing sexual activities (or allegations of them) are publicized. ... Gary Condit (born April 21, 1948) is an American politician, a fiscally and socially conservative Blue Dog Democrat who served in the House of Representatives from 1989 to 2002. ... 2001 is a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Andrea Pia Yates (born July 2, 1964) is a woman from Houston, Texas, USA, who is currently serving a life sentence for methodically drowning her five children (ages six months to seven years) in a bathtub on June 20, 2001. ... An undated photo of US Army PFC Jessica Lynch (DoD photo) Jessica Lynch (born April 26, 1983), of Palestine, West Virginia, as a private first class in the United States Army, was a prisoner of war of the Iraqi military in the 2003 invasion of Iraq who was rescued by... Janet Jackson (born Janet Damita Jo Jackson May 16, 1966 in Gary, Indiana) is an African-American pop, R&B and soul singer-songwriter and the baby of the hugely successful Jackson music family. ... Wardrobe malfunction is a term coined to describe the accidental exposure, because of a defect attributed to an article or articles of clothing, of what would be considered an intimate part or parts of the body of their wearer. ... 2004 is a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Missing image Martha Helen Kostyra Stewart (born August 3, 1941) is a popular Polish-American television and magazine personality known for her cooking, gardening, etiquette, and arts and crafts projects, and as a general lifestyle guide and homemaker. ... Laci and Scott Peterson Laci Peterson, born Laci Denise Rocha (May 4, 1975 – c. ... Order: 40th President Vice President: George H.W. Bush Term of office: January 20, 1981 – January 20, 1989 Preceded by: Jimmy Carter Succeeded by: George H.W. Bush Date of birth: February 6, 1911 Place of birth: Tampico, Illinois Date of death: June 5, 2004 Place of death: Bel-Air... Kobe Bean Bryant (born August 23, 1978 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is a National Basketball Association player for the Los Angeles Lakers; he is also the son of NBA player Joe Jellybean Bryant. ... Friends was a long-running American television situation comedy centered on lives of six twenty-somethings (eventually thirty-somethings) (3 male, 3 female) living in Manhattan. ... Brad Pitt William Bradley Pitt, widely known as Brad Pitt (born December 18, 1963), is an American film actor. ... Jennifer Aniston Jennifer Aniston (born February 11, 1969 as Jennifer Linn Anastassakis in Sherman Oaks, Los Angeles, California) is an American actress best known for playing Rachel Green on the television sitcom Friends. ... 2005 is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Theresa Marie Schiavo (December 3, 1963–March 31, 2005), commonly known as Terri Schiavo (pronounced SHY-voh; IPA: ), was an American woman from St. ... His Holiness Pope John Paul II (Latin: ), born Karol Józef Wojtyła [1] (May 18, 1920 – April 2, 2005), reigned as Pope of the Roman Catholic Church and sovereign of Vatican City for almost 27 years, from 16 October 1978 until his death. ... Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (born August 29, 1958 in Gary, Indiana), is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. ... Britney Spears Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an American pop music singer. ... Runaway bride is a term that can mean several things: The basic meaning is a bride who runs away from the wedding chapel, usually shortly before the ceremony. ... Jennifer Wilbanks Jennifer Carol Wilbanks (b. ... Janet-Marie Jones (born January 10, 1961) is an american actress, dancer, and aerobics instructor. ... Wayne Gretzky playing for the New York Rangers in 1997 Wayne Douglas Gretzky OC (born January 26, 1961) is a former professional ice hockey player. ... Diana, Princess of Wales (Diana Frances Mountbatten-Windsor, née Spencer) (1 July 1961 - 31 August 1997), was the first wife of HRH The Prince Charles, Prince of Wales. ... His Royal Highness The Prince Charles, Prince of Wales (Charles Philip Arthur George Mountbatten-Windsor) (born 14 November 1948), the eldest son of HM Queen Elizabeth II and HRH The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, is Heir Apparent to the thrones of the United Kingdom and over a dozen Commonwealth... Diana, Princess of Wales (Diana Frances Mountbatten-Windsor, née Spencer) (1 July 1961 - 31 August 1997), was the first wife of HRH The Prince Charles, Prince of Wales. ... Note: as an adjective (stressed on the second syllable instead of the first), august means honorable. ... September is the ninth month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar and one of four Gregorian months with the length of 30 days. ... 1997 is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Reef. ... General is a military rank, in most nations the highest rank, although some nations have the higher rank of Field Marshal. ... General Augusto José Ramón Pinochet Ugarte[1] (born November 25, 1915) was head of the military government that ruled Chile from 1973 to 1990. ... A church in Rio de Janero, Brazil. ... Chico Mendes Francisco Alves Mendes Filho (December 15, 1944-December 22, 1988), also known as Chico Mendes, was a Brazilian rubber tapper, unionist and environmental activist. ... 1993 is a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar and marked the Beginning of the International Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination (1993-2003) Events Media:January January 1 - Czechoslovakia divides. ...

See also

• Trial by media
• Sensationalism
• Journalism
• Propaganda

Trial by media is a phrase popular in the late 20th and early 21st centuries to describe the impact of television and newspaper coverage on a persons reputation by creating a widespread perception of guilt regardless of any verdict in a court of law. ... Sensationalism is a manner of being extremely controversial, loud, attention-grabbing, or otherwise sensationalistic. ... Journalism is a discipline of collecting, verifying, reporting and analyzing information gathered regarding current events, including trends, issues and people. ... North Korean propaganda showing a soldier destroying the United States Capitol building. ...

external links:

good list of journalism issues (http://members.tripod.com/~journalismcenter/books3.html)

• editorial against Runaway Bride hype (http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/features/3176165)]