Table of Contents

Preface Introduction Henri Desire Landru The Axeman of New Orleans Earle Nelson The Manson 'Family' Ian Brady & Myra Hindley Angelo Buono Jr, & Kenneth Bianchi Jeffrey Dahmer Dorothea Puente Gary Ridgway Andrew Cunanan Paul Bernardo & Karla Homolka Westley Dodd Conclusions Bibliography Index

Promotional Information

Examines through case studies the intersection of serial murder and media, illustrating how the media's coverage often interferes with the investigation and capture of our society's most notorious criminals.

About the Author

Dirk C. Gibson is Associate Professor of Communication and Journalism at the University of New Mexico. He has published numerous articles on a variety of topics in such journals as Public Relations Quarterly, Public Relations Review, and Southern Communication Journal. He has also published several book chapters and two books, The Role of Communication in the Practice of Law (1991) and Clues from Killers (Praeger, 2004).

Reviews

Gibson examines 12 cases of serial murder between the 1890s and 1990s that were heavily covered by the mass media. He argues that there is a complex and deep-seated inter-relationship between the two in contemporary American life, and that the American media plays a multi-dimensional and integral role in serial killings and the investigation into them.
*Reference & Research Book News*

Gibson organizes his book one case at a time, describing the criminals, crimes, victims, investigations, community reactions, and the role of communication, including rhetoric, journalism, and public relations, in all aspects of these events. The book is clearly written and efficiently organized so that anyone interested just in public relations techniques, for example, can find that information quickly. Taken together, his case studies point to the troubling downside of mass press coverage of these horrific crimes, Media circuses, he argues, have hindered investigations, harmed victims families, and created panic….[G]ibson's case studies and in particular, his conclusions and recommendations could inspire a lively debate among both journalism and public relations students about the role of media in these high-profile crimes and investigations.
*Journalism History*