Database of New Zealand mental health research
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'Breakfast and then death' Imputations of madness in print media depiction of a mass killing
Investigator(s) / AuthorsNairn, R., & Coverdale, J.
| Principal contact | |
|---|---|
| Name | Dr Raymond Nairn |
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Email address is not available; please contact keadmin@tepou.co.nz for more information. |
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| The research | |
| Summary | This study analyses depictions of a mass killer published in New Zealand's largest circulation daily prior to official confirmation that the man was a mental health patient. |
| Objectives | This study analyses depictions of a mass killer published in New Zealand's largest circulation daily prior to official confirmation that the man was a mental health patient. |
| Study design | Initial coverage of the event, 17 items, was subject to critical discourse analysis. |
| Methods | Qualitative |
| Results | Constructions of the killer and the event utilised four themes: Shocking/Unpredictable, Out of Control, Dangerousness, and Potency, that enabled him to be portrayed as mad and inexplicably dangerous. |
| Conclusions | Clearly, journalists used commonsense conceptualisations of mental illness as madness to hint at explanations of the killer's actions. This is further evidence for the existence and use of a body of madness resources that, in portraying events like this, offer apparent confirmation and commonsense that is built on those resources. |
| Key Descriptors | Media |
| Disciplines | Multi disciplinary, Psychiatry |
| Settings | Community |
| Diagnostic Categories | General |
| Populations | General Population |
| Other Keywords | Raurimu |
| Ethics approval | Yes |
| Academic led | Yes |
| Service led | No |
| How were service users involved | No involvement |
| Publication in peer review journal | Yes |
| Supporting information | |
| Uploaded files |
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Page last updated: 7 November 2008