Oscar
Pistorius
Oscar Pistorius may be best known
for his performance in the London Olympic Games. As the first Paralympic
athlete to compete against able-bodied athletes, Pistorius was thrown into the
spotlight. He attracted multiple media sites, and as his story spread so did
his fame. Soon Pistorius was considered a hero by many; he even gained
sponsorships from brands such as Nike and Oakley. Even through Pistorius didn't
place in the Olympics; he was one of the most popular athletes of the summer.
However, this swift rise to fame seemed to push Pistorius past his limits. On
Friday February 15th newspapers around the world were littered with Pistorius's
name once again. Unfortunately, this time instead of fame the headlines were
broadcasting murder. On Valentine's Day February 14th, in South Africa Pistorius
was believed to have shot his girlfriend to death in their home.
In the weeks following the death of
Pistorius's girlfriend, multiple news sources followed and report on the story.
The general details of the death remained the same, but as more news sources
covered the story and new details emerged, the story began to morph and change.
Depending on what audience the news source was targeting and what details they
chose to focus on, the changes were evident in the story each source reported.
The multiple lives that a news story takes on can be referred to as a 'news
sphere'. In this news sphere, stories
branch off on another as they begin to develop. These stories all share a
common central theme but each story is unique in its own way. Following the
story of Oscar Pistorius the central point of the story is the murder of his
girlfriend, and by analyzing five news sources the 'news sphere' of this story
is evident.
As gun shots were heard at 4am in
the morning, neighbors began to wonder what had occurred at the home of Oscar
Pistorius. When police arrived they discovered Reeva Steenkamp dead at the
scene. Many newspapers in South Africa were quick to report the story, and by
9am on February 14th the word had spread about the country's star athlete
killing his girlfriend in the night. The
Star newspaper in Johannesburg, South Africa was one of the first to report
on what had occurred. This news report was very short and to the point. In the
case of The Star, only the basic news
was provided on what had occurred. It was reported that "a 26 year old
man, reportedly Paralympian Oscar Pistorius, had been arrested for allegedly
shooting a woman dead"(Star). The story also reported that "a 9mm
pistol was recovered"(Sapa) from the crime scene. The goal of this sort of
report is to simply get the story out to people. With only basic information
little can be said about how or why the murder occurred. When a story first
arises the author reports the basic facts in a simple manner that is accessible
to a variety of people. The intended audience of the Pistorius piece is
everyone. Even if readers won't follow up on the stories that follow this
report, the paper wants this news to be known to a large spectrum of people.
Once this information has been reported and new details emerge then the story
can begin to grow. In the story of Pistorius, The Star newspaper is the first step to creating a 'news sphere'. The Star creates the initial spark that
is then picked up by other news sources that add other facts and opinions to
the piece.
Twenty four hours after the first
report in South Africa, the story of Pistorius hit one of the United States'
largest news sites, The New York Times.
In the article published by this source, details of Steenkamp's death fill the
first few paragraphs. However, the rest of the story delivers background
information about Pistorius and his girlfriend, and reports about gun control
in South Africa. Instead of focusing on the death and the details of what
happened, The New York Times focuses
on Pistorius's past and the violence that is common in South Africa. After a
detailed description of Pistorius's Olympic achievements, the article then
shares an interview with his father. Pistorius's father commented on the
incident saying, "I have no clue what happened...I don't discuss my son's
relationships. I have, in fact, not met the lady"(The New York Times). By
adding an interview from Pistorius's father, the article adds greater depth
into the life of Pistorius. This information allows the reader to assess how
they feel about Pistorius and to take a stance on what has occurred. The
article ends with the discussion of gun use in South Africa and adds statistics
about gun control in the past ten years. The
New York Times chose to introduce new background information to the initial
story of murder. Since few details are available, the article instead looks
into the past of Pistorius to find possible motives for the murder. The New York Times didn't have any new
information to report but to make this news story their own they added more
information. The addition of background information is used to address the
audience of the article. The story occurred in a country outside the United
States, and as a result many people may not know who Pistorius is or why this
issue gained so much attention. In order to make the article more accessible to
a wider range of people, The New York
Times includes background information not only about those involved but
also about the country in which the event occurred. Adding background
information is a way that a news source can alter a story therefore altering
the view of the audience. In the case of The
New York Times, the additional information draws the attention away from
the murder and tries to uncover details of why it occurred. This news source
also takes some of the negative views of Pistorius away by reporting on the
violence that is already significant in South Africa. When relating this story
to the 'news sphere', this report can be considered premature, the story made a
first step by traveling from one continent to another however, more details are
still required before the story can expand further.
On February 17th, three days after
the initial report, details about the murder incident finally emerged. On CBS News there was an article titled South African newspaper sheds doubt on Oscar
Pistorius's accidental shooting claim. This article ties the reports in the
United States back to two African news sources. Since this incident did not
occur in the United States, news sources must rely on African news sources for
information. Relying on other sites in an article appears to give the article
more validity however, it also has the affect of not delivering the full story.
The article in CBS News provides a
summary of the report published by the African newspaper City Press. The story in CBS
News is short and simply delivers the message without much interpretation. The
article is aimed at those who have been following the story of the Pistorius
murder case. The article assumes that the reader knows the background
information and focuses purely on the new details in the case. The CBS News report adds more details to the
story by sharing these details from news sources reporting form Africa. The
purpose of this report is similar to that of The Star, this article simply delivers the details of the murder
creating a new spark for other news sources to embellish. This spark created by
the emergence of details is just another part of the 'news sphere'. It opens up
more pathways for news sources to branch out from stringing together a larger
web surrounding the central point. A story has the ability to continue
endlessly as long as different sources continue to add to it. However, once the
'news sphere' expands to a certain extent the information being analyzed can then
change from fact to opinion.
Eventually after a story has been
reported for a period of time and all the details have been covered, the story
loses its steam. At this point in time writers begin to write more opinionated
pieces about the issue and reflect on what has occurred. In these types of opinion
pieces, the author chooses whether they agree or disagree with the issue at
hand. Generally this results in either a positive or negative reflection in the
writing. Cynthia Falardeau published a piece in the CNN Opinion section of the news site titled What my son taught me about Oscar Pistorius. In her writing she
discussed how her amputee son taught her to accept that Oscar Pistorius is just
a man and that like all people he makes mistakes too. In this piece, the
original story is barely mentioned. The focus of this piece is what has been
learned from Pistorius's mistake. In closing the piece Falardeau says, “I am
grateful for Pistorius' flash of greatness, and I am sad if he has fallen from
it"(CNN). This article provides an example of the positive response some
may have to the incident that occurred. Conversely, others may respond
negatively to the issue. In an article in Slate,
William Saletan voices his disgust for Oscar Pistorius. In this writing he
expands on facts known from different news sources. Saletan uses the basic
information of how the murder occurred and the layout of the house to analyze
the affidavit of Pistorius. In conclusion to his piece Saletan says, “You’ve
raised, in Oscar, a fine hunter. An animal, in fact. When care and thought were
required, he moved with ruthless haste to defend his territory, even at the
risk—and the expense—of a young woman’s life"(Slate). Saletan offers his
own opinion to the Pistorius piece that sheds negative light on the Paralympian
runner. Both of these opinion pieces are aimed at audiences who have followed
the story throughout the entire 'news sphere' web. These two authors express
their own opinions in the hopes of swaying their readers to share the same
views or argue against them. In the 'news sphere' these articles may seem like
the final step in the development of a news story however, they introduce
entirely new avenues of thought by provoking readers who either agree or
disagree to explore their own opinions. If readers were to comment on the two
pieces written by these authors, the story could follow a completely different
path from the original story. This path would show the shift from news to
opinion which is commonly observed in 'news spheres that have grown to a large
extent.
As a news story develops
overtime it is constantly subjected to change. These changes may come from the
addition of more facts or from the opinion of the writer. No matter the type of
change, the changes are crucial to the growth of a story. Changes provide more
insight and depth to an event that occurs and allows a larger range of people to
relate to the issue. These changes are crucial to both the development of a
story as well as to the 'news sphere' that surrounds it. The 'news sphere'
allows the story to be connected between multiple sources as well as multiple
people. Although the concept of the 'news sphere' is not one that is discussed
often, it is generally the pattern observed as any news story is reported. In
the example of Oscar Pistorius, the story of murder was surrounded by a
multitude of news sources. These sources ranged from an initial news report to
a negatively opinionated article in a magazine. This 'news sphere' was also
expanded by the geographic range in which the story was covered. A story that
began in Africa was reported in the United States only to be related back to
African news sources in an American news report. The growth of the 'news
sphere' surrounding Oscar Pistorius is an interesting one to follow, and it is
a perfect example of how a simple story can expand beyond boarders
and audiences as it changes over time.
Works Cited
Farlardeau,
Cynthia. "What my son taught me about Oscar Pistorius." CNN Opinion. Cable news network, Turner Broadcasting System.
20 Feb. 2013. Web. 27 Feb. 2013. <http://www.cnn.com/2013/02/19/opinion/pistorius-commentary-irpt>
Polgreen,
Lydia. "A Nation Reels as a Star Runner Is Charged in Girlfriend's
Death." The New York Times. The New York Times Company.
15 Feb. 2013. Web. 27 Feb. 2013. <http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/15/sports/oscar-pistorius-shooting-south- africa.html?ref=africa&_r=1&>
Saletan,
William. "The Slaughter of Reeva Steenkamp." Slate. The Slate Group, a Division of the Washington Post Company. 16 Feb. 2013. Web. 27 Feb. 2013. <http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/human_nature/2013/02/if_oscar_pisto rius_is_telling_the_truth_about_reeva_steenkamp_he_s_a_dangerous.single.html>
Sapa.
"Pistorius arrested after woman shot dead." iolnews. Independent Online, a Division of Independent Newspapers Limited. 14 Feb. 2013. Web. 27 Feb.
2013. <http://www.iol.co.za/news/crime-courts/pistorius-arrested-after-woman-shot-dead- 1.1469990#.UTlk2ldvBFu>
"South
African newspaper sheds doubt on Oscar Pistorius' accidental shooting
claim." CBS News. CBS Interactive Inc.. 17 Feb. 2013. Web. 27 Feb.
2013. <http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-202_162-57569799/south-african-newspaper-sheds- doubt-on-oscar-pistorius-accidental-shooting-claim/>
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