From Guerin to Gotti: The Evolving Media and Organized Crime

"Italian Criminality," "the mob" and "La Cosa Nostra" All of these terms share one common thread: Italian ethnicity. The Mafia is an intriguing part of society because of one thing: the media. Italian organized crime archived through the media, shows a society that is changing. A society that was once obsessed with information transitioning to a society obsessed with the sensational. The New York Times offers an abundant amount of archived articles on the Mafia. Dating back to 1856 once can see the tentativeness in organized crime reporting. The Mafia, as the media has, has changed from a force to be reckoned with to a real-life soap opera. American media greatly differs from international media in coverage of organized crime. Veronica Guerin, an Irish reporter killed for her stories on organized crime is a perfect example. The amount of exposure organized crime receives is significant, but in different ways. Surveys dating back to 1979 show that 95 percent of people rely on some sort of media as their primary source of news (Jewkes 75). Both television and newspapers, given the opportunity will take John Gotti's death and constantly focus on the glitzy and glamour. The 75-limousine motorcade the day of his "funeral" is a microcosm of what American media shows. The people, who control the media, have, above all else, is the draw of evil. Americans love evil and they cannot take their eyes off of it. Evil will always be in the news. Veronica Guerin gets killed in Ireland, but John Gotti in death is a hero.