Why are Sharks Sensationalized by the Media?
The human attention span is naturally drawn towards sensational stories. When flipping
through a newspaper, “firefighter saves cat from tree” is far less likely to grab our attention than
“deadly explosion kills six people.” News media outlets do their best to capitalize on out-of-the-
ordinary stories in order to get as many clicks for views as possible. Although this is a smart
tactic from a business success standpoint, it often results in misinformation, as facts are left out
to play up the drama of a story. There might be no better example of this than sharks. Shark
attacks are heavily dramatized events, and have inspired movies like Jaws for decades. However,
the reality of sharks is far less frightening than our perception of them. Sharks kill fewer people
per year than car accidents, lightning strikes, cows, and falling coconuts. Our perception of
reality is altered by the media we consume, and a shark attack is a far more compelling story
than someone getting hit on the head with a coconut. There is no cow-equivalent movie to Jaws.
Due to the overabundance of shark sensationalism, many people often think of sharks as
emotionless killing machines who actively seek out or hunt humans, however, this is not actually
the case. Sharks, like most animals, are naturally curious, but suffer from a lack of hands.
Therefore, instead of being able to pick an object up to investigate it, sharks have to use their
mouths to look at something. This is why there are so many iconic images of surfboards with one
bite taken out of them- the shark bit the board, decided it didn’t like the taste, and left the surfer
alone. Humans are, in general, splashy, noisy, and annoying creatures once we get in the water. If
someone broke into your house and started blowing an air horn at your bedroom door, you would
also likely get up and go see what’s going on.
Negative media perceptions of sharks can be incredibly impactful on shark populations.
Studies have shown that public support for shark conservation efforts is lower than that of other
marine species, and that many members of the general public are totally unaware that most
sharks are endangered species. Although the news is entitled to portray stores however they
want, it is the responsibility of the scientific community to broadcast true, accurate information,
so that we may better protect a key part of the marine ecosystem.
Ryan Horrigan (Week 9)
Le Busque, B., Dorrian, J., & Litchfield, C. (2021). The impact of news media portrayals of
sharks on public perception of risk and support for shark conservation. Marine Policy, 124,
104341. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpol.2020.104341
Hello Ryan. I have seen so many examples of this phenomenon. Every Shark Week on the Discovery channel, sharks are made out to be cold-blooded killers. If they were portrayed as cool or interesting instead, people would probably be more concerned with their conservation. It can be really difficult to change the public’s perception on anything, sharks included, but it may be worthwhile to make more people care.
ReplyDelete-Anya Quaglietta
Hey Anya! Shark Week is potentially the biggest culprit of shark sensationalization. Their "documentaries" often include junk science, and the programs are carefully edited to draw out suspense/intrigue enough to keep people entertained
DeleteHi Ryan,
ReplyDeleteThis was a super interesting read because yu did such an amazing job on describing how information can be very misleading. Shark attacks are covered very dramatically on the news and tell people to stay out of the water. The only reason that makes sense is that it doesn't happen as often as car accidents or other catastrophes.
Hi Ryan,
ReplyDeleteI'm a big shark fan, I love sharks, so I was stoked to see someone advocating for how cool they are rather than portraying them as big scary monsters. It's sad how negatively people see sharks and even more sad that they actually act on these negative emotions and affect shark populations. I completely agree that it's the media's responsibility to present accurate information to the public and that it's not fair to sharks to be the target of such bad publicity.
- Sophia Rinaldi
Hey Sophia! It's definitely disheartening to see how nature can get portrayed by the media. Natural processes and behaviors get dramatized in order to make money, and documentaries often only get produced if a company believes that they will be successful
DeleteHey Ryan! Thank you for sharing this, misconception is such an issue with conservation and another great example is with bats and the work being done to make people associate them with positive things to prevent fungal disease in bat populations. I think that it is super important to spread awareness about these kinds of topics so we can protect the future of certain species.
ReplyDeleteAlexis Carson
Hey Alexis! It is really interesting to see how the media can completely shape our perspective of nature. When information is published with conservation efforts in mind, instead of profit, animals can benefit greatly
DeleteHi Ryan! This was such a great post with some really interesting information. I find that spreading awareness about misconceptions of these animals vital for conservation purposes. Sharks are very important for ocean life, and not to mention they are one of the coolest animals (to me at least).
ReplyDelete-Lyssa Cunha