“The first thing I noticed was that she was ripped up like a pig in the market,” her entrails “flung in a heap about her neck.” Thus the account in London’s Star newspaper of the policeman who found the body of Catherine Eddowes, a prostitute murdered in the autumn of 1888 by the serial killer the media dubbed “Jack the Ripper.” But if the Ripper’s notoriety was fueled by a fiercely competitive media market with newspapers trying to outdo one another in relaying gory details of the crimes, unearthing clues, floating theories and taunting the police, his killing spree remains an object of fascination more than a century later — not least because it was the exploits of “The Ripper” that first acquainted comfortable middle-class London with life on the city’s dark underside.
Tag Archives: media
Pottermore: Is New J.K. Rowling Website Good for Readers?
The big reveal has been revealed: Pottermore is … an interactive thingy.
The Crusaders of Meth: Mexico’s Deadly Knights Templar
At first, the amateur video shows a normal evening in the seething valley town of Apatzingn, in Mexico’s western Michoacn state.
Grammy Nominees Put Full Sail University in the Spotlight
At this year’s Grammys, the five nominees for Album of the Year have something peculiar in common: they were all were mixed or engineered by graduates of Full Sail University. In fact, this year’s Grammy-nominated projects were worked on by 74 alums of Full Sail U in total
More Pain for Spain: The Cucumber Crisis’ Bad Timing
Anytime a bunch of politicians go on television to eat cucumbers, you know something is up. On Monday, there was Clara Aguilera, agriculture councilwoman for the region of Andalucia, pointedly biting into a whole cuke
After Egypt’s Revolution: Christian-Muslim Violence Erupts
The angry, aggressive crowd formed within minutes of my arrival. Dozens of Muslim men, all in ankle-length galabias, came together in the middle of the dusty dirt path leading to the Church of the Two Martyrs in this poor Christian and Muslim village some 130 miles south of Cairo.
Somali Pirate Attacks Persist Despite Global Navy Effort
Correction appended April 28, 2010 This time last year, Somali pirates dominated headlines in the U.S. The hijacking of the Maersk Alabama, a tanker captained by an American, led to a made-for-Hollywood intervention by sharp-shooting Navy SEALS and triggered a media frenzy about the rise of piracy off the Horn of Africa
Can Computer Nerds Save Journalism?
Word to those who think the Internet spells the end of traditional print media: “hacker journalists” have arrived to save the day. A cadre of newly minted media whiz kids, who mix high-tech savvy with hard-nosed reporting skills, are taking a closer look at ways in which 21st century code-crunching and old-fashioned reporting can not only coexist but also thrive.
The Death of French Culture
The days grow short.
Enough About You
While the mainstream media were having lunch, members of the audience made other plans.