The Best Minute and a Half of Audio”

Boundary disputes and the Palin family brawl

Bibliographic Data

ID12909374
AuthorsDavid A Schwartz (0000-0002-7486-8545, Augustana College, corresponding author), Dan Berkowitz (University of Iowa)
Year2017
Volume12
Issue4
Pages440-455
Publication date2017-03-17
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournalism Practice (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1751-2786 • E-ISSN: 1751-2794
PublisherTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/17512786.2017.1299586
OpenAlexW2596332597
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited22

In the introduction to a police audio recording of Bristol Palin describing her family’s involvement in an Alaska house party brawl, CNN anchor Carol Costello commented: “This is quite possibly the best minute and a half of audio we’ve ever come across.” The incident, however, involved an alleged assault—an act that mainstream journalism generally reports in a serious manner. Costello’s glib treatment of the event could therefore be seen as potentially breaching the boundaries of professional practice, which brought a widespread media response from both mainstream organizations and right-leaning blogs. Through textual analysis of these items, this study illustrates the challenge of conducting media boundary work—and the role strain that results—when the subject of a story occupies space within both entertainment and news spheres

Entertainment · Journalism · Mainstream · Media studies · Newspaper · Political science · Sociology · Subject (documents · World Wide Web · Computer Science · Law · Media Studies and Communication · Rhetoric and Communication Studies · Social Media and Politics

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