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DEAN, JAMES.   Term Paper ID:22549 Click to get this paper

Essay Subject: Compares coverage of 1955 fatal auto accident by [New York Times], [Los Angeles Times] & [Houston Post].... More...

6 Pages / 1350 Words 3 sources, 3 Citations, TURABIAN Format $24.00 Return to List of Papers

Paper Abstract: Compares coverage of 1955 fatal auto accident by [New York Times], [Los Angeles Times] & [Houston Post]. Paper Introduction: Stories in the news are addressed in different ways by different newspapers, and the manner of presentation of a story may show the particular interests of the people served by the paper, the interests of the publisher, and the relative importance given to different stories by the editors. History may or may not agree with the weight given a particular story at the time of its occurrence. A case in point is the death in 1955 of actor James Dean, which was treated in a rather off-hand manner by many newspapers while within a few weeks it would be seen as a more shattering event to a certain generation, so much so that it continues to be talked about to this day. A comparison of the treatment given to the story by three newspapers--the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, and the Houston Post--demonstrates how the story was seen at the time. Text of the Paper: The entire text of the paper is shown below. However, the text is somewhat scrambled. We want to give you as much information as we possibly can about our papers and essays, but we cannot give them away for free. In the text below you will find that while disordered, many of the phrases are essentially intact. From this text you will be able to get a solid sense of the writing style, the concepts addressed, and the sources used in the research paper. The story in the New York Times is in the middle of page 2and also has a graphic--a photo of James Dean. This is not done in either of the other papers. The language in the New York story is more formal. This was also treated in a way that showed acloser proximity to the film industry as the writer of the article notesthat during the filming of Giant, the studio had forbidden Dean fromgetting near racing or race cars. The Houston Post indicates muchthe same thing: Dean shot to film prominence with the leading role in John Steinbeck's East of Eden. The story in The Houston Post is on the front page in the lower right-hand corner, and it has a graphic to draw attention to the story--a photoof James Dean. Stories in the news are addressed in different ways by differentnewspapers, and the manner of presentation of a story may show theparticular interests of the people served by the paper, the interests ofthe publisher, and the relative importance given to different stories bythe editors. Each person isreferred to as "Mr." after their full name is given in the initial mention. The New York Times is more formal and gives lessattention to news from Hollywood than either of the other papers. In Los Angeles,the story was given special treatment as the most important story of theday, as measured by the headline across the top of the front page. The Los Angeles Times gives more prominence to the story because Deanhad more prominence in the local community. The longest story, as noted, is the one in the Los Angeles Times, andthe words selected for this story reflect the greater importance accordedthe film industry and those who work in it in that paper as opposed to theother two. The fact that the Houston Post places the story on the front pagealso derives from the latter fact, that Dean had starred in one releasedfilm and two unreleased films. The Houston paper does have the story on the front page, butthe story is very short and in a lower corner of the page. In the New York City paper, the storyis on the second page and shares that page with other news of the worlds offilm and the theater--Joan Crawford making a movie in England, Lois Smithopening a play that night, and a picture of Victor Borge detailing aconcert he will have the next day. It was noted that while Deanhad planned to go to Salinas for the races, he had originally not intendedto drive but changed his mind at the last minute. None of the three stories has a by-line. It may alsobe that the story was given a front-page position in Houston because of theTexas connection of the film Giant, still in production at the time ofDean's death, though his own role in the film was completed. A case in point is thedeath in 1955 of actor James Dean, which was treated in a rather off-handmanner by many newspapers while within a few weeks it would be seen as amore shattering event to a certain generation, so much so that it continuesto be talked about to this day. There is even a movie ad lower downon the page. While it is also true that at thisearly stage little was known about the accident, a longer story was clearlypossible as the Los Angeles Times managed to include a good deal ofbackground information about Dean and the films he had made. Since the stories in bothHouston and New York are short, only the bare details are included in aterse newspaper style. In the Houston paper, a hurricane in Mexico shares thelower corner with the story on Dean. The banner headline indeed made this themost important story of the day. The Los Angeles version of the story is both longerand more conversational, developing the information in the usual style ofbeginning with the overall facts and then considering facets of the storyin turn, each subsequent paragraph less important than the previous one.The Los Angeles story is the only one that mentioned that a third personwas injured, namely the driver of the other vehicle. His stage acting work in New York isalso noted, along with awards he has received and some of the earlytelevision roles he had on programs like Studio One, You Are There, andTelevision Playhouse. He was seen as a rising starin the film industry, and that industry was covered more assiduously by theTimes than by the other papers. A comparison of the treatment given to thestory by three newspapers--the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, andthe Houston Post--demonstrates how the story was seen at the time. It notes that he wasborn in Indiana and that he attended Santa Monica Junior College and laterUCLA, where he majored in dramatics. He had also starred in Rebel Without a Cause, which was notyet released, and Giant, which he had just completed.[i] He was thereforenot the kind of star he would be within a few months when his other twofilms were in theaters. Thestory shares the page with a sports story about the Dodgers beating theYankees in baseball (both teams were still in New York at that time) and astory about a smog alert in the city and one about a storm that damaged aJapanese city. The Deanstory is only one of several on the second page about aspects of showbusiness, both Hollywood and Broadway. The story in the LosAngeles Times is the featured story of the day, with a banner headline, aphoto of Dean, and the story beginning on the right-hand column andcontinuing inside on page 2. Also noted in the Los Angeles story is the fact that Dean was aracing car enthusiast and that he was on his way to a race in Riverside atthe time of the accident. All three newspapers are dated October 1, 1955, the day after theaccident that killed Dean. Both are labeled ascoming from Paso Robles, California, near where the accident took place.The story in the Los Angeles Times is written by the staff of the paper andis also the longest of the stories, perhaps a reflection of the importanceof the film industry to the region served by the paper as well as the factthat the accident took place in California. Endnotes Bibliography"James Dean, Film Actor, Killed in Crash of Auto." The New York Times (October 1, 1995), 2."Movie Star James Dean Dies in Crash." The Houston Post (October 1, 1955), 1."Movie Star James Dean Killed in Auto Crash." The Los Angeles Times (October 1, 1955), A1, 2.-----------------------"James Dean, Film Actor, Killed in Crash of Auto," The New YorkTimes (October 1, 1995), 2."Movie Star James Dean Dies in Crash," The Houston Post (October1, 1955), 1."Movie Star James Dean Killed in Auto Crash," The Los AngelesTimes (October 1, 1955), A1.----------------------- 1 The Houston Post does place the story on the front page, asdoes the Los Angeles Times, but the New York Times places it on page 2.One of the reasons why the stories received less attention outsideCalifornia is indicated in the stories themselves. Twoof them are wire stories with little more than the bare details of theaccident and some reference to Dean's career. The fact that hehad just finished working on Giant is noted and one of his costars,Elizabeth Taylor, is quoted. While all three papers used a photo of Dean, no two werealike. The attention given the story tells much about the threenewspapers involved. Theman is identified in the Houston Post as Rolph Wutherich, a name alsomentioned in the Los Angeles Times. The treatment of the story by the New York Times and the Houston Postmay surprise many who have seen the importance accorded this story in theyears since. The AP version notesthat Dean had only starred in one released film at the time of his death--East of Eden. Rebel Without a Cause is also mentioned.This story also includes much more about Dean's life. History may or may not agree with the weight given aparticular story at the time of its occurrence. All three stories communicate the basicfacts; the Los Angeles Times continues by telling the life story of thevictim and by getting responses from survivors. Dean is referred to here as "one of Hollywood's brightest newmotion-picture stars,"[iii] This may show a greater awareness of thequality of the work put in by Dean on the two films not yet released, or itmay be based largely on his appearance in East of Eden. The story in the New York Times is the only one that does not mentionthat Dean's mechanic was also in the car and was injured in the crash. The Los Angeles storydoes not have many more details than the other two papers, and at thisearly data little was known about the accident itself behind the names ofthe people involved and the fact that Dean had died. The Los Angeles paper is the only one to give the story a majorpresentation. Clearly this auto accident was not seen as anythingremarkable at the time and was given what prominence it was only becausethe person involved had starred in a film of some prominence the yearbefore. The story in the New YorkTimes is from the Associated Press (AP), while the story in the HoustonPost is from Universal Press International (UPI). He had been working for several months on the as yet uncompleted Giant, film version of Edna Ferber's book about Texas.[ii]The paper finds a relationship to its locale in Texas to feature at thelast of the story. Even in this story, little is known aboutthe accident itself at this point. Indeed, it may be that those films were assuccessful and affecting as they were because the audience knew of hisdeath and considered him a tragic figure. Two were studio shots, and the third--in the New York Times--was aphoto of Dean as he appeared in East of Eden. There is nothing remarkable about any of these stories beyond howprosaic they are, considering the prominence this event would be givensubsequently. The stories in New York and Houston eachstand at about 2 column inches, while the Los Angeles story is 9 columninches in length. His popularity does not seem to have beensuch at the time to rate a bigger play. Director George Stevens echoes this factwhile also indicating his own sense of loss. If this paper is not what you are looking for, you can search again: Search for: or Click here to request an essay written just for you.