• The Publisher’s Notebook
•
Malibu and Media Mentality
Forget applying other city’s mottos,
because one thing is certain: What happens in Malibu
doesn’t stay in Malibu—not for a nanosecond,
especially if someone can make money on it. It doesn’t
matter whether something is true, partially true, or completely
false. Say the word Malibu, and the world listens. None of us
condones boorish, ignorant or otherwise inappropriate
behavior that reflects poorly on a community whose image is
already erroneously synonymous with excess in every form.
Malibu does not need bad press. That is as true for local
residents, as it is for those who come to enjoy our
extraordinary beaches and those who come here to earn a living.
The same applies to breaking the law.
Whether the law is the state paparazzi statute or laws on
public nuisance and battery, enforcement should be
the top public priority. As for those who are reporting on
Malibu for whichever media, the news should be covered
accurately and fairly. But it is beginning to look as if
accuracy and fairness had no role when several celebrity
websites got their hands on what may have been orchestrated
footage of two brawls on local beaches last weekend. The
altercations were described by these sites as taking place
between socalled groups of paparazzi and surfers, and the
labels stuck.
The rest of the media didn’t question
the web designation of surfers, or try to interview people who
were at the scene. The major socalled mainstream press
pantingly glommed onto the videos. This is a classic
example of what communications scholars call the media’s
“pack mentality.” Someone breaks a news story, and
all the other press run with it, often without fully checking
it out. Speed is the name of the game. In less than an hour,
this story was transmitted in every electronic form possible
around the world. There were some occasional disclaimers, but
the story was so hot that no one wanted to lose time
authenticating the allegations.
There is also an apparent Malibu envy
factor that creeps in whenever the community is covered.
Perpetuation of inaccurate stereotypical notions of what Malibu
residents and their lifestyle are like and use of blatantly
incorrect information about the community riddle much of the
media coverage. A lot of money changes hands in the world of
celebrity publications, television shows, websites and blogs.
That celebrity websites want to foster the pap packs’
agenda is not surprising. That the mainstream media now think
they have to do the same thing in order to compete is a sad
commentary on the current state of the press.
