Jack The Ripper
London, 1888
Who, What, When, Where and Why
Identity of the world’s most infamous serial killer Jack the Ripper to be revealed
A woodcut of one of Jack the Ripper's victims
Was he the face of Jack the Ripper?
Perspective #1
Perspective #2
"London lies today under the spell of a great terror... a nameless reprobate - half man, half beast - is daily gratifying his murderous instincts (Star, 8 September 1888)."
The dramatic and at times obsessive way the topic has been reported over the last 119 years, coupled with a personal interest in the case, it was compelling to conduct a research project into a subject of deep cultural significance to the history of an industry. Before carrying out this detailed project, personal experience was limited between the Ripper case and as a trainee journalist, the media industry.Media Bias
Criticism #1
The use of the media was not recognized as being a useful means of bringing a killer such as "Jack the Ripper" to book. Today the police would utilize the press in an attempt to gain valuable information. But the attitude of the Victorian Police was to keep journalists at arms length out of a fear that they might reveal their lines of inquiry to the criminal.
The press reacted to this lack of co-operation by grubbing around for any morsels of information that they could find and showed their frustration at the police's refusal to share information by subjecting the police to a barrage of criticism.
Criticism #2
In 2011, British detective Trevor Marriott, who has long been investigating the Jack the Ripper murders, made headlines when he was denied access to uncensored documents surrounding the case by the Metropolitan Police. According to a 2011 ABC News article, London officers had refused to give Marriott the files because they include protected information about police informants, and that handing over the documents could impede on the possibility of future testimony by modern-day informants.
Citations
- "Jack The Ripper Biography"- Biography.com editors. 3 May 2016 http://www.biography.com/people/jack-the-ripper-9351486
- "Welcome to Jack The Ripper 1888"- Richard Jones. Tuesday, 3 May 2016 http://www.jack-the-ripper.org/
- "Jack The Ripper"- History.com Staff, 2010. Tuesday, 3 May 2016 http://www.history.com/topics/british-history/jack-the-ripper