The Copycat Effect: How the Media and Popular Culture Trigger the Mayhem in Tomorrow's Headlines

by Loren Coleman

VIOLENCE BEGETS VIOLENCE BEGETS VIOLENCE...
A disturbed student shoots up his classroom -- and suddenly a wave of mass murder is sweeping through our nation's schools. A young child is taken from her home -- and for months afterward child abductions are frantically reported on an almost daily basis. A surfer is attacked by a shark -- and the public spends an entire summer fearing an onslaught of the deadly underwater predators. Why do the terrible events we see in the media always seem to lead to more of the same?
Noted author and cultural behaviorist Loren Coleman explores how the media's over-saturated coverage of murders, suicides, and deadly tragedies makes an impact on our society. This is The Copycat Effect -- the phenomenon through which violent events spawn violence of the same type.
From recognizing the emerging patterns of the Copycat Effect, to how we can deal with and counteract its consequences as individuals and as a culture, Loren Coleman has uncovered a tragic flaw of the information age -- a flaw which must be corrected before the next ripples of violence spread.

Genres: Nonfiction, True Crime, Collections

320 pages, Paperback

First published September 14, 2004

About the author

Loren Coleman is one of the world's leading cryptozoologists. An honorary member of the British Columbia Scientific Cryptozoology Club, and several other international organizations, he is also a Life Member of the International Society of Cryptozoology. Starting his fieldwork and investigations in 1960, after traveling and trekking extensively in pursue of cryptozoological mysteries, Coleman began writing to share his experiences in 1969.

Coleman has written seventeen books and more than three hundred articles, has appeared frequently on radio and television programs, and has lectured throughout North America, as well as in London and at Loch Ness.

Reviews

[Meri Elena]

Thanks for helping me on my final paper for Media and Society!

[Nguyen Quang tung]

After a couple of first chapters I decided to forfeit, not for the sake of being weary of the concept but rather for the sake of the fact that I felt some first chapters were enough to hold a glimpse of the whole "copycat effect" thingy. It's still a good read for anyone willing to take journalism and media, because it imparted to us what needed to be understood regarding this subtle but deadly social phenomenon

[bitchrepublic]

popular culture that's pretty one-side.

[B.R. Gonzales]

Got about halfway through and just gave up. Seemed like little more than a listing of various murders/suicides that happened to be temporally clustered, with little, if any, analysis.

[Beth Heavner]

This book was so great!