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Skylar Moore
ENG 101
Professor Alicia Bolton
19 June 2012
Blame it on the Media? Blame Ourselves!
“Whodunit- The Media?” is an essay published in a liberal magazine in 2001. The author
of this essay has a library of works under subjects, as the subtext states, such as politics, the
media, sex and women. The author uses an alias in the essay that also has a biweekly column,
“The Secret Life of Maggie Cutler”. Maggie Cutler is the name taking credit on the essay;
however, her real name is Lynn Phillips. In this essay she displays a critical view on the studies
on the effects mass media has on children due to lack of a pure analyzed experiment.
Maggiesupports her argument with evidence of others that explain mass media is not the only
factor corrupted youth.I can relate to hercritical view of the situation, as Maggie states, “Any
simple statement on the subject obscures another”(684), and take into consideration how the
youth can be negatively influenced by life and the media, however, I believe the child has a
choice between being corrupted by the media or not and include an article from the New York
Times for comparing purposes .
For example, the author, Mike Males, of the New York Times’ article, “Behaving like
Children” states, “statistics are routinely manipulated”(par. 9) , this statement from Mike is
similar to the statement I quoted earlier from Maggie. They agree that the evidence from studies
of media are not exact. I know from personal experience these studies are not accurate.Maggie
gives an example on Brent Bozell that provides evidence of the quoted statement:

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“PTC president Brent Bozell castigates the media for lowering standards of acceptable
speech and behavior, he doesn’t mention that juvenile crime rates dropped more than 30
percent” (684).
The author uses examples like these to show the reader that even though one person says one
thing about the media a lapse in simple information can counteract what the argument states. The
author also includes arguments that support what she believes such as one by the author of Lost
Boys: Why Our Sons Turn Violent and How We Can Save Them.
“JamesGarbarino states it does not make sense to talk about violent media as the
only cause for youth violence. . . .Media violence is a risk factor that working in
concert with others, exacerbate bad behavior.” (686)
I can relate to this statement because of the personal experience of being raised with media and it
brings a question. What are the other risk factors that can cause bad behavior?
Once again, Maggie brings information from text, I can’t agree upon, to explain what
other factors contribute violent behavior in children, but I can’t relate because I didn’t turn out
violent and grew up in a poor family. The fact that all children are different and are in different
standings in life. Maggie includes more words by James Garbarino that put together a theory of
the “poor kids”and “rich kids”. James explains that poor kids” are more likely to become
aggressive than a “rich kids”. Maggie includes this to show the readers and I that kids rather poor
and rich are different and take in media differently. Why is this so?Maggie informs readers of a
study that defines other reasons for violence and children that do not depend on media by APA
called The American Psychological Association’s Commission on Violence and Youth:
Inborn temperament, early parental abuse or neglect, poverty, [emotional]
impairment, plus a deficiency of corrective influence or role models . . . will put a

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child at greater risk for violence both as perpetrator and as a victim(687). I can
agree with this statement but with slight difference. The author from the New
York Times’ article I mentioned previously, studied and added his own
conclusions like Maggie, a case in Memphis on a large group of pregnant teens.
Memphis tried to “blame the media” for this growth in the pregnant teenagers.
However, Memphis found no convicting evidence. If there is no media evidence
in this Memphis case, what makes the violent or outrageous behavior in kids
today?
Hence, why Maggie’s intentions to include this summary of a series of studies known as
Winick and Winick, it explains to the readers that the real problem is not the media, I agree
because of personal experience.
“From [ages] 6 until about10, most –but not all- kids are learning to deal with the
media much as adults do: interactively rather than passively. . . .So, a wise little
girl whose parents discuss with her might enjoy Wrestlemania as an amusing
guide to crazy-guys-to-avoid, while an angry, abandoned, slow witted child is
more likely to enter its world of insults and injury with critical awe.”(687-688).
Maggie included this into her essay to help the reader, who may be a media hater, see that the
real problem is not the media. The real problem is people have lost touch with their children and
fail to even attempt to be a role model. The young look up to adults for guidance and wisdom.
The parents and politicians blame the media but to they see what they put into the lives of
children in return. Say the politicians, who are totally against the media violence, show up on the
news as an adulterer or a dad has a lapse in judgment and turns up in prison. What messages are
we sending to our kids? Should we blame the media for showing generations of all ages a dirty

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politician for whom they are? Perhaps the politician and dad should have been a better
influenced them.
In conclusion, I believe Maggie wanted the readers of “Whodunit-The Media?”, to find
whom is really to blame for the violence in children. This is what Maggie Cutler wanted us to
find, abalance of what’s right and what’s wrong with the world and how our youth should find it.
So, she summarized a many of studies, and interpreted them into her views. I agree with
Maggie’s’ views and perhaps Mike from the New York Times does also. I differ with some of
the studies she presented for I have defied them. I am not violent or ever been a juvenile, but I
was practically raised by the media and grew up in a poor family. I guess that shows children can
defy the odds.Remember, a child is watching so set an example.

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Works Cited:
Cutler, Maggie. “Whodunit- The Media?”.The Norton Field Guide of Writing with Readings
and Handbook. 2nd Eds. Richard Bullock, Maureen Daly Goggin, and Francine
Weinberg. New York:W.W. Norton & Company, 2010. 684-689. Print.
Males, Mike. “Behaving like Children.” New York Times. 29 Jan. 2011: A.23. SIRS Issues
Researcher.Web. 20 Jun 2012.