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It was suggested to me that, although Jamie Bulger and Columbine are good case studies, they are both quite dated and over-done, with the examiners looking for fresher material. The Wales suicide rate and a more recent school shooting were both cited as examples that would be seen as more original. However, I researched recent school shootings, and found that all of the 2008 examples had little information (what I thought to be too little to be able to cover them accurately and draw any conclusions from them), with the Wales suicide rate having a similar problem. I thought that for my 5 case studies, I would use:

The Jamie Bulger case
Because this was such a huge moral panic, it was also very well documented, and there is a huge amount of material available. This makes me think, that despite it being quite an old case which has been done before, it would still be a valuable example, as long as I attempt to look at it from a different angle (for example focusing on the killers troubled backgrounds rather than just trying to prove the link between Childs Play 3 and the murder

The Columbine Massacre
While this has similar problems to the Jamie Bulger case, again there is a huge amount of material available. Also, I think this is a really interesting case study, as it is quite unusual. The use of journals, blogs and online videos from the killers would allow me to research another aspect of this topic; the ways in which killers use the media to almost create a name for themselves, to publicise their crimes. This could be compared to the ways that established media (such as newspapers) also does this, albeit unintentionally

The Virginia Tech Massacre OR The Dawson College Shooting
These are both more recent case studies; the most recent school shooting case studies that have an acceptable level of material available. There is also scope for writing about different elements of the media for this case study, and they both have particular elements about them that make them interesting.

The high suicide rate amongst young people in Wales
This is a very recent example as it is still being covered in the news now, and will continue to be if the trend continues. However, this is the case study with the least material available for it, which could make it harder to use effectively. It would allow me some scope to theorise around it though, which is a positive.

I have not yet decided on my 5th case study, but it will be fairly recent, and hopefully covering a different subject area (ie not school shootings, suicide, or, if I can help it, murder)

Wales: Teenage Suicides

I am interested in looking at the increasing suicide rate in Wales, which has been covered a lot in the news recently. It seems like there is not that much information available, but I thought I would look at it anyway.

I compiled the factual information from
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/World/2008/02/19/4859704-ap.html
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/4673920.stm

- 17 young suicides in just over a year near one town in South Wales
- No evidence of a suicide pact or cult - “Our review is ongoing but so far there is absolutely no indication of any criminality or of any suicide pact,”
- Police complained about “sensational” media reporting adding to the problems, specifically newspapers
- Police did say that a number of the victims used a social networking Web site that is popular with young Britons.
- The parents of one of the children who committed suicide said their son may have been influenced by media reports they believe glamorized earlier suicides, and called for press restraint.
- “We feel media coverage could trigger other young people, who are already vulnerable and feeling low, into attempting to take their own lives.”

This case study seems like it could be important in relation to my enquiry into whether sensationalist media is linked to crime rates. In my online survey, a high percentage of people said they believe newspapers do exaggerate and sometimes glamourise crimes such as this, which can have a very negative effect, especially on young people, who are perceived as being the "vulnerable" in society.

Type of source: Secondary news websites

Benefits of source:
- From news websites, including the BBC site, suggesting the information is quite trustworthy
- Good factual information

Limitations of source:
- Not much insight into why this is happening