Citation

Wilson D, Tolputt H, Howe N, Kemp D. Crime Media Culture 2010; 6(2): 153-167.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2010, SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/1741659010369952

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

This article presents a case study of the serial killer Trevor Joseph Hardy — who murdered three young women in Manchester, England between 1974 and 1976, and who is now one of Britain’s longest serving prisoners. Even so, Hardy and his crimes are almost unknown. As such, the article uses the Hardy case to consider academic definitions of ‘newsworthiness’ and the assertion that the rise of the mass media has made serial killing a ‘media event’. Through a series of interviews with journalists who covered the case, the article suggests possible reasons as to why Hardy has disappeared from popular and academic consciousness.