Media circus is a colloquial metaphor, or idiom, describing a news event for which the level of media coverage—measured by such factors as the number of reporters at the scene and the amount of material broadcast or published—is perceived to be excessive or out of proportion to the event being covered. Coverage that is sensationalistic can add to the perception the event is the subject of a media circus. The term is meant to critique the coverage of the event by comparing it to the spectacle and pageantry of a circus. Usage of the term in this sense became common in the 1970s.[1][2] It can also be called a media feeding frenzy or just media frenzy, especially when the media coverage itself is covered.
- ^ "Gilmore case turning into a circus for media". Milwaukee Journal. December 3, 1976.
The worldwide attention that condemned killer Gary Gilmore is receiving has turned his case into a media circus Utah residents are saying
- ^ Miller, Gene (December 8, 1976). "Only in America - the Gary Gilmore Circus has everything but dancing bears". The Evening Independent.
There is most appallingly, an only-in-America spectacle wherein a quest for justice becomes an extravaganza for the fast buck. Come, come, come to the circus.