25 Jun 2018

How the media created "shark hysteria"

From Afternoons, 1:39 pm on 25 June 2018
No caption

Photo: Wikimedia Commons

If you've ever seen Jaws, or really any movie that features sharks, you probably think the sea animals are pretty scary.

No doubt they are, but are they as menacing to us as has been portrayed in the media? 

An Australian state inquiry last year heard evidence that media coverage contributed to a high fear of sharks in the public, compared to the actual risk. 

And now a study by researchers at Charles Sturt University has confirmed shark hysteria seems to have been created by the media. Author and associate professor, Peter Simmons, explains.