Scholarly Excess and Journalistic Restraint in the Popular Treatment of Cannibalism

Abstract

Extensive coverage by the popular media, from 1977 to 1979, of a sharp controversy among anthropologists about the topic of cannibalism was followed by renewal of analytical treatment of the topic among scholars and, in contrast, a relatively long period of virtual neglect by popularizers. This gap in popular coverage ended abruptly in late 1986. This pattern of discourse in the print media can be interpreted as a reaction to concerns about credibility on the part of both scholars and journalists. The possibility is considered that journalists may have over-reacted to the attempt in 1979 to delegitimate the topic.