媒体马戏团在1951年的电影“倒扣的王牌(英语:Ace in the Hole (film))”中成了重要的剧情手段,该电影是关于一名自私的记者报导了一场矿坑灾难,使得一个人受困而死在地底下。这部电影冷嘲热讽地探讨了媒体和他们所报导的新闻之间的关系。该电影后来被以“盛大的狂欢节(The Big Carnival)”之名重新发表,其中“狂欢节(carnival)”在当时是指“马戏团(circus)”。
Gilmore case turning into a circus for media. Milwaukee Journal. 1976-12-03. The worldwide attention that condemned killer Gary Gilmore is receiving has turned his case into a media circus Utah residents are saying
Miller, Gene. Only in America - the Gary Gilmore Circus has everything but dancing bears. The Evening Independent. 1976-12-08. 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.
Squires, Nick. Amanda Knox compared to Goebbels by prosecutors. Telegraph (UK) (Perugia). 2011-09-23 [2011-09-27]. (原始内容存档于2019-01-26). "The trial must be held here, in this courtroom. This lobbying, this media and political circus, this heavy interference, forget all of it," the prosecutor said