I’m kind of ashamed to say that what always comes to my mind is Silence of the Lambs. It’s the part where Clarice is at the academy watching a press conference given by the senator, in which she says her daughter’s name repeatedly in begging for her return. Clarice remarks something to the effect of, “that’s good. She’s saying her name like that so that she humanizes her daughter. Makes her harder to kill if he sees her as a person.” Ever since then, I’ve noticed these things. When Madeline McCann’s parents begged for their daughter to be given back to them, they also used her name repeatedly and more than necessary. In press conferences where law enforcement is trying to reach a perpetrator, there’s no doubt in my mind that they reach out for consultation on how to word their speeches for psychological impact. If the FBI is involved, they have people on staff who specialize in this.
I’m currently searching for links about this; I hope in the meantime I’m not downvoted to hell for saying, “I saw it in a mooo-vie!” Ha! Just the best examples of press conference psychological manipulation that I can think of right this second.