crime and the media

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Crime and the Media

Media representations of crime

crime/deviance = large portion of news coverage.                                              Williams/Dickinson British news coverage =  30% crime coverage

But, the news media gives distorted image. For example, as compared to official stats;

  • media over represents violent/sexual crime
  • media portray criminals/victims as older/middleclass (different to CJS reports) felson calls this 'age fallacy'
  • media exaggereates police success
  • exaggerates the risk of victimisation (e.g. to women)
  • crime is reportedas a series of seperate events (without underlying causes)
  • media over play extraordinary crimes - Felson = 'dramatic fallacy'

News values and crime coverage

The social construction of news - the distorted pic of crime = social construction.       Cohen/Young - news is manufactured not discovered

  • news doesn't exist 'out there' waiting to be gathered/written up
  • it is the outcome of social processes some stories are selected, others rejected

new values - key element in social construction = 'news values' = criteria journalists/editors use to decide whether story is news worthy enough.

key news values influencing selection of crime stories include;

  • immediacy
  • dramatisation - action and excitement
  • personalisation - human interest
  • higher-status persons (celebs)
  • simplification - no shades of grey
  • novelty and unexpectedness - new angle
  • risk - vulnerability/fear
  • violence - visible/spectcular acts

Fictional representations of crime

TV, cinema and novels = sources of knowledge of crime, much is crime related

  • Mandel - from1945-84, over 10 billion crime thrillers sold worldwide
  • 25% of prime TV and 20% films = crime shows/movies.                                                          fictional representations = Surette's 'law of opposites' = opposite to official stats/similar to news exaggeration
  • property crime = under-represented
  • drugs, sex = over-represented
  • fictional sex crimes = psychopaths not acquaintances
  • fictional cops get their man                                                                                                  there are 3 recent trends
  • 'reality' shows = feature young, non-white 'underclass' offenders
  • many show police as corrupt ,brutle/less successful
  • victims = central, police are avengers and audiences invited to identigy w/ their suffering

The media as a cause of crime

media = negative effect on attitudes, values/behaviour - especially easily influenced people (young, L/C, uneducated). 'videonasties' - raplyrics/PC games = encourages violence/criminality

several ways it does this:

  • immitation - deviant role models = copycat behaviour
  • arousal - viewing violent imagery
  • desensitisation - repeated viewing nums effects
  • transmitting knowledge…

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