Fear Of Crime In The Media

Criminology is continuously changing and developing. Advances of technology have made media our primary news source for crime. We believe the stories told by our local news media, not doubting a word because these sources are supposedly reliable. Nevertheless, they sometimes do spread false information. It may be intentional or unintentional. According to Cohen, media presence amplifies a problem which did not previously exist (Steeves and Milford, 2015) thus creating a moral panic. As media influence increases, it is necessary for criminologists to study moral panics, such as the Columbine School shootings or the Hurricane Katrina aftermath.

There is a plethora of crime related movies, TV shows, video games, etc. Violent portrayals of crime are everywhere. As most Americans do not have any personal experience with the criminal justice system, public knowledge of how it operates comes mostly from the media. Dowler (2003) did a study on the relationship between consumption of such media and fear of being victimized by crime. He found that there is, in fact, a relationship and people who consume more of this media are more afraid of crime. “Regular viewers of crime shows are more likely to fear or worry about crime. Similarly, regular crime drama viewers are more likely to hold negative attitudes toward police effectiveness.” (Dowler,

Pop culture media, like Law and Order, has a way of showing people how crime is portrayed. Case (2013), mentions that past studies about the representation of crime in the media has increasingly shown fear to the public and portraying unrealistic standards of how crime is in the real world. Media likes to exaggerate how things truly are in the real world, which is why people believe what the media portrays. People will believe that everything they see in a television show can truly happen in the real world, which certain things can happen but not everything. If people end up believing in how the media portrays crime then people will be living in fear of their society being more violent than it actually is (Case, 2013).

Throughout my research I found that the book Criminology A Sociological Understanding, did a great job of listing the way media overdramatizes crime. The first way that the media does this is through something called crime waves. These crime waves pay close detail to a small number of multiple crimes which leads to a public panic that the crimes may keep occurring (Barkan, 26). One example in local media is something I saw on the local news tonight. 2 bodies were found today in Omaha in separate parts of the city

Our images of crime can be found upon the media, this includes: Television, News Publications and Novels in which we read. It is known that news editors and journalists make the decision of whether or not a story is fit for publishing, they determine this by looking at certain values including: the risk, violence level, immediacy, unexpectedness and the amount of drama/action.

Many times, the media is the main cause in contributing and encouraging the creation of crime myths. The mass media have responsibilities to update the public on the activities occurring domestically and internationally. Stories or reports have to grab the attention of viewers and often times this is accomplished through methods of dramatizing and sensationalizing stories. Instead of stating solely fact, mass media reports have become bias opinions, allowing for it to evolve into more of an entertainment business rather than news.

Crime reporting and world terrorism reporting is based loosely on ideological thoughts (Jewkes, Pg.36, 2004) Additionally, media theories state that media outlets have agenda setting topics that can influence public mania, discourse and persuade political ideologies. In addition, the media effect theories focus on the purposeful manipulation of story content, times the story is reported, and what tone the story is reported in. other theories, for example, the mass media society theory which defines the link between crime and media is a

Society is accustomed to the tragic events and tabloid journalism the reporters deliver in their newscasts. Individuals often watch one particular news station and identify with certain journalists on that station, and changing the behaviors of those stations or journalists can wreak havoc on their future. Balancing what is covered in the news and how that incident is reported, depends on many factors involving many levels of society. Reporters would need to have scheduled and limited interview time, preferably when the shock and trauma of the crime has started to dissipate. This would also go along with respecting the victim’s needs and wants, not digging into their personal life and reporting it on the 5 o’clock news. The media attention that is given to the offender, offering his/her good points, would have to come to a halt, offering only limited information about the offender and focusing on the reality of the situation. Changing the way the news is reported would have a significant economic effect as the low key news broadcasts would not draw the viewer’s attention, resulting in loss of news

They mean that the news media exaggerates things, they pick and choose what they report, and they underestimate other crimes because they are afraid they will not get good ratings. The media will empathize street crime more than white collar crime because they think the majority of the people would rather hear about blue-collar crimes Barcan, 21). Many people in the media want to further their careers, and maybe even be able to keep their job, so they do what they feel they have to do.The media often decides to promote a crime wave to bring in more money for their tv station or company. They do this by focusing on a particular area and they give all their attention to that location. They try their best to group crimes in that area together,

The information that is put out through the mass media is filtered, so it not only has pieces missing, it also has bias reporting’s. Obviously, they want you to believe what they believe, so they are going to brainwash you into thinking that. When it comes to crime, we examine it the exact same way the media does. That’s the goal. The media has shaped our perception on crime and criminals, to the point where we do not bother asking ourselves, why is this wrong? Why are people being sent to prison? Why are there some people who are getting harsher penalties for trivial crimes? It is not completely our fault. We are programmed to not think these thoughts. Society thinks, ‘‘well there are people who

With use of examples, consider the extent to which the press and media influence and shape public knowledge about crime The essay will mainly focus on the extent to which the press and media influence and shape public knowledge about crime. By using examples from academic books and journals there are going to be a range of facts as well as theories included which will show the understanding of medias influence on the public knowledge about crime. The press and media can influence the public knowledge about crime in negative ways as they can cause the fear of crime as well as moral panics. Newburn (2013) believes that ‘’ The effect of crime reporting by the media is almost inevitably to increase fear.’’

The effects of newspapers and television, in particular have been found to differ. Newspapers tend to affect beliefs about crime, whereas television more affects attitudes such as fear of crime (Surette, 80).

Almmond, I’d previously considered the impact the media played on the citizenry as it pertained to the feeling of victimization or the fear of victimization, but I’d failed to consider the impact it had on those who were angry and susceptible to committing similar acts themselves. I’d suspect that the likelihood of this occurring is minimal as well, given the overall population and the extremely low percentage of this population that commit acts of terror under the previously accepted definitions. However, when you put all of these together, I believe it creates the perfect storm that leads to these increased fears of horrible acts that are highly unlikely to happen. My feeling is that although it’s unlikely to happen to me, each terrorist

All things considered, what the media covers and how much they chose to cover has significantly changed over the years, the most apparent in crime coverage. This consistent coverage of crime gives the audience an opportunity to interact with the media. They can feel a part of the intensity of an investigation, cheer on the enforcers, become immersed in their stereotypes. On the other hand, they can appreciate deviance for its resilience to overcome and resist

The public depends on the news media for its understanding of crime. Reportedly three quarters (76%) of the public say, they form their opinions about crime from what they see or read in the news (Dorfman & Schiraldi, 2001). After reviewing five hours of reality crime television shows, one is left with a very dismal look on society and a prejudice towards minorities as they are largely depicted as the perpetrators of crime. This new genre commonly referred to as reality television appears to be sweeping the nation by storm. Opinions vary, depending on whom you ask, to what extent reality plays a role versus the selling of a product. Sensationalism, advertising, ratings hype, profiling and fear all comprise the mass