Media and the Criminal Justice System

Americans have given up some of their freedoms to be protected by the United States, so they have a right to be informed. In the majority of the all the discussion boards, the classmates agreed that the media creates problems. By giving stories more attention than others, the media creates problems. The media tends to focus more on seriously violent crimes more than missing, or kidnapping cases. According to Champion, in the portrayal of both offenders and victims of crimes in the media there is a "significant focus on high profile crimes as well as societal ills related to crime and victimization" (Champion 2007). In addition, the media reports stories that can make money, and to draw viewership. These are important to the media because without the funding the media wont be able to report from different places across the U.S., and without the support of the public looking them, the media will lose its only audience. The media plays a significant role in public safety by keeping the public aware of crime increase, violence, and fugitives. This allows the community to take action to promote their safety. Americans put a lot of trust into the media in hopes that everything they report is honest and fair.

“The media is the most powerful entity on earth. They have the power to make the innocent guilty and the guilty innocent, and that’s power. Because they control the minds of the masses. “Malcom X The media is an extremely powerful source in society today. Surprisingly, many are unaware of this

Media Portraying the Criminal Justice System Different forms of media, such as television, films, books, and newspapers, have similar ways of portraying the criminal justice system. The media constructs representations of crime and justice and in doing this, it presents an often dramatized representation of the criminal justice system; and this does not just influence on the public’s lay view of crime but also for criminal justice experts (Marsh, 2014). In the media it is commonly known that they are a business, and businesses need to make a profit. Because of this, the media’s portrayal of the criminal justice system has been very negative. With the news, their main purpose is to produce what sells. So many of them would edit the information they have gathered and make a story that will sell. Also the media does not show the full process of the criminal justice as a quick process, while in fact it is not. For example, last year, Netflix released a short series called “Making A Murderer”. Most people claimed that they feel like they can solve a crime when they finished watching a series. While that series is very factual, it does not hit every single step of the criminal justice process.

This paper will be covering the controversial case of the shooting of Trayvon Martin at the hands of George Zimmerman. This was a polarizing trial for it pitted gun rights activists against gun-control activists and people who were generally against the new gun rhetoric that is in Florida.

Trayvon Martin was a victim of wilding. George Zimmerman shot and killed Trayvon Martin, a 17 years old African American boy. Zimmerman is a neighborhood watch volunteer who spotted Martin and follow the allegedly suspicious person. Martin was unarmed during the altercation between the two of them. Zimmerman claimed self-defense

Zimmerman was not charged with any crime due to Florida Statutes Title XLVI Chapter 776 – Justifiable Use of Force, also known as Stand Your Ground, which states, “A person is presumed to have held a reasonable fear of imminent peril of death or great bodily harm to himself or

In society today, many people struggle with racism, classism, sexism and discrimination. In the film, Out in the Night, these struggles are portrayed through four low class African American lesbians. They were convicted for assaulting a homophobic man, whom was clearly the one at fault. These women were never given a fair chance to be proven innocent. From the very beginning, injustices were seen from all angles including the police, media and the criminal justice system. These groups incorporated essentialism to emphasize their intersectional identities to create a fearful and hostile environment, which lead to a biased trial.

Today the bonds of credulity will be tested. The line between journalism and slander will be clear. The difference between speculation and fact shall be known, and all shall know what occurred that night through a story only sung by the preponderance of evidence. What happened? Was it justice? Was he a racist? Was he innocent? Was Zimmerman’s action to kill Trayvon Martin justified? Many call it a modern day lynching. The simple story of an innocent cherubic African American boy on his way back home from the gas station being brutally murdered in cold blood for none other than being black.

Race, Media and Public Opinion News outlets are extremely selective in which stories they present to the public and often choose the new report that is going to appeal to their audience, such as criminal activities. According to Dorfman, mainstream media often only focuses on violent crimes such as homicides, which

Additionally, the popular depiction of the criminal justice system is that it is inefficient and is in a dire need of reconstruction. The news in particular reports most frequently on violent crimes such as racial dispute, gang violence and other street oriented lawlessness. There are a few different consequences that rise from the overrepresentation of violent crimes. One is that it instigates unnecessary fear of the public and the crime problem in general. Another is that it promotes racial tension between different groups stirring

The consumption of mass media coverage has invaded every single aspect of our everyday life. At places of business, there are often televisions hanging on the wall broadcasting breaking news stories or high profiled cases across the screens. In addition, it is highly common to observe people using their cell

Crime is an inevitable phenomenon that happens every day in our lives. Crime is thought as a fascinating event, although it is frowned upon and seen as an evil act. Mass media shows how intrigued we are with crime, because it rules over media coverage with negative elements. Media has become an important way to gain information in our society, although is media a proper approach to gaining the truth. Media has been known to stretch the truth and provide an over-representation of crime occurrence. Media coverage often on crime often is provided with a point of view, also tends to lack important information. Media has become a part of our everyday lives, so can media be a valid source for information on crime. Media reports on crime are they accurate and how it may affect the public.

ASSES THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE MEDIA AND CRIME ? The media holds a great deal of power in the portrayal of crime within a society; they have the authoritarian right to manipulate events of crime from their perspectives which is illustrated frequently as being reality without a definite underlying cause, therefore inevitably they influence the publics perspective towards crime and current the social order, the main relationship between the media and the crime is the effect it has towards the members of the society I.e creating a moral panic.

Societies media as we know it has altered the reality of The United States law and its courts, causing the real world to become more of a blur. Media has given people somewhat of a basic aspect of the law and how it works, but little do people know what television shows such as Bones, CSI, Law and Order, Judge Judy, and etc., has inaccurate ruling of the laws and procedures. Giving a shrouded haze over our eyes in believing that the law system takes merely minutes to process. People need to understand that it is not all about the drama and the intensity of the scene, but knowledge and skills it takes for a proper court to function. Individuals need realize that our Law, which derives from our infamous constitution, is what protects and regulates not only our lives, but also everything that is justice around us. Within this paper I will be talking about three major points that I believe that are important to the readers mind. First, is to announce my views of the distortion that media has created for humanity to be less educated of the actual law and court system. Second, is to inform the readers of how law works in the real world and significant differences between the real law and what media has perceived law to look like. With readers both informed of the real and non-real sides of the law, I will lastly give a brief story of my own experience of going to court. The law is here to protect our rights and freedom, yet somehow media has create a great amount profit in

Introduction Public knowledge of a crime is predominantly obtained from the media. Crime-related media such as crime on the news and crime-dramas has proven to serve as a great impact in how countless individuals feel about the world surrounding them, and even more importantly, how they feel about the criminals portrayed by the media. This research paper examines the role the media plays on influencing the way people perceive the relationship and punitive attitudes between race and crime.