Crime is of specific concern in Australian society, where the media article entitled “Geraldton man jailed for 'chilling' knife attack on ex-wife and friend”, reported by Joanna Menagh on the ABC News website in March of 2018 is no exception. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, “acts intended to cause injury” can be attributed to 19% of all crimes committed between 2016 and 2017 in Australia, being one of the most common offences (2018). Where media coverage is a prominent channel of communication for crime news, employing news values is essential to maintain consumer interest.
Violence is one news value which is pivotal in the success of this media article, where it is proposed that the extent of violence inflicted on victims determines the story’s newsworthiness. Knife crime prevalence in attempted murder accounts for “30–40% of such offences” (Bartels, 2012) in Australia, though there is “no upward trend in knife attacks” (Palmer, De Lint and Dalton, 2017 p 70). The maliciousness of
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It was proposed by a Justice with the Supreme Court of Western Australia, Janine Pritchard that “the "merciless" attack was not frenzied, but rather "calm and chilling", with the intention to "cut" and "mutilate"” in Smith’s "desire for retribution”. This enhances the psychotic state of the attacker which is typically only seen in embellished crime shows. Dramatization is consecutively evident where the attacker described himself as "the victim of his own crime because he will not be there for his children", engaging the audience as they are able to comprehend his warped mindset, believing that he too is a victim though in turn further condemn his callousness. It is through intentional dramatization that the audience can comprehend the enormity and extremity of the violence inflicted on the
In reference to the media’s role, they have been highlighted for playing a part in maintaining these views by portraying victims in a certain way according to the newsworthiness of each story and their selectiveness (Greer, 2007). Furthermore, there has been an increase in both fictional crime programmes and crime documentaries, with Crimewatch particularly becoming a regular part of British viewing. In the modern context, crime has continued to represent a large proportion of news reporting and with the aid of social networking sites and self-publicity via the internet, journalists are now more able to dig even deeper into the lives of people on whom they wish to report. Newspapers continue to keep the public informed with the latest headlines and the internet has also provided opportunities for members of the public to have their input in blogs.
Recently, a group known as the Apex gang, consisting of young, mostly Sudanese males based in Melbourne's southern suburbs, were believed to have incited a brawl with another gang in the Melbourne CBD on the night of Saturday the 12th of March during the 2016 Moomba Festival (Lillebuen 2016). Since the brawl the group have also been linked to a spike in car-thefts and home invasions across Melbourne (Lillebuen 2016). This essay will attempt to examine the recent media response to the Apex gang using the moral panic model. Given the limited research into the specific media response to the Apex gang, this essay will compare current examples of headlines and stories in the media devoted to the supposed threat of gang violence in Melbourne, with
Phillips, D. (1983). The Impact of Mass Media Violence on U.S. Homicides. American Sociological Review, Vol. 48. Published by: American Sociological Association. Retrieved March 1, 2014. http://www.jstor.org/stable/2117722
White, R., and Perrone, S. (2009) Crime, Criminality and Criminal Justice. Melbourne: Oxford University [Chapter 2 ‘Crime and the Media’]
The media grabs the viewers' attention by covering the most horrible and shocking crime stories. As a result, viewers become too emotionally involved with the victims of the stories that many viewers do not realize that our agency is being weakened. Without sufficient evidence about crimes, we are unable to find solutions to violence prevention or help cure violence epidemiology. The crime incidents that the media covers are rare. Most stories often involve violent incidents in which only one person is involved or when famous people are involved. Airing these stories leads people to believe that violent crimes are rare. In fact, most crime stories the media covers are not stories that take place within our community. In Stevens' article, journalists state that they "report the unusual" (113). Reporting crimes that are unusual leads us to a state of confusion. The viewers are unable to recognize what crimes are real.
The general public of Australia has a common aspect when associated with their sources of knowledge of crime. Many would agree the media, especially newspapers and television, are their most frequent and well known source of crime activity. The media updates society with data about the extent, frequency and types of crimes committed (Moston and Coventry, 2011, p.53). Studies highlight our grasp of crime is majorly derived from the media, with a lack of exposure to police statistics or victimisation surveys. There is a concern in correlation to this fact since the media has inconsistency and inaccuracy in reporting crime. Due to this, the media can misrepresent victims and perpetrators, downsizing them to recognisable stereotypes (Moston and
In America, violence has always been an integral part of national culture. Crime and bloodshed are glorified both on and off screen. The more disturbing the act of violence, the more enthralled the public seems. The most prolific of crimes, those committed by infamous serial killers, inspire the most attention. As said by Jeff Lindsay, creator of the book series that inspired the wildly-popular television program, Dexter, “We’re sickened and disgusted, but we need to know. And the more we know about the scene, the more we really are horrified” (“Sympathy for the Devils”). Violence, especially committed by this special class of felons, is enthralling. News reports play a role in this strange attraction, as it is through the news that people even have knowledge of such killers, but the evolution in the “serial killer genre” (Lindsay, “Sympathy for the Devils”) of film and television helps to desensitize people to the gruesome murders that are committed. This begs the question of whether this disturbing trend should be stopped, lest the American “culture of violence” (this has a source) continues to grow stronger. Through news reports, film, and television, criminals are constantly romanticized through use of sympathetic characterization and gratuitous depictions of their crimes, which lends to peoples’ increasingly positive attitudes toward violence and, in turn, feeds the growing culture of violence in America.
White, Rob and Perrone, Santina. 2010. “Crime and Media.” In Crime, Criminality & Criminal Justice, edited by Bill Gillespie, 33-50. Victoria: Oxford University Press.
Criminology as a genre is defined as the scientific study of crime, as well as its causes, law enforcement interaction, criminal behavior, and means of prevention. In its own way criminology is the history of humanity. As long as people have been on earth there has been criminal activity. Much like most other work atmospheres, it was a male dominated field. A woman seeking to work in criminology was unheard of. Men filled the jobs as police officers, lawyers, judges, and politicians. However, in the 1860s Belva Lockwood became determined to pave the way for women in criminology. As a women’s rights activist, she became one of the most influential women in criminology.
The media is a dominating aspect of American culture. The way the media depicts crime and criminal behavior has an effect on the way society views crime and criminals. Television series such as CSI, NCIS, Law and Order, Criminal Minds and countless others, have become very popular in our society today showing that our culture has an immense interest in crime. It is clear that there is a fascination with criminals and why they do the things they do. To analyze the way crime dramas represent crime and criminal behavior, I completed a content analysis of one episode of Criminal Minds. The episode I chose was season one; episode eight, which first aired in 2005, titled ‘Natural Born Killer’.
The US is among the various countries that are having problems with enacting laws that control guns. However, what the world fails to understand is that controlling guns does not end crime. Controlling crimes is the only sure manner and way of maintaining peace and order in various states across the US and the whole world. The various administrations have been trying to address the issue of mass shootings and illegal owning of firearms to no success. Controlling guns cannot thus end crime. The solution lies with putting an end to the crime itself first before checking on guns.
The media, both in the mainstream and alternative sources, determine how the community views crime and how it represents the victims of crime, criminals and law enforcement officials. Media organisations have arguably become the main source of news, entertainment, recreation, and product information in society. For many people, media outlets such as newspapers, magazines, social media and television broadcasts inform viewers about events that affect their everyday lives. This essay will explore the many variations of how crime is misrepresented in society through mass media organisations. Over the years, research has shown an increase in crime is largely over-represented in media coverage, compared to actual crime rates in society.
When reporting crime events the media focus only on the negative scenarios that can impact the society, these events are to be know as “newsworthy” (Hall, 1978). Newsworthy crime news is formed through the selective approach taken by the editors where only the main idea of the topic is likely to be reproduced in the media. This is due to crime is not an open event as witnesses are limited hence the selective approach allows the editor to only report the thrilling parts of the crime. (Stuart Hall, 1978: p.53) quoted “‘News’ is the end-product of a complex proves which begins with a systematic sorting and selecting of events and topics according to a socially constructed set of categories”. As a result, this approach has formed bias opinions towards crime reporting as it’s presented in the editor’s point of view (Hall, 1978). The media hence only targets crime with events that is unexpected and events that’s viewed as out of the norm compared to the majority of the society. Alternatively, this changes the view of audiences as they view the society as a ‘problematic reality’ (Hall, 1978). The majority of world is therefore mislead by the fictional reporting of crime as many consumers
There are many criminal events that occur every day, however only a few are selected as they are deemed to be newsworthy. Chibnall (1977) claimed that a story is classed as newsworthy if it is dramatized, immediate and involves structured access. ‘The Sun’ could be seen to use all these elements, for example they over emphasize on the violence that occurred and ...
Since the television was invented in 1924, news and current affairs programs have surly become one of our main media sources. With this in mind, reporters and stations alike are able to manipulate their audiences through a variety of techniques, to make them believe a representation of reality as opposed to the true fact. This is evident in the current affairs story “Video Game Violence” and the standard news story “Music Video Ban”. These similar stories both originated from Channel Nine and represent violence in society’s youth today, stating children are at risk if exposed to such material. Through a selection of techniques, the audience is lured into supporting the told story and agreeing with the general attitudes promoted.