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Does the media have an impact on public perception of crime
Does the media have an impact on public perception of crime
How crimes are portrayed by the media
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In Ksenych’s article “On the rising Crime in Toronto” , he has pointed out that media does not report an accurate news to viewers , but rather it reports the news that they can sell. It is all about business. According to , Czerny and Swift , Mass commercialized media often put an emphasis on 4 points when reporting crime news : 1) the intensity , 2) the unambiguous , 3) the familiar and 4) the marketable (Ksenych, 2011). When the news combines with socio-cultural code , it can easily appeal to a large number of people. As a consequce mass media can create mass panic in the society. In Ksenych’s article “On the rising Crime in Toronto”, he has pointed out that the media does not report an accurate news to viewers, but rather …show more content…
72). For examples, perfume advertisements often use a woman as a symbol of sex, and car advertisements often show fast driving car on an uncrowded street as a symbol of freedom. In order for the media to sell crime news, it also has to pay attention to a social-cultural code and how people interpret crime. When we think of crime, we often think of violent crimes and murders, when in fact those two types of crimes have the lowest occurrence (Ksenych, 2011). Property crimes are much more common and are bigger issues. Yet, property crime news are not saleable. As we put more attention for violent crime and drama; media seek our attention by reporting more of it. However, over reporting violent crime news, it could create panic and fear in the society. This panic and fear is known …show more content…
A clear example can be seen in a CNN report after 2014 Ottawa shooting. First, the news focused on the intensity of the action and drama. CNN headline written “'Terrorist' murdered soldier 'in cold blood,' Canada's Prime Minister says” (Fantz et al, 2014). The headline was a catchy phrase that clearly focuses on both actions of the criminal and strengthen the story by using a direct quote from the prime minister. Second, the unambiguous, the news, detailed the story in a simple context. The shooter who was believed to be terrorist shot a soldier then ran to the parliament hill. He had a gunfight with the security officers then he was shot to death (Fantz et al, 2014). People understand the content of the news easily. The third factor, the familiar, crime news was presented in a way that fit a stereotype and created prejudice make it easy for the reader to relate to their own experience. The shooter had long hair and a scarf to cover his face and he was converted to Muslim recently. His description would fit most of the famous terrorists such as ISIS or Sadum Musen (Fantz et al, 2014). And lastly, the markets, the news must be able to catch an attention of the viewers. In this particular news, it had a video of the event with very loud guns shot sound posted along with its written content (Fantez et
Wang’s studies have shown that news industries are now tabloidizing news because it elicits the attention of their viewers. Now the only thing considered as “entertainment” in the news is “crimes, accidents, and disasters”. Wangs writes “News that bleeds seem to still lead the primary broadcasts” (Wang 722). People nowaday only tune in when a disaster has occurred and anything other that is not “interesting”. Unfortunately, people would rather watch Isis in action then heard about Obama releasing innocent victims from prison. The reporter in “Gray Noise” proves Wang’s words true when he records on his lens about a mother who had just lost her
In “Reporting the News” by George C. Edwards III, Martin P. Wattenberg, and Robert L. Lineberry, the main idea is how the media determines what to air, where to get said stories that will air, how the media presents the news, and the medias effect on the general public. “Reporting The News” is a very strong and detailed article. The authors’ purpose is to inform the readers of what goes on in the news media. This can be inferred by the authors’ tone. The authors’ overall tone is critical of the topics that are covered. The tone can be determined by the authors’ strong use of transitions, specific examples, and phrases or words that indicate analysis. To summarize, first, the authors’ indicate that the media chooses its stories that will air
Through manipulation and lies, media manages to modify objective news into biased news in order to convince the public of what the media wants them to believe. The article, “How the Media Twist the News”, by Sheila Gribben Liaugminas discusses the major influence that news has on readers based on their choice of stories and words. “How the Media Twists the News” has borrowed from multiple other texts such as the books like Public Opinion and Liberty and News, news magazine writers such as Ruderman, and news networks like CBS through Bias, A CBS Insider Exposes How the Media Distort the News and CNN to make her arguments valid and prove that the news is biased and that it does influence readers significantly because of it.
It is not uncommon to hear people complaining about what they hear on the news. Everyone knows it and the media themselves knows it as well. Some of the most renowned journalists have even covered the the media’s issues in detail. Biased news outlets have flooded everyday news. We find that journalism’s greatest problems lie in the media’s inability for unbiased reporting, the tendency to use the ignorance of their audience to create a story, and their struggles to maintain relevance.
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.
The increase in the use of the drug and violent crimes associated with abusing it impacted the rise of violent crimes. News coverage of the increase in crime associated with drugs led to hysteria throughout the country. Panic ensued over a public misunderstanding of violent crime and drug use. The media’s constant coverage added to the problem. “The attention to televised crime news leads to increased fear and concern, rather than that the already more fearful and concerned become more attentive” (Chiricos, Padgett, & Gertz, 2000,
To sell news, the media’s coverage of sexual assaults tends to be slanted with imposed stereotypes upon the victim. An example of media coverage in The Accused occured after the initial appearance before the judge when the offenders are granted bail. The news station only covered the offenders’ angle and stated, “the facts will prove the victim was not really raped.” The defense attorney stated in his interview, “There was no rape. The so-called victim participated enthusiastically…put on a show” (Kaplan, The Accused). One offender is immediately congratulated with applause from fellow college students watching the media coverage. The movie demonstrated journalists’ and media’s power and ability to sway and form public opinion. Society begins to believe only what they are told from these sources. Through biased news coverage of criminal acts, especially sexual assault, the media is already playing judge and jury effecting the outcome of the
Crime and Punishment and Notes from the Underground Fyodor Dostoyevsky's stories are stories of a sort of rebirth. He weaves a tale of severe human suffering and how each character attempts to escape from this misery. In the novel Crime and Punishment, he tells the story of Raskolnikov, a former student who murders an old pawnbroker as an attempt to prove a theory. In Notes from the Underground, we are given a chance to explore Dostoyevsky's opinion of human beings.
Research also suggests that the media is a major decider in what crime cases get chosen to air on the news. While it was previously thought that what went on the news was arbitrarily picked or based on the most interesting cases, it turns out that it is not quite the case. J...
Malcolm X once said “The media's the most powerful entity on earth. They have the power to make the innocent guilty and to make the guilty innocent, and that's power. Because they control the minds of the masses.” In 1990, fifty-nine year old Delbert Ward was accused of killing his brother Bill Ward. Delbert was one of four brothers who lived on the family’s land operating a small farm producing milk from cows. During and after Delbert’s trial, loads of media preyed upon the ill-educated man and the village like vultures. Given his impoverished surroundings and his appearance, the media depicted Delbert as a salvage who killed his brother on the same bed that they shared for years. The documentary “Brother’s Keeper” investigated the truth behind the death of Bill Ward. It presents the argument that media manipulates public opinion. Media does manipulate public opinion using many techniques to influence the minds of the mass. The media’s effectiveness, level of bias present, and types of the media source used to portray information to determine how media influence public opinion, as well as address the opposing view to the argument.
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
Property Crime can be defined as the unauthorized taking or damaging of an individual’s personal belongings. This is not limited to robbery of any kind, fraud, or even arson, but all of these crimes have several coinciding traits that group them under this term. While property crimes are meant to take something that is not ours and use it for our own advantage, violent crimes are used to harm or even kill another rather than using for ones self. This includes hate crimes, murder, rape, and abuse. Hate Crimes are unique because they usually target someone who’s different than the race or sex of that individual committing the offense whereas murder and assault are not always gender or race defined. Therefore, property and violent crimes are influenced by social inequalities that are caused by gender, race, income and age; thus why the legal definition of crime cannot cover all possible scenarios without taking each individual case and studying social behaviors in these of why or what was the cause of the crime committed.
During these difficult economic times sensationalism has become more prevalent in the media. Stories involving sex scandals and child murders have taken over our T.V and internet screens as well as the front pages of our newspapers. The media bias of sensationalism has been used as a sort of escapism for readers. Although it may seem that sensationalism has just started making waves, it has been around for decades. Sensationalism has been influencing viewers and contributing to media bias since the days of the penny press. Sensationalisms long history has been turbulent, self-serving, and influential to today’s reporting practices. With the influence over readers’ sensationalism’s media bias have and will continue to affect media reporting for years to come.
The press only show what people need to know and it is their job to do so. However, showing images and videos of murdering might leave a deep scar in the society so the press needs to be more careful. The media is doing their jobs, informing the community what citizens around the world need to know, but showing extreme violence is wrong as there is no benefit. For example, violent games and violence that is fake makes individuals think dangerously which may cause aggressive behaviour (DailyCalifornian, 2014, RG). Showing grotesque context will transform the world into a dangerous
The lack of specific details could range from the location or the time that the incident occurred, to details about the victims and offenders themselves. Without enough details, it was more difficult for those viewing the story to accurately gauge their own level of safety within their society (Johnson, T. et al, 2001). Ultimately, observing media pertaining to violent crime can lead the viewer to regard their society as something that is dangerous, and as something that should be feared, regardless of whether or not they are given adequate details about the crimes in the media. (Altheide, 1997). The idea that news programs are considered “tight” and “closed” also influence the perception of the news stories presented, as discussed by Altheide (1997, p. 662).