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MY Sociology > CD: The Media and Crime > Flashcards

CD: The Media and Crime Flashcards

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Sociology 101 flashcards
1
Q

How do the media portray crime? Through..

A
  • News Values
  • Fictional Representations of Crime
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2
Q

How is crime portrayed in the media?

A

Media sensationalize and overexaggerate crime.

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3
Q

Crime and deviance makes up a large proportion of news coverage. Which researchers found evidence to support this?

A

WILLIAMS AND DICKINSON
found that British newspapers devote up to 30% of their news space to crime.

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4
Q

What type of image to the media give of crime?

A

The media give a distorted image of crime, criminals and policing compared to the official statistics.

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5
Q

What types of crime do the media over-represent?

A

The media over-represent violent and sexual crime. 46% of media reports violent or sexual crime though only 3% of violent and sexual crime is actually recorded.

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6
Q

How do the media distort the image of crime?

A
  • Portray criminals and victims as older and more MC.
  • Exaggerate police success.
  • Exaggerate risk of victimization (eg. Sarah Everard)
  • Overplay extra ordinary crimes. FELSON calls this the ‘dramatic fallacy’ where the media makes out you have to be clever to commit/solve crime: the ‘ingenuity fallacy’
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7
Q

Provide an example of the media’s portrayal of crime as a ‘dramatic fallacy’

A

TV programs like Criminal Minds, NCIS, Luther. All portray crime to be unusual, complex and so forth. Dramatic.

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8
Q

How is crime reported in the media?

A

Crime is reported as a series of separate events without structure or underlying cause.

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9
Q

The distorted picture of crime painted by the media reflects…

A

The distorted picture of crime painted by the media reflects that NEWS IS A SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION.

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10
Q

Which sociologists support the concept of the news being a social construction?

A

COHEN AND YOUNG note that the news is not discovered but manufactured.

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11
Q

A key element in the social construction of news is news values. What are news values?

A

The criteria that journalists use to decide whether a story is newsworthy enough for the newspaper or media. If crime can be told in relation to a news value, it is more likely to make news.

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12
Q

What are the 8 news values?

A
  • Immediacy (provide news as it happens - eg. Strangeway Riots)
  • Dramatization (Action and excitement)
  • Personalization (Human interest stories about individuals)
  • High status persons or celebs (Kim K)
  • Simplification (Eliminate shades of grey)
  • Novelty or unexpectedness (A new angle)
  • Risk (Victim-centered stories about fear or vulnerability)
  • Violence (visible and spectacular acts)
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13
Q

What are the 8 news values?

A
  • Immediacy (provide news as it happens - eg. Strangeway Riots)
  • Dramatization (Action and excitement)
  • Personalization (Human interest stories about individuals)
  • High status persons or celebs (Kim K)
  • Simplification (Eliminate shades of grey)
  • Novelty or unexpectedness (A new angle)
  • Risk (Victim-centered stories about fear or vulnerability)
  • Violence (visible and spectacular acts)
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14
Q

Fictional Representations of Crime:
What fictional forms of media influence our perception of crime?

A

Fictional representations from TV, cinema and novels are important sources of our knowledge of crime because so much of their output is crime related.

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15
Q

What did MANDEL find about Fictional Representations of Crime?

A
  • Big business. Mandel found that from 1945 to 1984, 10 billion crime thrillers were sold, whilst about 20% of movies are about crime.
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16
Q

What did SURETTE find about Fictional Representations of Crime?

A
  • Surette found that fictional media follows the law of opposites - the fictional media is opposite to statistics and similar to the news.
    Eg. Sex crimes are often committed by psychopathic strangers in fiction, when the reality is that it is more likely to be committed by someone you know.
    Eg. Fictional cops usually get their man.
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17
Q

What did Surette mean by the law of opposites?

A

The fictional media is opposite to statistics and similar to the news.

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18
Q

A03 Fictional Representations of Crime

A

More recently, changes have been made with ‘reality’ shows featuring young, non-white, ‘underclass’ offenders. Increasingly showing corrupt and brutal police and victims have become more central.
Eg. Secret Policeman. Police were found to be racist, sexist, corrupt.
Eg. When They See Us about Central Park 5 - 5 young people were wrongly accused of rape, facing racial discrimination and so forth.

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19
Q

How might the media cause crime? Through..

A
  • Negative influences
  • Fuelling relative deprivation
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20
Q

What might the media have a negative effect on?

A

The media has negative effects on attitudes, values and behavior -especially those of the young, who are more easily influenced.

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21
Q

What media examples are there that might cause negative attitudes?

A

‘Video nasties’
Rap lyrics
Computer games (eg. GTA, Call of Duty)

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22
Q

Negative influences: The media have been criticized for encouraging..

A

The media have been criticized for encouraging violence and criminality.

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23
Q

Negative influences: How may the media cause deviance?

A
  • Imitation (providing deviant role models)
  • Arousal (viewing violent or sexual behavior - eg. porn)
  • Desensitization (repeated viewings of violence)
  • Transmitting knowledge of criminal techniques
  • Stimulating desire for unaffordable goods
  • Glamourizing offending
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24
Q

Negative influences: Provide an example of how IMITATION may cause deviance

A

Eg. Chucky had supposedly influenced the children that murdered James Bulger in the splashing of the paint on the face and the beating.

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25
Q

Negative influences: Provide an example of how DENSITIZATION may cause deviance

A

Eg. Viewing of violence such as school shootings or graphic horror films/games.

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26
Q

Negative influences: Provide an example of how TRANSMITTING KNOWLEDGE OF CRIME may cause deviance

A

Eg. Documentaries on crime may reveal criminal techniques used, or TV shows such as How To Get Away With Murder.

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27
Q

Negative influences: Provide an example of how STIMULATING DESIRE FOR UNAFFORDABLE GOODS may cause deviance

A

Eg. TV shows like the Kardashians, the Real Housewives display consumer goods that the working class cannot afford. Could influence crimes of stealing to obtain.

28
Q

Negative influences: Provide an example of how GLAMOURISING OFFENDING may cause deviance

A

Eg. Music videos often romantacise gang violence, robbery, drugs, derogatory terms. TV shows like Peaky Blinders portray crime to be ‘fun’ or a lifestyle choice.

29
Q

Negative influences: What did Bandura do?

A

An adult role model behaved aggressively towards a bobo doll. Children observed this behaviour, then had an opportunity to play with the same toys.

30
Q

Negative influences: What did Bandura find? (*)

A

Children exposed to the aggressive behaviour were much more likely to be aggressive themselves towards the bobo doll.

31
Q

Negative influences: What did Bandura conclude? (*)

A

Observation of behaviour can lead to copycat behaviour. Ppts were more likely to imitate male aggressive role models. THIS MEANS that violence in the media may cause copycat behaviour.

32
Q

A03 for the Media’s Negative Effect on Attitudes and Crime.

A

Lack ecological validity. Studies on the effects of the media often use lab experiments, which cannot measure long term effects. Eg. Bandura.

33
Q

Who are the theorists for crime and relative deprivation?

A

Left Realists: LEA AND YOUNG

34
Q

What do Left Realists Lea and Young argue about Media, RD and Crime?

A

Media increase RD among marginalised groups. Poorest have media access with materialistic messages (adverts) - fuels RD. Media creates a materialistic society.

35
Q

RD: How is a materialistic society related to crime?

A

A norm of leisure, fun and consumer good exists. People turn to illegitimate means to achieve goods that are unaffordable. Fuels crime.

36
Q

What other theories could you relate to LR RD theory on crime and media?

A
  • Merton’s pressure to achieve cultural goals.
  • Cultural inclusion, but economic exclusion through our consumption of the media. Increase CD.
37
Q

The Media’s Creation of Moral Panics. What, in particular, do the media exaggerate?

A

Media exaggerate the amount of violence crime and the risk of certain groups becoming victims (eg. women, old people)

38
Q

Research found media promotes a fear of crime. Which researchers found further research to support this?

A

Schlesigner and Tumber: Heavy users of TV and tabloid readers express a greater fear of crime. Consume more media. More exposed to the fear it promotes.

39
Q

A03 for Schlesigner and Tumber

A

An alternative view is that those who are afraid stay in more, consume more media images as a result, undermines the idea of a causal link (?)

40
Q

Define a moral panic.

A

An exaggerated and irrational over-reaction by society to a perceived problem - where the reaction enlarges the problem out of proportion its real seriousness.

41
Q

Define a Media Panic

A

An exaggeration about any issue within society.

42
Q

What is the role of the media in creating moral panics? 6 steps.

A
  1. Crime happens.
  2. Operation of News Values (eg. risk, celebs)
  3. Crime Becomes news (selective portrayal in the media)
  4. Deviancy amplification.
  5. Moral Panic.
  6. Public definition of crime happens (selective knowledge of crime leads to fear, less tolerance, calls for crackdowns)
43
Q

Who did COHEN study in regards to Moral Panics?

A

Mods and Rockers in the 1960s.

44
Q

What were things like for the Mods and Rockers before the media created a moral panic?

A

Distinctions were not clear-cut and youths identified themselves as belonging to either group.

45
Q

Moral Panics: What happened in Clacton 1964?

A

A confrontation between the mods and rockers with a few scuffles and minor property damage.

46
Q

Moral Panics: How did the Media overexaggerate Clacton 1964?

A
  • Exaggeration &
    Distortion
  • Prediction
  • Symbolisation
47
Q

Moral Panics: How did the Media use EXAGGERATION AND DISTORTION in Clacton 1964?

A

Media exaggerated numbers and seriousness with sensational headlines. Eg. Wild Ones Invade Seaside - 97 Arrests.
Led to calls for crackdown and stigmatised groups.

48
Q

Moral Panics: How did the Media use PREDICTION in Clacton 1964?

A

Media predicted more conflict would follow, drew in more youths for further clashes.

49
Q

Moral Panics: How did the Media use SYMBOLISATION in Clacton 1964

A

Symbols of mods and rockers (bikes, clothes, music) were negatively labelled. Differences were sharply defined so began to identify themselves as one or the other - drawing in confrontation.
Youths acted in the roles assigned (SFP) - deviance.

50
Q

Moral Panics: What did the media’s portrayal of events in Clacton 1964 produce?

A

A deviance amplification spiral which led to an increase in crime rates in society. More people joined mods and rockers for confrontation - Media made worse.

51
Q

What are some contemporary examples of media’s moral panics and use of scapegoats?

A

2011 Riots: ‘The Anarchy Spreads’
Migrants: ‘Immigrants bring more crime’
Knife Crime: ‘A knife to the heart of Britain’

52
Q

Moral Panics: What are the purpose of scapegoats?

A

Distract attention away from problems within society - seen as the problem within a moral panic.

53
Q

A03 Moral Panics in the Media: FUNCTIONALISTS

A

Functionalists: Moral panics are a response to anomie created by social change. Media reassert shared values when they have come under threat. Moral Panics are good to reaffirm our value consensus, what is right and wrong.

54
Q

A03 Moral Panics in the Media: NEO-MARXISTS

A

Neo-Marxists: Moral panics serve capitalism. Eg. Hall et al’s study on black muggers in the 1970s. Provide distractions to structural issues.

55
Q

A03 Moral Panics in the Media: McRobbie and Thornton

A

McRobbie and Thorton: In late modern society, it is more difficult to generate a moral panic because there is less consenus on values and differences in values are more accepted. Audiences have become accustomed to media exaggeration. Densensitised. Less fear. No longer a collective consciece.

56
Q

New Communication Technology increases..

A

New Communication Technology increases opportunities for more crime and deviance in society.

57
Q

Global Cybercrime: What did THOMAS and LOADER define cybercrime as?

A

Thomas and Loader define cybercrime as computer mediated activities that are either illegal or considered illicit and are conducted through global electronic networks.

58
Q

Global Cybercrime: What did Jewkes state?

A

Jewkes notes the Internet has created opportunities to commit both conventional crimes and ‘new crimes using new tools’
Eg. Hacking softwares.

59
Q

Global Cybercrime: What has cybercrime created?

A

Cyber crime has created new opportunities and difficulties - both for criminals and law enforcement agencies.
(Eg. CCTV, search histories, tracking systems, burner phones, we no longer know whose behind a screen)

60
Q

WALL identified 4 categories of cybercrime. What are the 4?

A

Cyber-trespass
Cyber-deception
Cyber-pornography
Cyber-violence

61
Q

Global Cybercrime: Cyber-trespass

A

(Eg. Hacking, spreading computer viruses)
Julian Assange: ‘I am - like all hackers - a little bit Autistic’ - The Independent.

62
Q

Global Cybercrime: Cyber-deception

A

(Eg. Identity theft, illegal downloading)
‘EBAY face investigations over massive data breach.’ BBC NEWS

63
Q

Global Cybercrime: Cyber-pornography

A

Children can access easily.
‘US police break up ring sharing indecent images of children’ BBC NEWS

64
Q

Global Cybercrime:
Cyber-violence

A

(Eg. Text bullying)
‘Cyberbullying: Horror in the home’ BBC NEWS

65
Q

Provide a contemporary example of cyber-trespass and cyber-deception.

A

‘DETAILS FOR SALE’
Man arrested in Northern Ireland after alleged connections to website offering access to 12 billion personal credentials to criminals taken from around 10,000 data breaches in 2019.

66
Q

Contemporary Statistic for Global Cyber Crime.

A

Google search accesses 4% of the web - 96% is the deep web. Accessing this dark web is now a cyber crime.

67
Q

A03 New Communication Technology

A

Policing cybercrime is difficult because of the sheer scale of the Internet and because its globalised nature poses problems of jurisdiction. Hard to prosecute someone in another country if cyber-crime takes place outside of home country etc. Everyone uses the internet everyday so its hard to monitor.

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