Lecture 3 - Crime, Media, & Representation

Question 1

Why study Crime & Media?

Answer 1

• Media is first port of call for public and how they interact with crime
• Media’s influence on crimes impacts CJ police (‘knee jerk legislation’)

Question 2

Outline the social construction view of media representations

Answer 2

Media reps influence how impressions of groups and individuals are generated:

• They reflect & produce identities of class, race, gender
• Create assumptions on crime
• Exaggerates reality
• Creates fear & leads to calls for intervention

Question 3

Outline the commercial constraints on journalism

Answer 3

• Pressure to produce news quickly & cheaply
• Increase in ‘soft news’ (requiring little investigation)
• Stories with an obvious hook

Question 4

Outline Chibnall’s (1977) Newsworthiness values

Answer 4

Immediacy, Dramatisation, Personalisation, Simplification, Titillation, Conventionalism, Structured access, Novelty

Question 5

Outline Jewkes (2011) Newsworthiness values

Answer 5

Predictability, Individualism, Risk, Children, Conservative ideology

Question 6

Outline the ideal victims for news stories

Answer 6

Incidents that cause an outpouring of grief, shockm and anger make ideal stories (e.g., child victims)
Young, white and ‘innocent’ victims and V’s with a stake in society (e.g., professionals)

Question 7

Describe Moral Panics (Cohen, 1972)

Answer 7

• Condemn wrongful behaviour
• Attribute responsibility
• Marginalise behaviour
• Emphasise for state intervention
• Threaten the ‘moral fabric’ of society

Question 8

Outline the 3 stages of moral panics

Answer 8

1. Exaggeration & distortion: numbers, damage caused, violence
2. Prediction: incites fear that further conflict & violence will occur
3. Symbolisation: symbols of particular groups are negatively associated with deviance

Question 9

Describe the features of Cautionary Tales (Moore, 2009)

Answer 9

• Attribute responsibility to a victim
• Marginalise behaviour of victims & emphasise need for self-regulation
• Moralising discourse is risk & precaution
• Focus on V’s behaviours rather than offender
• Focus on moderation on behaviour otherwise you are partly to blame

Question 10

Describe the features of Crime legends

Answer 10

• Spread by word of mouth/today’s cyberspace
• Tag into peoples fears
• Differs from moral panics: informal, timeless, community created
• Core features: common victims, perpetrators & settings