Media and Crime

Question 1

Greer and Reiner

Answer 1

-tabloid newspapers dedicate a lot of space for crimes e.g. sun =30%

Question 2

Newburn

Answer 2

-media coverage can be misleading:
-exaggerate proportion of crimes that are sorted by the police, the risk of being a victim
-makes violent/ sexual crimes seem more common than they are

Question 3

what does newburn’s ideas support?

Answer 3

dramatic (overplays extraordinary crime) & ingenuity fallacy (media shows that to commit crimes you have to be daring)

Question 4

pluralists

Answer 4

media reflects what the general public want as it generates money, govt tries to create a balance

Question 5

Jewkes

Answer 5

-news values
-a good/ popular story will involve sex, celebs, graphic imagery etc
-media has become more diverse so anyone can create media content

Question 6

what does the media enforce?

Answer 6

-stereotypes- ignorance among audience is perpetuated and labelling continues
-supports conservative ideology

Question 7

Reiner

Answer 7

-crime coverage accentuates bad news, highlights victim culture and portrays law and order as the only reasonable solution
-these trends reflect increasing emphasis on individualism in a consumer-orientated capitalist society

Question 8

critiques of reiner

Answer 8

-underestimate extent of coverage that reflects badly on those in power
-docs etc comment on police racism so there is variety in media coverage of crime

Question 9

effects of media on crime

Answer 9

-media is criminogenic (make crime worse/ create it)
-home office stats= 5 mill online fraud cases

Question 10

Greer and Reiner on possible effects of media on crime?

Answer 10

-opportunity= encourages consumption
-means= teach techniques of crime
-absence of controls= media undermines social control (threat of punishment & sense of guilt)
-motive= media creates desire for material goods, can learn ‘copycat’ crimes

Question 11

Banura

Answer 11

-bobo doll= look at how children copy the actions they observe
-hypodermic-syringe model= behavior can be directly caused by watching media content

Question 12

Wartella

Answer 12

link between watching violent media & being convicted of violent offences

Question 13

responses to wartella

Answer 13

-newburn= violent ppl choose to watch violence
-jewkes= media is open to interpretation
-greer & reiner= other factors influence the effects of watching

Question 14

effects of media coverage

Answer 14

-jewkes= fear of crime is hard to measure
-greer & reiner= media create new types of offences

Question 15

McRobbie

Answer 15

-cohen’s idea of media causing moral panic is outdated as there’s no one group to use as a scapegoat

Question 16

positives of media on crime

Answer 16

-locate suspects
-alert public of diff types of crime
-media campaigns put pressure on govt