📹 Media Distortion
Research shows that media coverage often overrepresents violent and unusual crimes while underrepresenting more common crimes like fraud or theft. This creates a distorted picture of crime in society.
Criminal and Deviant Behaviour » Media Coverage of Crime
What you'll learn this session
Study time: 30 minutes
- How the media represents crime and criminals
- The concept of moral panics and their impact on society
- How news values influence crime reporting
- The effects of media coverage on public perception of crime
- Different sociological perspectives on media and crime
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Unlock This CourseMedia Coverage of Crime
The media plays a crucial role in shaping our understanding of crime and deviance. From newspapers and TV to social media, how crime is reported affects what we think about criminals, victims and the criminal justice system.
Key Definitions:
- Media: Various channels of communication including newspapers, television, radio, social media and online news platforms.
- Representation: How something or someone is portrayed or depicted in the media.
- Moral panic: A widespread feeling of fear about a perceived threat to society's values, often amplified by media coverage.
- News values: The criteria journalists use to determine which stories are newsworthy.
How Crime is Represented in the Media
Crime is one of the most common topics in news reporting. However, the way crime is presented often doesn't match the reality of crime statistics.
💡 Impact on Public Perception
This distortion can lead to heightened fear of crime, especially among those who consume more media. People may believe crime is increasing even when official statistics show it's decreasing.
News Values and Crime Reporting
Journalists use certain criteria to decide which stories to cover. These 'news values' explain why some crimes receive extensive coverage while others are ignored.
📢 Dramatic/Unusual
Unusual or dramatic crimes receive more coverage. A single murder may receive more attention than hundreds of burglaries.
👤 Celebrity/Status
Crimes involving famous people or high-status individuals are more likely to be reported.
🔍 Proximity
Crimes that happen locally receive more coverage than those occurring far away (unless they're particularly shocking).
Moral Panics
The term 'moral panic' was developed by sociologist Stanley Cohen in the 1970s. It describes how the media can amplify public concern about certain groups or behaviours, labelling them as threats to social values.
Case Study Focus: Mods and Rockers
Cohen studied how media coverage of clashes between youth groups (Mods and Rockers) at English seaside resorts in the 1960s created a moral panic. Although the actual violence was limited, newspaper headlines like "Day of Terror" and "Wild Ones Invade Seaside" exaggerated events, leading to public fear and calls for tougher policing.
Moral panics typically follow a pattern:
- Something or someone is defined as a threat to social values
- The threat is portrayed in a simple, recognisable way by the media
- Public concern rapidly builds
- Authorities and policy makers respond
- The panic recedes or results in social changes
Folk Devils
During moral panics, certain groups become labelled as 'folk devils' – people who are portrayed as deviant and blamed for social problems. Examples throughout history include:
👓 Youth Subcultures
Various youth groups have been labelled as threats: Mods and Rockers in the 1960s, punks in the 1970s, ravers in the 1990s and 'hoodies' in the 2000s.
🇺🇸 Immigrants
Media coverage often links immigration to crime, creating fear about certain ethnic or national groups despite little evidence of higher offending rates.
Effects of Media Coverage on Crime
The media's portrayal of crime can have several significant effects:
- Fear of crime: Excessive coverage of violent crime can make people more fearful than crime statistics would justify.
- Copycat crimes: Detailed reporting of criminal methods might inspire similar crimes.
- Policy changes: Media campaigns can lead to changes in law or policing priorities.
- Stereotyping: Certain groups may be consistently portrayed as criminals, reinforcing prejudice.
Sociological Perspectives on Media and Crime
💼 Functionalist View
Media coverage of crime serves a social purpose by reinforcing norms and values. By highlighting deviant behaviour, the media reminds us of society's rules and the consequences of breaking them.
⚖ Marxist View
The media, owned by the powerful, focuses on crimes committed by the working class while ignoring corporate crime. This creates a false consciousness that distracts from exploitation by the ruling class.
📝 Interactionist View
Media labelling of certain groups as deviant can create self-fulfilling prophecies, where those labelled as deviant begin to act according to that label.
Digital Media and Crime
The rise of social media and online news has changed how crime is reported and perceived:
📱 Social Media Impact
Crime news spreads faster and wider than ever before. Videos of crimes can go viral, creating instant public reactions before full facts are known.
💬 Public Participation
The public now participates in crime reporting through social media, sharing videos, commenting on cases and sometimes engaging in 'trial by social media'.
Case Study Focus: The 2011 England Riots
Following the police shooting of Mark Duggan in London, riots spread across England. Social media played a dual role – it was used to organise some of the rioting but also to organise community clean-ups afterwards. Media coverage initially focused on 'mindless criminality' but later expanded to include discussions about social inequality and police relations.
Exam Tips: Media and Crime
When answering questions about media and crime:
- Use specific examples of media coverage of crime (newspaper headlines, TV programmes)
- Refer to sociological concepts like moral panics and folk devils
- Consider different sociological perspectives (Functionalist, Marxist, Interactionist)
- Discuss both traditional and new media forms
- Link to wider issues of power, control and social inequality
Remember that examiners are looking for your ability to analyse the relationship between media and crime, not just describe it. Always consider who benefits from particular representations of crime and what the wider social implications might be.