CRIME & THE MEDIA C&D Overrepresentation of violent & Overrepresent criminals and exaggerated police Exaggerate risk of Crime reported as a series Extraordinary
sexual crime victims as older & more middle success: becoming victim: of events: crimes overplayed:
Ditton & Duffy: 46% of media class: police as major source for White, higher status people Underlying structure & Media make crime
MEDIA REPRESENTATIONS reports were on these crimes but Felson: ‘age fallacy’, how crime crime stories, want selves & women shown at higher causes of crimes never seem ‘daring’ &
OF CRIME: make up 3% of crimes recorded by victims are portrayed as older, to be seen in a good light. risk, in reality, young BME explained or examined. E.g. ‘clever’, Felson:
Crime is backbone of media, mainly police. e.g. #metoomovement, middle-class women. However, E.g. media overrepresent males at risk of many crimes. Many rape case perpetrators ‘dramatic fallacy’
covered many sexual assault cases official stats show as inaccurate: violent crime more likely E.g. #metoomovement, white dehumanised before any e.g. Jeffrey
mass media e.g. newspapers, tv and
with other types of crime taking young, working-class men most solved than property high status women at centre context considered, many Dahmer= movies &
cinema. Covered in fiction and non- place more frequently but they didn’t likely to be victims of crime. 'age crime, ‘4 jailed after of media coverage. sexual crimes are committed ‘Top Boy’.
fiction, though most of sociological make the news. fallacy' seen throughout media. cocaine & heroin gang Evaluation: is it the readers by people who were victims in Evaluation: sexual
research in area is concentrated on Evaluation: sexual and violent crime e.g. victims of Grenfell tower are busted by police’. fault for making connections the past. crime is
coverage in non-fiction particularly can be considered worst crimes to be WC. Evaluation: police made between reporting of crime Evaluation: is this always the overrepresented,
in news. a victim of, perhaps they deserve Evaluation: Grenfell tower had mistakes e.g. Stephen and becoming victim, rather case? Is it the medias job to never seen as
more focus. huge coverage with victims as WC. Lawrence case. than media. explain structures & causes? brave/clever.
Knowledge: Arousal: Imitation: Desensitisation: Materialism: Newsome: media as secondary agent of Media as a cause
People can learn criminal techniques through Viewers of media Reiner: media presents socialisation: shapes young ppls behaviour.
Violent/sexual Media exposes people of crime: Many
Known as ‘hypodermic syringe, like a drug
media whether using media to communicate imagery may attempt to imitate crimes to violent crimes images of everyone with
affecting ppl. Leads to people imitating have suggested the
and search or simply watching tv shows and ‘stimulate’ potential that they see= ‘copycat a perfect life leading to
regularly, some argue deviant behaviour they see. media are
material deprivation
films, learning directly from them. criminals and may crimes’. this exposure makes Fails to recognise audience differ in factors, criminogenic=
leading to committing
e.g. Jason Hart: killed gf same as Walter become a factor in e.g. deviant role models. ppl less sensitive to e.g. class & intelligence, may not react to
crime e.g. Kim media in same way. new media can
White. turning to crime. James bulger case (killed by crimes and more Kardashian robbed in
two 10yr olds. Influenced David Morrison criticises hypodermic make crime worse,
Girl almost killed mother after learning how E.g. fifty shades of likely to commit bathtub
by a movie.) syringe, doesn’t consider context affecting may even produce
to make a poison from a movie grey them, e.g. GTA, call Can also be applied to audience, e.g. domestic violence in ladybird
e.g. breaking bad. Merton’s strain theory. new means of
365 days. of duty. affected but violence generally seen as
humorous. committing crime.
MORAL PANICS AND Stages of moral panic: Cohen: Moral panics: mods and
CRIME: rockers.
Examined disturbances/disorder
Moral panic: exaggerated over Media identify groups as a folk devil/threat, to societal values. E.g. UK banning drill music, Krept and Konan use as scapegoats throwing stones at windows,
reaction by society to a between two groups of working class
perceived problem driven/ in 1960s.
inspired by media, reaction to Media present them negatively/stereotypically, and exaggerate scale of problem.
mods: smart dress rode scooters.
this enlarges problem out of all rockers: leather jackets &
proportion to real seriousness. Moral entrepreneurs, editors, journalists and politicians & other ‘respectable’ ppl condemn the group & its behaviour. motorcycles.
Although the disorder was relatively
minor, media overreacted.
How does media report a moral panic: e.g. violence. Cohens deviancy amplification Evaluation:
spiral: Caused by medias -McRobbie & Thornton: moral panics are slowly disappearing, 24/7 NEWS RESEARCHERS:
Exaggeration & Prediction Symbolisation: portrayal of events making rolling news and citizen journalism means news has a shorter shelf VALUES: list Ditton & Duffy
distortion: Media media create symbols for problem seem like it was life, more interpretations means less panic and anxiety. of values Felson
Media exaggerate regularly folk devils which are spreading and getting out of hand, -Critcher: concept of moral panics are too vague and abstract to be deciding if a Reiner
negatively labelled, e.g. causes increased marginalisation testable. crime is Newsome
numbers involved assumes and David Morrison
and stigmatisation of the 'folk -it is clear that many play violent video games without committing newsworthy or
& extent of predicts representations Hall et Jewkes
devils’. Media definition is crucial crime, might influence behaviour, but can’t be sole cause of the not (Jewkes):
damage. Done further al black muggers, in making moral panics as people Cohen
crimes. -risk of violence Hall et al
through dramatic violence & making easier to rely on the media for information -If people see the horrific consequences of violent behaviour, they are -immediacy McRobbie & Thornton
headlines. E.g. conflict would identify, e.g. associating on ‘folk devils’. rarely have less likely to act in a violent way. Critcher
-dramatization
’97 arrests’ occur. E.g. with certain clothing etc. experience of them themselves. -Post- modern sociologists argue modern audiences are more active -higher status
(mods & rockers) drill music seen through mods and ‘met police request to remove UK than those portrayed by hypodermic syringe. Suggest that audiences -simplification KEY PEOPLE:
drill from TikTok have risen 366% choose what to watch & how they wish to engage with it. Krept and Konan
leading to rockers style= scooters/ -novelty &
since 2020.’ Jason Hart
crime. motorbikes. unexpectedness James Bulger