10.2.4
Media & Crime
News Values
News Values
A large amount of news coverage is dedicated to crime and deviance, however the media offers us a distorted view of crime.
Distorting crime
Distorting crime
- A large amount of news coverage is dedicated to crime and deviance, however the media offers us a distorted view of crime:
- It over represents violent and sexual crime.
- It over exaggerates police success.
- It over exaggerates the intelligence of offenders.
Cohen and Young
Cohen and Young
- Cohen and Young claim that the news is manufactured and therefore is not a reliable source when shaping our views of crime.
- They claim that the news is a social construct as journalists will carefully select their news stories based on the following criteria, known as news values.
News values
News values
- Immediacy:
- It is seen as ‘breaking news’ and therefore attractive.
- Dramatisation:
- It is exciting and potentially dangerous – usually violent.
- Personalisation:
- It is easy to relate to e.g. it generates human interest.
News values cont.
News values cont.
- High-status victims or offenders:
- E.g. celebrities etc.
- Simplification:
- It is easy to understand.
- Novelty:
- Is it unique?
The Influence of Media on Crime
The Influence of Media on Crime
It is argued that the media can influence crime to occur through the following factors.
Imitation and arousal
Imitation and arousal
- Imitation:
- Encouraging ‘copycat’ behaviour.
- Arousal:
- Excitement caused by the media to commit crime e.g. murders or sexual assault.
Desensitisation and transmission
Desensitisation and transmission
- Desensitisation:
- As the media is full of shocking images, people begin to see brutality and violence as normal.
- Transmitting criminal techniques:
- Exposing how people committed the crime.
Consumerism
Consumerism
- By promoting the desire for consumerist items:
- Often too expensive to buy on an average income by glamorising offending.
Moral Panic
Moral Panic
Cohen argues a moral panic can occur when the media generate an over-reaction within the public to a specific perceived problem.
Aims of moral panics
Aims of moral panics
- Moral panics usually aim to do the following:
- Identify a group as a threat to societal values; known as ‘folk devils’.
- To give folk devils increased exposure and exaggerate their level of deviance.
- To encourage moral entrepreneurs from all areas of society to openly condemn their behaviour in the media such as politicians, police officers, judges and celebrities, all for their own benefit.
Mods and rockers
Mods and rockers
- Cohen’s study focussed on the conflict between the ‘mods’ and ‘rockers’ in the 1960’s as an example of how influential a moral panic can be on the public’s perception of crime.
- Initially, the mods and rockers were two groups of young people that co-existed within the 1960’s.
‘Day of Terror’
‘Day of Terror’
- Cohen notes that a clear distinction was made between the groups in the media in 1964 when a minor ‘scuffle’ was widely reported in the national media.
- Rather than reporting this as a scuffle, headlines instead read ‘Day of Terror’.
Criminalisation
Criminalisation
- The moral panic on the mods and rockers began to spiral out of control as public fear increased, the police felt under more pressure to act.
- A crackdown on both groups took place in which both were ‘criminalised’ by society which only led to further marginalisation.
Media and crime
Media and crime
- This can be linked to the following approaches:
- The hypodermic syringe approach.
- (Supported by studies such as Bandura et al.)
- Catharsis.
- (Supported by studies such as Fesbach and Sanger.)
- Sensitisation.
- (Supported by studies such as Young.)
- The hypodermic syringe approach.
1Theory & Methods
1.1Sociological Theories
1.2Sociological Methods
2Education with Methods in Context
2.1Role & Function of the Education System
2.2Educational Achievement
2.3Relationships & Processes Within Schools
3Option 1: Culture & Identity
3.1Conceptions of Culture
3.2Identity & Socialisation
3.3Social Identity
3.4Production, Consumption & Globalisation
4Option 1: Families & Households
4.1Families & Households
4.2Changing Patterns
4.3The Symmetrical Family
4.4Children & Childhood
5Option 1: Health
5.1Social Constructions
5.2Social Distribution of Healthcare
5.3Provision & Access to Healthcare
5.4Mental Health
6Option 1: Work, Poverty & Welfare
6.1Poverty & Wealth
7Option 2: Beliefs in Society
7.1Ideology, Science & Religion
7.2Religious Movements
7.3Society & Religion
8Option 2: Global Development
8.1Development, Underdevelopment & Global Inequality
8.2Globalisation & Global Organisations
8.3Aid, Trade, Industrialisation, Urbanisation
9Option 2: The Media
9.1Contemporary Media
9.2Media Representations
10Crime & Deviance
10.1Crime & Society
10.2Social Distribution of Crime
Jump to other topics
1Theory & Methods
1.1Sociological Theories
1.2Sociological Methods
2Education with Methods in Context
2.1Role & Function of the Education System
2.2Educational Achievement
2.3Relationships & Processes Within Schools
3Option 1: Culture & Identity
3.1Conceptions of Culture
3.2Identity & Socialisation
3.3Social Identity
3.4Production, Consumption & Globalisation
4Option 1: Families & Households
4.1Families & Households
4.2Changing Patterns
4.3The Symmetrical Family
4.4Children & Childhood
5Option 1: Health
5.1Social Constructions
5.2Social Distribution of Healthcare
5.3Provision & Access to Healthcare
5.4Mental Health
6Option 1: Work, Poverty & Welfare
6.1Poverty & Wealth
7Option 2: Beliefs in Society
7.1Ideology, Science & Religion
7.2Religious Movements
7.3Society & Religion
8Option 2: Global Development
8.1Development, Underdevelopment & Global Inequality
8.2Globalisation & Global Organisations
8.3Aid, Trade, Industrialisation, Urbanisation
9Option 2: The Media
9.1Contemporary Media
9.2Media Representations
10Crime & Deviance
10.1Crime & Society
10.2Social Distribution of Crime
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