Research Essay

1707 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Media influence on public opinion

In the modern world, how people perceive and act in relation to crime and criminals is influenced and shaped by the media. The print media’s representations of certain crimes such as child sexual abuse, and the discourses used in presenting child sexual abusers “work in the background, in [the] unconscious mind” (Trend, p.63) to influence readers to “make subtle changes in [their] attitudes” (Trend, p.63) towards crime and certain criminals. Not only does the media shape the view of crimes and their committers amongst society, but it also leads to criticisms of the legal system’s ability to deal with criminals. The print media also tends to perpetrate a myth of ‘crime wave’ through the, in most cases, false representations of increase in crime and crime rates. Through this, the media gives itself the power to abnormalize and normalize certain acts by declaring offenders as ill persons requiring treatment as well as being the differing ‘others’ who do not comply with certain ‘normalized’ behaviour . Many members of society however do not recognize how media representations and influence can damage and ‘retard’ society’s embedded culture and the perception of justice (Dyer: 2000, p. 84). Through the media’s use of expert opinion on certain crimes, what they present is strongly trusted by society, making the media the most crucial body in spreading knowledge about, misrepresenting and badly deforming the character of crime and criminals (Dyer 2000, p.87).

“In the past, we received…messages in words and then applied them to the real world” (Dyer 2000, p.86). As Dyer states, when we received messages that we believed to be false or conflicted with what he called ‘observable reality’, that message was claimed of less importance. Its ‘...

... middle of paper ...

...s, D & Rua M 2008, ‘Media and Community Anxieties About Men’s Interactions with Children’, Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology, Wiley InterSchience, pp. 528

• Jewkes, Y, & Letherby, G (eds) 2002, “Criminology: A Reader”, Kitzinger, J ‘the ultimate neighbor from hell? Stranger danger and the media framing of paedophiles’, Sage, London, pp. 146.

• Johnson, Hollis F. 1967, ‘Media and the Creating of Myth: The Role of Print Media in the Popularization of Stranger-Danger in Child Abduction’, Mankato State College, University of Southern Minnesota, pp. iii-14.

• Meyer, A 2010, ‘Evil Monsters and Cunning Perverts: Representing and Regulating The Dangerous Paedophile’, Popular Culture, Crime and Social Control, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Bradford, pp. 198-207

• Trend, D. ‘The Myth of Media Violence A Critical Introduction’, Blackwell Publishing 61-63

Show More
Related

  • Jimmy Savile Case Study

    2489 Words  | 5 Pages

    One of the most shocking cases involving victims of crime failed by the criminal justice system is the Jimmy Savile scandal that was uncovered in 2012, a year after his death. Jimmy Saville was renown as a famous television, DJ and radio personality and a highly respected man for his charity work within the UK. Nevertheless, he was also one of the UK’s most famous sexual predators and paedophiles who had many victims. His victims included women as well as up to 1,000 young girls and boys, the age range of victims were as low as 5 all the way up to 75, over a 50-year period. He led this lifestyle by abusing his power, and taking advantage of his celebrity status, to feed his

    Read More

  • A Child Molester's Mind: How They Choose Their Victims

    704 Words  | 2 Pages

    Offenders are able to identify weaknesses in a child’s personality or life circumstances and then exploit them. There can be many different characteristics a Child Molester or Pedophile uses for their selection process. The characteristics are the foll...

    Read More

  • The Impact of Megan's Law

    2818 Words  | 6 Pages

    Park, B. and Lee, J. (2013). The effectiveness of Megan’s Law: Does it reduce the recidivism of a released sex offender? British Journal of Arts & Social Sciences, 12(1), 25-34.

    Read More

  • Crime, Moral Panics and the Media

    1722 Words  | 4 Pages

    Moral Panics and the Media. Oxford: Oxford University Goode, E and Ben- Yehuda, N. (1994) Moral Panics. The social construction of deviance. Oxford: Blackwells.

    Read More

  • Annotated Bibliography: The Truro Murders

    651 Words  | 2 Pages

    In this chapter of the book, Brown reviews in detail the series of events that lead to the capture of James William Miller; the madman who killed seven women during a course of two months. The author’s intention was to narrate the murders and the circumstances that lead up to the capturing of the murderers, including the psychology of the murderers. The author examined the Authorities’ actions and adjudications in capturing the suspects, questioning them and building a legal case for the Prosecution. The result of this chapter was to inform the wider community that there are predators that roam the streets

    Read More

  • Is Chemical Castration a Good Thing?

    1266 Words  | 3 Pages

    "Chemical Castration of Paedophiles." The First Post | News, Comment, Opinion, People, Arts, Sport & Life. Web. 22 June 2010. .

    Read More

  • Crime And Media Analysis

    1098 Words  | 3 Pages

    The general public of Australia has a common aspect when associated with their sources of knowledge of crime. Many would agree the media, especially newspapers and television, are their most frequent and well known source of crime activity. The media updates society with data about the extent, frequency and types of crimes committed (Moston and Coventry, 2011, p.53). Studies highlight our grasp of crime is majorly derived from the media, with a lack of exposure to police statistics or victimisation surveys. There is a concern in correlation to this fact since the media has inconsistency and inaccuracy in reporting crime. Due to this, the media can misrepresent victims and perpetrators, downsizing them to recognisable stereotypes (Moston and

    Read More

  • The portrayal of young people in the media.

    1220 Words  | 3 Pages

    In 1993, Jon Venables and Robert Thompson, aged ten at the time, abused and murdered a two-year-old boy, James Bulger. There was media uproar about the case with the two boys being described as ‘evil’, ‘monsters’ and ‘freaks’ in the media (Franklin & Horwath 1998). There were many references to evil in the newspapers; with the telegraph stating that Thompson’s nickname was ‘Damien’ (from The Omen) and declaring that Venables birth date was Friday the 13th. The majority of society was united in the belief that these two boys were the epitome of evil and it was the media that nurtured this belief. ‘Newspaper reports were unequivocal in their denunciations of Thompson and Venables as inherently evil, prompted perhaps initially by Justice Morland’s description of the murder as an act of unparalleled ev...

    Read More

  • Recidivism of Sex Offenders

    2497 Words  | 5 Pages

    Sex offenders have been a serious problem for our legal system at all levels, not to mention those who have been their victims. There are 43,000 inmates in prison for sexual offenses while each year in this country over 510,000 children are sexually assaulted(Oakes 99). The latter statistic, in its context, does not convey the severity of the situation. Each year 510,000 children have their childhood's destroyed, possibly on more than one occasion, and are faced with dealing with the assault for the rest of their lives. Sadly, many of those assaults are perpetrated by people who have already been through the correctional system only to victimize again. Sex offenders, as a class of criminals, are nine times more likely to repeat their crimes(Oakes 99). This presents a

    Read More

  • Terrorism and Moral Panic in America

    1644 Words  | 4 Pages

    A moral panic can be defined as a phenomenon, frequently initiated by disquieting media and reinforced by responsive laws and public policies, of embellished public concern, angst or anger over a perceived danger to societal order (Krinsky, 2013). The media plays a crucial role in emphasizing a current moral panic. In Jock Young’s chapter Images of Deviance (1971), he comments on the phenomenon of deviance magnification, he deems dramatic media coverage of deviant behaviours to be ironic, owing to the fact that it unintentionally increases rather than restrains the apparent deviance. In hind sight the media create social problems, owing to the fact that they can present them dramatically and are able to do it swiftly (Young & Cohen, 1971: 37).

    Read More

  • Crime In The Media Analysis

    857 Words  | 2 Pages

    The media, both in the mainstream and alternative sources, determine how the community view crime and how it represents the victims of crime, criminals and law enforcement officials. Media organisations have arguably become the main source of news, entertainment, recreation, and product information in society. For many people, media outlets such as newspapers, magazines, social media and television broadcasts informs viewers about events that affect their everyday lives. This essay it will explore the many variations of how crime is mispresented to society through mass media organisations.

    Read More

  • Crime is a contested and complex concept. Discuss

    820 Words  | 2 Pages

    White, R., and Perrone, S. (2009) Crime, Criminality and Criminal Justice. Melbourne: Oxford University [Chapter 2 ‘Crime and the Media’]

    Read More

  • Media and Fear of Crime

    2029 Words  | 5 Pages

    ...it is the advent of television media that have sparked debate over the integrity of reliable news making. Print media was factual, although sometimes sensational, while electronic media made use of the technologies, such as videotapes and live footage to enhance and exaggerate the drama of the event even further. Many research studies have been conducted to show the effects of the media coverage on crime and how it influences the publics of fear of crime. Mass media has perpetuated a notion that crime is on the increase by portraying events and tragedies in the headlines that are sensational. The public buys into that idea, despite statistical accounts that reflect stable or low crime rates. The more stories people read and watch about crime, the more likely they are to think that crime is out of control. Politicians may then enact legal reforms to sooth the public’s outcry for crime control and prevention. As easy as it may be to hold the media accountable for barraging us with images and ideas that affect our views and beliefs, it important that the public take responsibility for the information that we consume. After all, there is always the “off” button on the remote control.

    Read More

  • The Censorship Of North Korea

    1014 Words  | 3 Pages

    Violence, along with pornography, is one of the largest topics of the censorship debate, as well as the effect of exposure to violence. “Until age nineteen, children and teens exposed to media violence are more likely to view violence as a normal behavior and to become criminals themselves,” says New Republic editor Gregg Easterbrook. People, mostly children, who are still in the formative stages of their lives will be much more influenced by maliciously aligned media than those who are older, and have already established their core values and beliefs. However, it has also been shown that the acts of violence and murder frequently shown in movies (and seemingly replicated by some few children) have also occurred in children before the invention of television, or film - such as in the Leopold-Loeb “Perfect Crime” murder case of 1924, which was in fact later adapted into its own violent media five years later (Easterbrook 1). In the Leopold-Loeb murder case, Nathan Le...

    Read More

  • Media Distortion of Crime Reports

    1665 Words  | 4 Pages

    Throughout society there are both individuals and groups of people with a wide range of perceptions about crime and justice. These perceptions are influenced by the media and what the media presents. Media presents crime stories in ways that selectively distort and manipulate public perception, thus creating a false picture of crime. Therefore the media provides us with perceptions and social constructions about our world. Firstly I will be discussing the role of the media in constructing knowledge about crime. I will begin by explaining why the media is important, and go further to explain that media representations construct knowledge of crime and since knowledge about crime is constructed it does not necessarily capture reality in fact crime stories are often sensationalised. I will then link this to my central argument that the media shapes people’s perceptions of crime and how this is important as it can lead to changes in the law. I will then explain what it is that the public or society needs to be aware of when reading and watching media reports about crime. We need to be aware of bias and moral panics that are created by the media and how the media shapes or influence’s public perception through this, it is important for us to be aware of misleading or false crime stories so that we are not swayed by the media in believing what they want us to believe.

    Read More

More about Research Essay

Open Document