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Relationship between the media and crime
The influence of media on crime
Relationship between the media and crime
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Rentschler, C. A. (2007). Victims' rights and the struggle over crime in the media. Canadian Journal of Communication, 32(2), 219-239.
This journal article discussed the visibility of crime victims in the media. It represented that families of victims need time to grieve and mourn after a murder but media tends to harass them causing them to relive the moments of distress. The success of the victims’ rights movement has allowed victims to be seen as victims instead of sources of information and a target for media. National Center for Victims of Crime has helped victims when it came to story telling in the media. For example children reading irrelevant or false negative characteristics about their parents on the news would have an influence on them. The organization provides assistance in attaining the correct information of events without bashing the victim and affecting their families. The article continues to illustrate the importance of privacy and understanding the emotional state of families and the effects that media has on them.
Soothill, K., Walby, S., & Bagguley, P. (1990). Judges, the media, and rape. Journal of Law and Society, 17(2), 211-233.
This article focuses on the influence of judges on the media and the affects on the victims. There have been many cases where judges have made sexual attacks and sexist comments discriminating rape victims. Often these comments have been broadcasted in the news or have been the headlines of articles. The power of men over women is strongly portrayed through not only the rape but also the understanding of the problem. The judge’s sexist comments towards the rape influences the opinions of the public because they are seen as experts. The reports would not help the public underst...
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...Gays, lesbians and transsexuals tend to be reported less and if they are, there are often negative comments surrounding them (J, 2001). This is similar to when females get raped. The blame is upon the victim rather than the offender (Soothill et al. 1990). The media also determines what type of crime is considered serious. This has an impact on victims because they may feel that their victimization should be taken more serious than what media has projected (Gebotys, 1988)
Further research should illustrate what specific type of attention from the media would be beneficial for the public but still respects the victim’s privacy. There should also be more attention towards how to protect victims and decrease media discrimination. This is significant because media a part of our daily lives; being that so, it is important to be aware of the impacts it may have on victim.
The Casey Anthony case was one that captured the heart of thousands and made it to the headline of national TV talk shows, newspapers, radio stations and social media networks for months. The root of the case was due to a clash between the parental responsibilities, the expectations that went with being a parent, and the life that Casey Anthony wanted to have. The case was in respect to the discovering the cause of Casey’s two-year-old daughter, Caylee Marie Anthony’s, death; however the emphasis was placed on Casey and her futile lies, which resulted in a public outcry. The purpose of this essay is to delve into the public atmosphere and inquire about why the media and social media collectively attacked the case by uncovering the content of the case, the charges that were laid, and later dismissed, the “performers” of the trial and the publics reaction. It will further discuss how it defies universal ideologies and how the media represents this. The discussion of the complexities of the case and its connotations will incorporate Stuart Hall’s Representation and the Media, Robert Hariman’s Performing the Laws, What is Ideology by Terry Eagleton, The Body of the Condemned by Michael Foucault, and a number of news articles, which will reveal disparate ideas of representation in the media, and the role of the performers of the law and their effect on the understanding of the case.
Another topic of interest is the growing amount of violence experienced by women in Canada, specifically among minority women and the LGBTQ community. As noted by Faulkner (2006), homophobic sexist violence has been on the rise and the debate surrounding this issue is the lack of attention being paid to homosexual girls and women. The intersections of race/ethnicity, gender and sexual orientation all determine the type of crime that is perpetrated against the victims but has been ignored by researchers, reducing the complexity of ...
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) individuals people make up more than ten percent of the population; that means if you are sitting in a classroom of thirty, then more than three of those people are LGBT individuals. However, this overwhelmingly large minority group continues to be one of the least protected by the government as well as most heavily targeted by discrimination and hate crimes. Regardless of the powerful shift in public opinion concerning LGBT individuals during the last twenty years, the laws concerning hate crimes have remained invariable.
Neimark, Jill. "Out of Bounds: The Truth About Athletes and Rape" Mademoiselle May 1991 P196-199, 244-245
When the criminal justice system was established, the main objective was to create neutrality and fairness between the sexes. Even though people might believe that there is no such thing as ‘stereotyping’ in the criminal justice system, it is quite obvious that women are constantly being looked down upon because of their sexuality. In general, women tend to be treated like fragile objects that could break at any moment; the truth is that women can be strong and courageous just like men. Society stereotypes about women and the criminal justice system are no different. Throughout history, certain crimes have been separated into different categories based on their prevalence.
On May 23, 1924, public newspapers reported the kidnapping and murder of a fourteen-year-old, Bobby Franks. This case not only enthralled the Chicago public, but also remains one that is constantly reinterpreted in modern society today. Both Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb were considered wealthy and academically gifted young boys. The media produced reports that presented the public with enticing information and helped unfold the mystery of the case. However, journalists magnified details and are ultimately responsible for shaping the outcome of the case. The reinterpretation of the Leopold and Loeb case illustrates that it significantly altered America’s perception of childhood experience, mental health, and the media’s role in criminal cases.
The media, both in the mainstream and alternative sources, determine how the community views 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 inform viewers about events that affect their everyday lives. This essay will explore the many variations of how crime is misrepresented in society through mass media organisations. Over the years, research has shown an increase in crime is largely over-represented in media coverage, compared to actual crime rates in society.
As a social construction, rape is created in the context of eroticization male dominance and female subordination. It also bases itself on the assumption that gender is a predetermined that distinguishes people into two distinct categories. Although rape is real, it is rather enabled by misconceptions. In order to envision a society without rape or less rape, it is radical for people to recognize that social construction has had enormous impact on how it is practiced and perceived.
In reference to the media’s role, they have been highlighted for playing a part in maintaining these views by portraying victims in a certain way according to the newsworthiness of each story and their selectiveness (Greer, 2007). Furthermore, there has been an increase in both fictional crime programmes and crime documentaries, with Crimewatch particularly becoming a regular part of British viewing. In the modern context, crime has continued to represent a large proportion of news reporting and with the aid of social networking sites and self-publicity via the internet, journalists are now more able to dig even deeper into the lives of people on whom they wish to report. Newspapers continue to keep the public informed with the latest headlines and the internet has also provided opportunities for members of the public to have their input in blogs.
The question this essay addresses is the difficulty, in convicting rapists and understanding why the conviction level for rape is so low. Proving a rape happened is easier said than done, there are many factors that are critical to contributing to a conviction. Why is the conviction level for rape as low as 6.5%? To comprehend the underlying levels of conviction there are unfortunate factors from the police, the criminal justice system, the probability of evidence and issue of consent that make convictions immensely difficult to prove. This essay will investigate those measures showing the contrasts of rape and why it is tricky to prove rape occurred without consent, without any corroborative evidence, attitudes of police towards rape victims, the victims withdrawing their report due to personal circumstances and the handling of victims in court, that lead to many offenders having an non-custodial sentence or being acquitted of a rape charge.
Crampton, Caroline. "Why Crime Dramas Are Hooked On Rape." New Statesman (2014): 19. Galenet. Web. 13 Feb 2014.
Research also suggests that the media is a major decider in what crime cases get chosen to air on the news. While it was previously thought that what went on the news was arbitrarily picked or based on the most interesting cases, it turns out that it is not quite the case. J...
D’Augelli, A.R. (1998). Developmental implications of victimization of lesbian, gay, and bisexual youths. In G.M. Herek (Ed.), Stigma and sexual orientation: Understanding prejudice against lesbians, gay men and bisexuals (pp.187-210). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
When reporting crime events the media focus only on the negative scenarios that can impact the society, these events are to be know as “newsworthy” (Hall, 1978). Newsworthy crime news is formed through the selective approach taken by the editors where only the main idea of the topic is likely to be reproduced in the media. This is due to crime is not an open event as witnesses are limited hence the selective approach allows the editor to only report the thrilling parts of the crime. (Stuart Hall, 1978: p.53) quoted “‘News’ is the end-product of a complex proves which begins with a systematic sorting and selecting of events and topics according to a socially constructed set of categories”. As a result, this approach has formed bias opinions towards crime reporting as it’s presented in the editor’s point of view (Hall, 1978). The media hence only targets crime with events that is unexpected and events that’s viewed as out of the norm compared to the majority of the society. Alternatively, this changes the view of audiences as they view the society as a ‘problematic reality’ (Hall, 1978). The majority of world is therefore mislead by the fictional reporting of crime as many consumers
Rape is known as one of heinous crimes a person can commit to someone else. Even though US’s justice system recognizes that rape is a serious threat to women’s physical and mental safety as well as their autonomy, our justice system gravely fails to convict and persecute the perpetrators, making women vulnerable to these sexual crimes. Hence, many women, especially those who are victims of rape, live in fear, which seriously curtails their freedom of movement and confidence in everyday life (Chamallas, 2013). Not only our justice system fails to protect women from rape, but also our society’s skeptical attitude towards rape severely affects rape victims to come forward or report their terrible experiences. The general public views rape as a myth rather than as a fact, and believes that women cry rape just to get public attention, sympathy, and compensation from the perpetrators. Even if the rape did happen, most people still blame women for being irresponsible. Due to the lack of our justice system in convicting rapists and our society’s misconception of rape, the conviction rate of rape is very low even though it is a common crime in our country.