Introduction
Crime is an ever-present and an ever-developing sphere of society, both the source of constant unrest and the greatest signifier of structural issues. Used to describe a range of activities that fall outside the standards set by the law, most crime is detrimental to society on both the individual and global level. It can be different in scale and in its impact on the broader community, but the existence of crime always presents a danger to innocent people. Crime has been studied on a theoretical level for more than a decade, and its influence on various spheres of life is heavily debated. Criminology is an area of study that concerns itself with studying crime, its roots, possible solutions, and preventive measures to stopping it. The relationship between crime and the media is especially interesting, as the two have been deeply interconnected since the inception of the latter. All forms of media, both offline and online concern themselves with reporting crime. The way crime is reported has a significant impact on public perceptions and the opinions people hold regarding the importance and frequency of crime (Romer et al, 2003). Media, most importantly, encourages fearmongering and spreads speculation about crime, which influences the way people perceive it in a negative manner (Romer et al, 2003). Popular representations of crime perpetuate a disconnect between actual rates of crime and the fear people feel towards it. In this paper, the representations of crime in the media sphere will be discussed.
What is Media and how is it related to representing crime?
The media is a general name used to describe a variety of outlets and tools for communication between humans. It can used to both store and deliver data. Developing with society, more complex and overarching ways of communication were invented with many of them becoming mainstream. Media connects with people via the print press, various forms of broadcasting, and advertising. Being an important part of social life, the media concerns itself with spreading information to the general public and generating revenue through its work. The media is mostly owned by big corporations, that provide it with sufficient funding. Most forms of media work for the benefit of their shareholders and try to interest the audience in their material by presenting sensationalized stories to the public (Courtauld, 2014). Some information is more likely to appear in news media than other, and its inclusion often depends on how presentable it can be. This approach, however, presents a great danger when the subject of crime is concerned. As a sensitive subject, crime is difficult to report on while considering all possible sides of the issue. Since events that present drama and moral outrage are much more interesting to the general public, it is often in the media’s interest to facilitate panic and concern among people with the goal of boosting sales. These types of emotionally-charged reporting, however, can misrepresent the issue of crime greatly and cause a shift in the general perception of the issue. Sometimes, the media can serve a particular goal or agenda, which may also distort how criminality is discussed and reported. Aside from widely accepted broadcasting methods such as television, social media also impacts people’s perception of crime in a negative manner. The information spreads much more easily on the internet, and people’s inherent interest in shocking content and acts of injustice further perpetuates the spread of news about crime.
How does the media represent the crime?
Crimes
Crimes are often reported disproportionately, and their presentation differs greatly depending on the type of crime. Like all other types of news, crimes are covered in accordance with what a reporter considers to be noteworthy and interesting to their audience (Courtauld, 2014). This means that some data is inevitably left out, and some, on the other hand, is bolstered. The principles of media reporting can skew the public’s perceptions, making people more concerned due to the constant reporting of crime. Television has a proven influence on a person’s fear of crime, with researchers stating that people often watching the news have a higher fear of crime, especially of the violent variety (Courtauld, 2014). This fear is at its core emotional and does not correlate with the fact that the majority of dangerous crimes occur in low-income urban areas. By producing content that is both concerning and relatable to the general public, the media can secure viewership and monetary income. The media views crime largely through the lens of profit, prioritizing the stories that are more engaging to the audience, and produce intriguing headlines. Mass media on different levels mostly covers differing types of crime, with the national networks mostly giving attention to high-profile cases of crime, with either a large number of victims or unique circumstances (Understanding How the Media Reports Crime). Mass murders, terror acts, prominent cases of sexual violence, such crimes are often given the most time and spotlight, as they can be universally understood as reprehensible and sympathetic. Crime that is usually present in the media is organized to be easy to understand, with a clear moral distinction between the good and the bad. Presentation tends to be simplified, I an effort to appeal to the biggest possible audience. Generally, stories that can have an overarching impact on society are chosen, and smaller cases of crime are relegated to local media outlets. The latter usually have more detailed accounts of crime, although the area of influence is significantly smaller than on the national scale.
Criminals
Due to the nature of a reporter’s work and the sheer amount of information they have to record and report on, the process of representing crimes often becomes separate from objective reality. News reporting and is first and foremost, an occupation, and the correspondents are concerned with both relaying an event to the audience and acquiring profit for their work (Cherkis, 2020). By virtue of having to see and report on traumatic events, many of them start to feel detached from the people affected, being more focused on accurately reporting statistics or describing the details of the crime (Cherkis, 2020). These circumstances make it hard for reporters or other media workers to present the events in a fully accurate manner.
The portrayals of both victims and criminals are often extreme, either being over-or underrepresented. Racial bias is noted to play a large role in how a criminal will be presented in the media, with people of color often being portrayed as more aggressive and dangerous than their white counterparts (Sims, 2019). The belief that non-white people commit proportionally more crime or present an increased danger to society is further spread by the news media outlets that have a tendency to present POC as the aggressors and white people as victims (Sims, 2019). Racism in crime reporting shifts the perception of an average criminal in people’s minds and perpetuates harmful stereotypes. In cases of street crime, young perpetrators are given the biggest attention, with their victims being portrayed as old and vulnerable individuals (Greer, 2007). Criminals are often portrayed as inherently alien, different from society, and deviant in their behavior (Greer, 2007). This approach to presenting offenders allows news outlets to present a clear target for condemnation and ridicule for the audience, a move that makes the whole story easier to understand for the general public.
Corporate crime is uniquely presented in another light in terms of criminal culpability. In many cases, the perpetrator of a corporate crime may not be known on an individual level, as only their business is implicated (Greer, 2007). This shifts the weight of responsibility from individuals to an abstract concept of a ‘business’, which makes it harder for the audience to feel strong emotions towards the criminal. In essence, media coverage often separates criminals from the rest of society and presents them as a prominent danger to the safety and wellbeing of people, which feeds into the moral panic created by widespread coverage of criminal activity. Intrinsic fear of violent and deviant behavior exacerbates the incorrect societal perceptions of criminality.
Punishments
Punishment is another area that is influenced by the actions of the media. Criminal activity is inherently antithetical to the correct functioning of society. The existence of criminality means that people exhibiting harmful behaviors need to be addressed, and the reasons behind their actions should be understood on both personal and societal levels. In terms of crime response, two of the main solutions to crime are punishment and rehabilitation. The main goal of the anti-criminal activity is to prevent the occurrence of crime and reintroduce criminals to society. The process of rehabilitation, however, is both difficult, long, and much less interesting than immediate solutions, i. e. punishment. Rehabilitation programs designed to reintegrate criminals into society and produce gradual benefit do not have the ability to quickly grab the attention of the viewer like arrests and prison sentences do. This means that people are more exposed to the punitive side of the justice system, not the corrective one. Humans have an innate desire for justice, a need to feel that there is a certain balance to the world, and the systems of punishment largely exist to meet that need. By punishing wrongdoers, people can feel that they have earned the right to be re-introduced to society after committing crimes. The media capitalizes on people’s desire to seek retribution with its emphasis on criminal justice and sentencing (Beale, 2006). The demonization of criminals also allows the media to justify severe repercussions for offenders. Giving people an ability to witness a clear resolution to a conflict gives news stories more clarity and more appeal. Most citizens are informed on crime through the news, and the public opinion is in large part formed by the media. The broadcasting gives particular attention to harsh sentences and strict punishments, influencing the people’s opinion on such measures. Severe punishments become more normalized and affect the future decision-making of the justice system (Beale, 2006). The media perpetuates harsher punishments for crime with selective coverage and promotion of moral panic.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the media’s inaccurate and often sensationalized portrayal of real-life crime shapes audience perceptions and negatively impacts the societal opinions on the prevalence of crime. Broadcasting companies work in self-interest to meet their monetary goals, which presents a conflict of interest between reporting accurate events and amassing a bigger audience. Violent crime is over-reported, with the largest importance being placed on storied most appealing to the general public. The criminals are largely either disregarded or over-presented to create public outrage. The media also perpetuates more severe punishments for criminals by giving them more attention and framing them as the most optimal solution to criminal activity. Overall, the actions of the media further widen the discrepancy between the public’s outlook on crime and actual crime statistics. The actions of news media corporations are primarily fueled by the expectations of profit, while the possible harm made by misrepresenting the reality and spreading moral panic is often overlooked. Many discussions on the topic have highlighted this problem, as the consequences of inaccurate crime reporting are evident in society. This issue is not presently resolved in a sufficient manner, and a serious look into how the media distorts it’s audience perceptions of crime is more necessary than ever. Possible ways to resolve the issue include media legislation that would monitor how crime is presented and regulates attempts to sensationalize events. Another approach would be to remove the monetary incentive from the media altogether, which is more difficult to accomplish.
Works Cited
Beale, S. (2006). The News Media’s Influence on Criminal Justice Policy: How Market Driven News Promotes Punitiveness. Faculty Scholarship. 48.
Cherkis, J. (2020). Telling stories about crime is hard. That’s no excuse for not doing better. Columbia Journalism Review. Web.
Courtauld, A. (2014). How the media controls our perceptions of crime. Shout Out UK. Web.
Greer, C. (2007). News Media, Victims and Crime. Sage Publications. Web.
Romer, D., Jamieson, K. H., & Aday, S. (2003). Television News and the Cultivation of Fear of Crime. Journal of Communication, 53(1), 88–104. Web.
Sims, K. (2019). The Role of News Media & Racial Perceptions of Crime. Web.
Understanding how the media reports crime. (n.d.). Canadian Resource Centre for Victims of Crime. 2020,Web.