Media and Crime

• What is the definition of media?

  Agencies transmitting information to mass audiences
• What are the three types of media?

  Print, audio-visual, and cyber media
• Why are sociologists interested in media and crime?

  To study media representation and its effects
• What percentage of quality press and radio news is about deviance and control according to Erikson et al (1991)?

  45-71%
• How much space do British newspapers devote to crime according to Williams and Dickinson (1993)?

  Up to 30%
• What is the distorted view of crime presented by the media?

  It misrepresents reality of crime and policing
• What does Felson argue about media fallacies regarding crime?

  Media creates misleading impressions about crime
• What is the age fallacy in media representation of crime?

  All age groups are portrayed as involved in crime
• What is the class fallacy in media representation of crime?

  Middle-class portrayed as most likely victims
• What does the ingenuity fallacy suggest about criminals?

  Criminals are portrayed as clever and strategic
• What is the police fallacy in media representation?

  Police are shown as more efficient than they are
• What is the dramatic fallacy in media representation of crime?

  Focus on violent crimes increases fear among certain groups
• What is 'infotainment' in media news?

  • Stories of crime and deviance packaged to entertain
  • Examples include 'Crimewatch' and 'Police, Camera, Action!'
• What do Cohen and Young (1973) argue about news?

  News is manufactured, not discovered
• What are news agencies?

  Businesses selling news to outlets like BBC
• What are news values?

  Criteria determining newsworthiness of stories
• How do news values affect crime reporting?

  They influence which crime stories are covered
• What did Schlesinger and Tumber (1994) find about crime coverage changes?

  Focus shifted from murders to various crimes
• What did Soothill and Walby (1991) find about rape case reporting?

  Reporting increased from under a quarter to over a third
• What does Surette (1998) argue about fictional representations of crime?

  They follow the law of opposites to crime statistics
• What recent trends are noted in fictional crime media?

  Focus on young, non-white offenders and corrupt police
• What concerns exist about media's effect on young people?

  Media may lead to violence and anti-social behavior
• What are some ways media might cause crime?

  Imitation, arousal, desensitization, and glamorization
• What did Schramm et al (1961) conclude about TV's effects on children?

  TV was neither harmful nor beneficial
• What did Gerbner find about heavy TV users?

  They had a greater fear of crime
• What did Bandura, Ross, and Ross (1977) study about children?

  Children exposed to aggression mimicked aggressive behavior
• What is the hypodermic-syringe model according to Newsome?

  Media acts as a secondary agent of socialization
• What was claimed about the James Bulger murder?

  Killers were influenced by 'Child's Play 3' film
• What do Katz and Lazarsfeld argue about media effects?

  Effects are indirect and mediated by social relationships
• What is the disinhibition effect according to McCabe and Martin?

  Children learn violence is acceptable from media
• What did Newson (1994) argue about desensitization?

  Exposure to violence reduces sensitivity to it
• What model suggests audiences are active agents in media consumption?

  Two-Step Flow Model
• What is selective exposure in media consumption?

  Choosing which media messages to engage with
• How do audiences interpret media messages?

  In light of pre-existing attitudes and values
• What effect do McCabe and Martin (2005) associate with children's exposure to violence in media?

  Disinhibition effect
• What does the disinhibition effect teach children about violence?

  Violence is acceptable in certain situations
• What did the Home Affairs Committee investigate in 2009?

  Knife crime related to violent media
• What is the desensitisation effect according to Newson (1994)?

  Prolonged exposure normalizes violence in children
• What is an example of a copycat crime mentioned in the study material?

  Steven Miles mimicking Dexter's actions
• What do Left Realists argue about media and relative deprivation?

  Media increases feelings of relative deprivation