How do you think the media influences the public's perception of the criminal justice system - Essay Example

How Do I Think the Media Influences the Publics Perception of the Criminal Justice System? There was a time when justice news reporting was limited to only a handful of reporters who would stand at the steps or in the pews of the county courthouse as a case was being tried. Here they dutifully took notes without any bias and then at the end of the day, they would go back to their newspaper offices and type up all the information they had collected into its final news format. That was how the media used to influence the public perception when it came to our criminal justice system.

But things have changed in the 21st century and not for the better. As per the research of Beale and Lowndes (2007) the media thanks to the advancement in live television broadcasts and the thirst of the public to have the freshest and most exciting news possible has forced the once responsible media outlets to feed a frenzy of tabloid news reporting when it comes to the criminal justice beat instead. They explained that (Beale & Lowndes, 2007). “First, through agenda setting and priming, the news media’s relentless emphasis increases public concern about crime and makes it a more important criteria in assessing political leaders.

Once the issue has been highlighted, the news media’s emphasis appears to increase support for punitive policies, though the mechanisms through which this occurs are less understood.. Finally, media appears to influence public attitudes about criminal justice policies by instilling and reinforcing racial stereotypes and linking race to crime”. In other words, the news media no longer just reports the news, it also helps chart the path that the justice system will take in relation to a certain crime and the involved personalities.

This charting is based upon the medias own preset criteria of guilt or innocence in relation to their own personal or network standards for news reporting and information gathering. With “justice” oriented programs like Nancy Grace and Jane Velez gracing out TV screens, I believe that the theory of Beales and Lowndes (2007) carry the proper information and weight for me to understand that the media has influenced our perception of the criminal justice system and not in a good way. These days, we make decisions about the guilt or innocence of a person based upon information that these reporters get and, without verification, tell the viewers about.

Instead of allowing to make informed decisions, the media instead asks us to make knee jerk reactions about their news reporting which could also be slanted one way or another depending upon the actual belief of the reporter in the innocence or guilt of the accused. SourcesBeale, S. & Lowndes, C. (2007). The news media influence on criminal justice policy: How market driven news promotes punitiveness. Duke Law School of Legal Studies Research Paper Series, 148