Representation of Crime in Society by the Media - Essay Example

REPRESENTATION OF CRIME IN SOCIETY BY THE MEDIA [Name of the Student] [Name of the University] Representation of Crime in Society by the Media The media is fundamentally a means of conveying information. The ease of access to such information, as well as the authenticity and bias of such communication systems varies. Some of the varieties of media are the radio, television, print, cable television, internet and satellite or DBS. The television is truly the least demanding of the different types of media, and requires the least amount of literacy to be comprehended. Moreover, television news aims at sensationalism, and the reporting is substantially prejudiced (JMC School, 2000). The media can be defined as the communication process or the devices employed in disseminating information. It can also be understood as the aggregate of techniques and systems that are utilised in communicating with a large audience (Simplify Source Media Definition: Performing a Vital Role in Mass Media Communications movement, 2010). Crime can be broadly classified into the organised and unorganised sectors. The latter consists of petty crimes, individual illegal acts and the crimes committed by psychopaths. The impact on society due to such crime is not very serious. On the other hand organised crime has a major impact and involves and affects a large number of people. Organised crime is characterised by a significant amount of planning, organisation and the employment of sophisticated procedures. The driving force behind the criminal acts of organised crime is to achieve pecuniary gain. It is a veritable cancer of society, as it pervades all strata of society. Organised crime enjoys true flexibility and adaptability (Organised Crime in Australia, 2009). Australian society has been subjected to tremendous loss on account of the organised crime, and this has been estimated at $10 billion per year on an average, by the Australian Crime Commission. Such crime is of great danger to society, and some of its activities are drug trafficking, extortion, corruption, ethnic violence, fraud, money laundering and embezzlement (Organised Crime in Australia, 2009). The Police interact with the media, and provide them with information, regarding crime and other such social issues. There is considerable evidence to indicate that the resourcing of police communications has not only been enhanced, but these communication systems have also obtained considerable sophistication. This was the situation in the year 2001, in comparison to the situation obtaining in the year 1996 (Mawby, 2010). There has been a steady increase in the resources being provided to police communications and the level of professionalism has undergone a vast improvement. Moreover, the police are at a distinct advantage, Vis – a – Vis the media, in the relationship with the latter. This situation has been offset to some extent; on account of the gradual professionalism that has pervaded the media organisations (Mawby, 2010). Veritably, a professional police force with vast resources at its disposal stands a better chance to play a dominant role in its interaction with the media. Such professional staff in the police will be able to dictate terms to the media organisations, regarding the crime news that is to be broadcasted by the media. In addition, such professional police forces are better able to project their version of policing policy in the media. For instance, in the 1970s the police had played a dominant role in their relationship with the media (Mawby, 2010). This was due to the fact that information regarding crimes was the preserve of the police, which the latter controlled. Reporting by the media constitutes the principal source of information regarding the criminal justice system. This places an onerous duty on the media to be unbiased and balanced in its reporting. However, there is a major lacuna in this scheme of things, because the media is under no obligation, whatsoever to report any event, in a contextual manner (Celebrated crime cases and the public's imagination: from bad press to bad policy?, 1995, p. 6). The outcome is considerable misunderstanding, about the various issues related to crime, such as the risk of victimisation and sentencing. It is indisputable that the media has universal influence on public opinion, and there are several cogent reasons to surmise that even public policy is shaped by the media, instead of research initiatives in social science (Celebrated crime cases and the public's imagination: from bad press to bad policy?, 1995, p. 6). There has always been a tendency in the media to exaggerate, and reporting in respect of crime is also subjected to such distorted reporting. The objective of the media is to portray crime in a manner that produces a psychological effect on the general public. This trend can be observed in the reporting of specific types of crime, such as assault, rape, drug abuse, or homicide (Popular Media Images of Crime, 2008). It is the goal of the media to portray crime, in a manner that generates sensationalism and public awareness of crime. On many occasions, crime waves generated by the media have no relation to the actual crime rate. Such reporting is aimed at making the public believe that some particular type of crime has become more prevalent in society (Popular Media Images of Crime, 2008). Sometimes, the crime reporting in the media has far reaching consequences and brings about changes to the existing laws. For example, extensive reporting in the media about a particular crime, like drug abuse attracts the attention of policy makers, who in turn are likely to enact new laws or to change the extant laws, in order to address the problems created by such crime (Popular Media Images of Crime, 2008). Another example is provided by child abuse, which has been extensively reported in the media. This has resulted in change to the law in many countries, and several nations require such incidents to be reported to the authorities. Similarly, the wide coverage of attacks on older people in the media has alerted the authorities to this prevalent and pressing problem, in society (Popular Media Images of Crime, 2008). It has been anticipated that such initiatives may require the police to introduce more stringent policing and the law makers to enact stricter punishment. In addition, to allegations of biased reporting of crime in the media, there have been several criticisms levelled against the press. Some of these have stemmed from studies in Australia and New Zealand. These studies indicate that a majority of the people in these countries believe that the media understates the true extent of crime and its repercussions (Herman, 2004). In a study carried out by the organisation Research International Australia, there was a concerted endeavour to assess the response of the people towards crime reporting in the media. It was seen that a large proportion of the populace were in general critical of the enthusiasm in the media to generate sensationalism (Herman, 2004). It was also found in this study that most of the people were dissatisfied with the manner in which the media reported crime. In fact, just 32% of the respondents believed that the media played a fair role, whilst reporting crime. More than 45% of the respondents were of the opinion that the media understated the seriousness of the situation, occasioned by the increase in the rate of crime (Herman, 2004). The HIV epidemic owes its notoriety to the efforts of the media, which enacted a major role in creating greater public awareness. These initiatives underwent considerable change from the early days of the HIV epidemic to modern times. The Western media reported that this infection spreads through activities that are beyond the pale of normal behaviour. Thus, a public perception was engendered, whereby it was commonly believed that this ailment was visited upon those who indulged in deviant sexual behaviour (Persson & Newman, 2008, p. 632). Subsequently, the media promoted the findings of several research studies, which firmly established that the transmission of HIV could also take place via heterosexual acts. This brought about a tremendous change in the minds of the public regarding the danger posed by this dread disease. Since the 1990s, the Western media has changed its stance from blame reporting to reasoned reporting in the context of HIV (Persson & Newman, 2008, p. 632). At present, the media portrays HIV as a health and social justice issue. Another development has been the portrayal of HIV related offences, from the perspective of heterosexuality. The Western media has provided a number of reports relating to criminal prosecution effected in HIV related offences. In Australia, HIV transmission through heterosexuality is rare, in comparison to the rest of the world. The media in Australia depicts criminal intent as being closely related to the criminality associated with the people of African origin (Persson & Newman, 2008, p. 632). Furthermore, the media blames black sexuality as the cardinal cause for the spread of HIV infection in Australia. This is biased reporting, by any standard, and it has served to exacerbate racial tensions in the Australian community. The chief outcome of such lopsided media coverage promoted the perception among the public that Anglo-heterosexuality is safe from HIV infection (Persson & Newman, 2008, p. 632). The media reports crime in different ways. For instance, crimes involving subterfuge, have considerable interest value, and can even be regarded as pandering to the interests of a decadent populace. The mass media presents stories of celebrities who have gained temporary notoriety due to having indulged in criminal activities. Similarly, stories of ordinary people who have become fraudulent persons, on account of drug abuse, illicit relations, gambling and other vices finds considerable interest value (Levi, 2006, p. 1037). In a study, nearly 47 % of the respondents stated that the media generates greater racial discord more racist experiences than actual incidents. Muslim respondents were inclined to a greater extent to claim that the media promoted racism. These Islamic respondents were worried about the media’s condemnation of their religion, which made their position worse. Some respondents stated that their public image had been seriously compromised, on account of the persistent portrayal of their religion in poor light, by the media (Noble & Poynting, 2004). It was their contention that they were being treated unfairly and were being subjected to bias and discrimination, solely on the grounds of their religion. One of the respondents stated that the participants in the talkback shows on the radio, had made highly derogatory comments and allegations against the Muslim community (Noble & Poynting, 2004). The role of the media was perceived to be offensive and prejudiced. As such, it is the responsibility of the media to report crime in society. As part of such reporting, the electronic and print media display images of crime scenes that have a serious impact on the perception of the public. All the same, it is essential to differentiate between the images provided by the media and the actual crime that takes place. It is to be clearly borne in mind that the media has a tremendous influence on public discernment, regarding the extent of crime in society. References Celebrated crime cases and the public's imagination: from bad press to bad policy? (1995). Australian and New Zealand Journal of Criminology, 28(3): 6 – 22. Popular Media Images of Crime. (2008). Retrieved September 28, 2010, from http://www.oup.com.au/learning_exchange/higher_education/popular_media_images_of_crime (2009). Organised Crime in Australia. Australian Crime Commission. Simplify Source Media Definition: Performing a Vital Role in Mass Media Communications move ment. (2010, March 4). Retrieved September 30, 2010, from TrafficSoar: http://www.trafficsoar.com/2010/03/source-media-definition-simplify-media-move-media/ Herman, J. (2004, February 1). Media Understates Crime. Retrieved September 28, 2010, from Australian Press Council news: http://www.presscouncil.org.au/pcsite/apcnews/aug94/crime.html JMC School. (2000, February 2). Types of Mass Media. Retrieved September 30, 2010, from School of Journalism and Mass Communication: http://www.uiowa.edu/~c019095/lecture1/index.htm Levi, M. (2006). The Media Construction of Financial White – Collar Crimes. British Journal of Criminology, 46( 6): 1037 – 1057. Mawby, R. C. (2010, July). Chibnall Revisited: Crime Reporters, the Police and ‘Law-and-Order News’. Retrieved September 29, 2010, from British Journal of Criminology: http://bjc.oxfordjournals.org/content/early/2010/07/20/bjc.azq037.full.pdf+html Noble, G., & Poynting, S. (2004). The Daily Frustrations You Have To Live With: Everyday Racism and the Social Exclusion of Arab and Muslim Australians since September 11. The Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission. Persson, A., & Newman, C. (2008). Making monsters: heterosexuality, crime and race in recent Western media coverage of HIV. Sociology of Health & Illness, 30(4): 632 – 646. Read More