Reporting Crime News - Essay Example

Crime Reporting: CHAPTER 1 Name Date Course Crime Reporting Introduction Media plays a significant role in the society in terms of reporting crime news. The crime news expose the ills that go on in the society. However, the definition of crime has affected the reporting by the media. The general perception of crime has been broadened to include the acceptable norms in the society. This has also ensured that the number of crime being reported had increased. On the other hand, the nature of the crime has been considered as a major determinant in terms of reporting the crime. Most of the media houses are selective when it comes to the reporting of crime. This is because some of the media houses focus on crime that involves high profile members of the society or high profile crimes. The reports by the media have also contributed in the creation of awareness among the members of the society in regard to the justice system that deals with the crime. This is considering that some of the criminal activities are committed by the law enforcement agencies and the judicial system. The crime reporting therefore plays an important role in the society as it contributes to the fight against crime (Grefenstette, 2011). Crime news is thus beneficial to the authorities as well as the members of the public and should be reported with high standards of integrity due to its sensitivity. The paper thus reviews chapter 1 which deals with the crime news reporting. Review Issues that are Newsworthy According to the article, the media is perceived as the major source of information for most of the members of the community. It therefore plays the role of a watchdog in terms of monitoring the levels of crime in the community. Most media houses usually collect crime statistics from the security agencies and stakeholders. This is important in terms of informing the public about the crime rates which is important as it affects the people directly. The media is also considered as an indirect primary source of information to the members of the public in terms of crime. This is because most of the people always follow the news and the articles in the newspapers which deals with crime. The media therefore plays an important role in the lives of the people in terms of providing information about crime. It is also important for the media to report the actions that are being taken to deal with the crimes and the criminal activities within the society. This involves the steps being taken by the police and judiciary. Highlighting the measures being taken by the authorities is worth reporting as it determines the confidence of the members of the public regarding the fight against crime. However, it is important to note that the media is always selective when it comes to the reporting of crime. This is usually guided by the nature of the crime, location and the time that it took place (Frost, 2011). The time the crime takes place is usually considered by most of the media houses when reporting the crime. News values guides the reporting system of the crime and it usually considered when reporting crime news. This is because the media houses are interested in reporting the most recent activities in relation to the crime. On the other hand, unusual crimes are usually given more airtime by the media houses. According to the article the media houses are profit making organizations and therefore requires stories that will attract most audiences and hence the reporting of unusual crimes that will attract more attention. The characteristics of the crimes are an import ant aspect of consideration when reporting a crime. This is considering the impacts that the crime has on the victims and the offenders themselves. In most instances, a crime that involves high ranking people in the society like celebrities usually receives a lot of attention from the media and the members of the public. This is because most of the high ranking people are regarded as role models in the society. According to Xie (2012), the nature of the crime influences the reporting of the crime. In most instances, the violent crimes or sexual crimes usually receive a lot of attention and hence it’s reporting. Novelty is also a factor that influences the reporting of cri8me as some of the crimes require follow ups due to the attention that it attracts. It is thus evident that some of the crimes may end up being unreported due to their nature although it may impact negatively on the society (Breton, 2013). Focus According to the article, the media plays an important role in terms of informing the members of the public about the reality of the crime. This is usually for the purposes of ensuring that the public avoid being victims of the crimes. On the other hand, the some of the crimes are usually threatening or prevalent in a given society. The media should consider how to report such crimes as it has the potential of causing anxiety among the members of the public. The anxiety on the other hand may influence how the crimes will be dealt with. Most of the crimes that causes public anxiety always results to harsh sentencing of the offenders. The media should therefore be selective during the reporting process of the crimes so as to avoid public anxiety. However, it is also important for the media to report the violent crimes so as to set an agenda. This plays an important role in terms of establishing a datum for the authorities in terms of dealing with the crime. According to the article, moral panic is also and issue that can be generated when some crimes are reported. This is mainly due to their nature and it may affect the members of the society. In the internet era, the issues of moral panic are increasingly becoming common. This is because the social media also offers a platform for the discussions regarding the criminal activities. This may affect the crime stories as exaggeration is common with the social media. The focus of the crime is thus important in terms of determining the methods used to report the crimes (Yonas, 2013). Influence of the media on the people The media always plays an important role in terms of informing the members of the public and it influences their opinions as well as their perceptions with regards to the crime. According to the article, the reporting by the media may escalate fear when reporting some of the crimes that are violent in nature. This is because most of the people trust the information that they obtain from the media. According to the effect model, most of the people are influenced by the media. This is considering that some of the people fully trust the messages that they receive from the media without any criticism (Moore, 2013). Some of the people may also manipulate the media and hence impacting negatively on the reporting of the crimes. This according to the functionalist model, this is due to the benefits that such people obtain from the process. On the other hand, it is also important to note that some of the crimes are usually fictional and hence causing unnecessary anxiety within the society. The crime can also be interpreted by the people based on their social and personal experience. This is according to the institutional model and it has a direct impact on the perception of the crime. The media therefore plays an important role in terms of influencing the people in terms of the crimes that are committed in the society. The people also require the crime news as criminal activities within the society has a direct impact on the people. Crime myths According to the article, most of the crimes are usually retold and they become part of a story s opposed to the crime. This is usually done by the media in trying to explain what really took place or the events that led to the crimes. The crime myths are usually common in the western world when trying to figure out how a crime took place. In most of the incidences, the crime stories are usually accepted and it may end up becoming real. This has the potential of misleading the members of the public with regard to the crime. Transforming the real crime into stories usually influences the thinking and perception of the people with regards to the crimes. According to the first myth in the article with regards to the myths of crime, the media usually report the crimes with regards to the public understanding. This is different from the reality and the report by the police. This usually leads to the problem of the crimes being overestimated. The overestimation of the crimes usually brings the perception that the crimes are increasing at a much higher rate. It is also important to note that overestimation I usually common in Australia and the United States of America. This perception has greatly misled the members of the public as most of the people tend to think that crime is on the increase and hence causing unnecessary fears. The crime myths can thus impact negatively on the members of the public due to the media reporting (Jewkes, 2010). In the western world, most of the violent crimes are usually misreported. According to the article, the numbers of violent crimes are usually exaggerated by the media. This has increased the rates of violent crimes far from what it is supposed to be. It is also important to note that the misreporting has a negative impact on the members of the public. This is because it creates a perception that the community is not safe from the violent crimes. Most of the crimes that are usually exaggerated include murder, assault, sexual violence and robbery. This trend is also common in the western world according to the article. The over-representation of the violent crimes usually occurs in all the media. This is could be due to competition to attract stories that will be interesting to the members of the public. However the over representation of the violent crimes usually vary from one media to the other. The tabloid media is known for high percentage of exaggeration (Kim, 2010). This is because the tabloid media is usually interested in generating stories that are interesting to the members of the public and hence the exaggeration. The crime statistics from the police usually differ from that in the media due to the exaggeration of the crime rates. This therefore questions the credibility of the media in terms of reporting the crimes. The television channels may also exaggerate the crimes for the purposes of attracting more views or making the story look more interesting in the eyes of the public. The victims and offenders are usually portrayed in a different way by the media which contributes to misreporting. In most cases, the victim is usually portrayed as innocent people while the offenders are usually portrayed as evil people. This according to the article leads to misreporting which compromises on the integrity of the media reports on crime. In most cases, the offenders are usually portrayed as poor and helpless in the society. This negatively impacts on the poor people in the society as they are perceived to be criminals due to the media reports. On the other hand, most of the criminal activities are usual linked to certain races. According to the article, the blacks and the Latinos are usually associated with criminal activities in the United States of America. This has the potential of compromising the crime rates as the white collar crimes may go unreported. The media usually portray the children as the innocent victims of the crimes due to their helpless nature. On the other hand, most of the media houses usually attribute most of the crimes to strangers. This is contrary to the reality where most crimes like sexual violence on women are not carried out by strangers (Smith, 2010). The media therefore plays a role in terms of misleading the members of the public when it comes to the reporting of crime. It is usually important for the media to ensure that the crime stories are adequately covered so as to bring out the truth with regards to the crimes. According to the article, the efficiency of the criminal justice is usually questionable. The media is always critical of the courts due to the judgments that are made. However, the media usually reports positively on the police efforts in the western world. This is also a perception of the whole society as people in the western world have more confidence on the police as compared to the judiciary. According to Sirén (2011), the police enjoy a good relationship with the media in the western world and are never portrayed negatively in most cases. The police are also considered s the source of information for the media and hence the mutual relationship between the police and the media which influences the crime reporting. In a case study in the article, the media contributed to the violation of rights of past offenders after a child disappeared. This is led to a campaign in the media that suggested sex offenders are common in most neighborhoods. This is an indirect attack on the judiciary for not doing enough to contain the offenders. Such actions by the media also contribute to the violation of the laws as the media campaign in the case study attracted riots and suicides among the past offenders. The media therefore reports depending on the confidence levels that the society has with the law enforcement agencies and judiciary. This may contribute to bias during reporting and hence compromising the quality of information being provided to the members of public. One of the most common myths with regards to crime reporting to the media is the leniency of sentences handed over to the offenders. Most of the media reports usually portray that the sentences handed over to the offenders are too liniments. This is usually common for the violent crimes where the offenders are usually handed over sentences that are not too stiff. This perception has greatly influence d the public image of the judiciary in most of the countries. However, most of the media reports never include the details of how the judgment was reached. This is an indication that the media influences the public perceptions in most countries. On the other hand the media usually report what the members of the public would want to hear. According to the article, most of the members of public perceive most of the sentences on violent crimes to be lenient and hence the media reporting. It is also important to not that most members of the public usually prefer harsh sentences on the offenders and hence the media reports. The harsh sentencing is perceived by the members of the public as justice to the victims (Kalyan, 2010). In some instances, the members of the public have protested over the sentences that have been handed over to the offenders. This therefore indicates that the public opinion influences the media reporting of crime. Conclusion In conclusion, the media plays an important role in terms of reporting crime in the society. Most of the crime reports are for the purposes of exposing the criminals and also highlight the crimes that are taking place in the society. It is also evident that some of the media houses do not report the crime incidents accurately. This has compromised the quality of information regarding the crime rates in the society. Most of the media hoses usually exaggerate the crime rates and stories for the purposes of ensuring that the reports gain more interest in public. The myths that surround the crimes are also factors that influence the reporting by the media. It is evident that the myths have negatively impacted on the reporting of the crime incidences. It is also evident that most members of the public may not question the reports by the media and hence the role it has played in misleading the public with regards to crime. The media should thus be non partisan when covering the crime news so as to ensure correct information is passed to the public. References Grefenstette, J, 2011, Dynamic simulation of community crime and crime-reporting behavior, In Social Computing, Behavioral-Cultural Modeling and Prediction (pp. 97-104), Springer Berlin Heidelberg. Sirén, R, 2011, Trust in the police, generalized trust and reporting crime, European Journal of Criminology, 8(1), 65-81. Frost, N, 2011, Talking heads: crime reporting on cable news, Justice Quarterly, 28(1), 87-112. Xie, M, 2012, Area Differences and Time Trends in Crime Reporting: Comparing New York with Other Metropolitan Areas, Justice Quarterly, (ahead-of-print), 1-31. Breton, R, 2013, Crime Reporting in Chartist Newspapers, Media History, 19(3), 244-256. Smith, M, 2010, Reporting Differences among Sexually Assaulted College Women: A Cultural Exploration, ProQuest LLC. Yonas, M, 2013, Dynamic simulation of crime perpetration and reporting to examine community intervention strategies, Health Education & Behavior, 40(1 suppl), 87S-97S. Moore, S, 2013, The Cautionary Tale: A New Paradigm for Studying Media Coverage of Crime, Moral Panics in the Contemporary World, 33. Jewkes, Y, 2010, Media & crime. Sage. Kim, J, 2010, Articles: A Study on the Regulation of News Reporting on Sexual Crime, Korea University Law Review, 8, 227-244. Kalyan, C, 2010, Crime Reporting: Profiling and Neighbourhood Observation, The BE Journal of Theoretical Economics, 10(1), 1-24. Read More