Representation of Crime in the Media - Coursework Example

Case Study Generally, case studies try to investigate the grass-root level reason behind certain occurrences in daily life. Within this scenario, the researcher tries to investigate the representation of violent crime in visual and printed media in general. One can see that media provides ample importance to crime news because the same can be used to attract the viewers and readers with ease. So, reporters and investigators are forced to choose news/reports with full of violence and criminality. Thesis statement: The case study on the representation/illustration of crime stories/news in media proves that minor crimes are excluded, there are differences between crime stories/news and reality, media sensationalizes crime news, media uses crime news to increase profit, media depends upon news manufacturing as a business technique, and media exaggerates crime news for entertainment purpose (special references to some cases related to the subject matter of the case study like Alice Gross Case, Ched Evans case, Charlie Richardson Case, etc). Case Study: This case study is broadly divided as: Exclusion of minor crimes, Differences between representation/illustration and authenticity, Media and hegemonic views on crime, Crime and media profitability, Media and news manufacturing, and Overstatement and entertainment value. Exclusion of minor crimes: First of all, media fails to provide importance to minor crimes because the same is with less violence. For instance, the case of recently disappeared teenager named as Alice Gross out focused other minor incidents related violence. Anderson (2014, para. 3) states that, ‘Detectives said "significant efforts" had been made to conceal the body, but police have not specified where in the river the body was found’. The media decided to conduct research on this incident and totally neglected other criminal incidents. When the viewers are in search of breaking news, minor crimes are totally ignored and violence becomes the focal point. These broadcasting groups are aware of the fact that reporting minor crimes cannot capture the attention of the viewers. When the viewers ignore minor crimes, rating and revenue from advertisement will go down. So, one can see that news on minor crimes is non-profitable and is the reason behind the exclusion of the same from broadcasting media. On the other side, printed media provides ample importance to the sensational aspect of unexpected incidents and totally ignores minor crimes. As regular readers depend upon printed media for detailed reading, ample importance is given to the details of crime and related violence. Besides, printed media prepares and publish cover stories related to certain incidents with violence and totally ignore other stories with less violence. So, both the printed and visual media excludes minor crimes because the same is with less news value. Differences between representation/illustration and authenticity: The reporters create reports on incidents and add some unneeded information to create false impression that criminal instinct is increasing. For instance, media does not try to report reality because the same cannot create anxiety among the mass. Travis (2014, p. 1) opines that, ‘Crime victims are increasingly being told by some police forces to carry out their own investigations by speaking to neighbours, checking for CCTV images and seeing if their stolen property has been put up for sale on secondhand websites, the official police watchdog has warned’. The media knows that exaggeration can corner their readers and viewers. In fact, reporters unknowingly distort the statistics related to the crime in the society. Besides, people are forced to believe that the domestic peacekeeping agencies are ineffective. When the information related to crime is altered and transformed into breaking news, one cannot expect that crime is rare in the society. Besides, media chooses random incidents and provides unwanted importance to details. To be specific, crime is not considered as the ingredient for news, but crime itself is the news. For instance, media selects rare and violent crime because the same can create hype by stimulating anxiety in the readers/ viewers. When weaker section (elderly, ill, or helpless young) in the society is victimized by crime, media provides unneeded importance to the same. From a different angle of view, media is regularly watching and analysing the interest of the mass. The people are interested in the stories/news related to violent crime and the media is ever ready to provide the same. Media and hegemonic views on crime: Some broadcasting media recreates serials based upon real incidents related to violent crime. For instance, serial killing is a popular theme among the channels within broadcasting media. The stories with enough violence are selected and scripts are carefully written, making sure that viewers are visually exposed to violence. On the other side, magazines provide ample importance to the deeds of superheroes. Within this scenario, villains are always portrayed as the embodiment of unimaginable criminal instinct. While viewing visual media and going through printed media, the fore pointed facts deeply influence the viewers and readers. To be specific, viewers and readers expect more from printed and visual media. Here, the media exploits the sensational value of crime stories. Gradually, public interest becomes influenced by media hype and media’s interest in violent crime transforms into public interest. For instance, media provides unwanted importance to gang related criminality, especially the criminals like Charlie Richardson, related to the notorious criminal group named as The Richardson Gang. Laville (2012, para. 8) states that, ‘Using a scrap metal business as a front, Richardson built an underworld empire engaging in long-term frauds – known as long firms – extortion and theft’. One can see that this individual is not a super-star, but a notorious criminal. Still, the media projects his life story because media knows the pulse of the society. So, one can see that media provides importance to the hegemonic views on crime because the same is utmost important to maintain domination in the global arena of mass communication. Criminality and media profitability: One can see that advertisement is the economic backbone of the visual media. The media celebrates the increase in criminal activities the same is related to profitability. Cobain (2014, p.1) states that, ‘Crime is probably going up across Britain, people say, and its most certainly going up in Northampton’. Besides, the reporters know that more crime means more fear and anxiety to know more about criminal deeds in the society. To be specific, news related to crime helps printed and visual media to increase their circulation and profitability. If a popular news paper totally discards reports related to crime and violence, the readers might think that the news paper is trying to hide facts. On the other side, more coverage on crime helps the media to gain more circulation and profit. The mainstream media cannot survive without breaking news related to crime and violence because it is an industry, not a social service. Besides, the public is aware that all the stories portrayed by the media are not believable. Similarly, broadcasting corporations know that crime stories can entertain their viewers. When a broadcasting group is struggling to increase its circulation and reach, ethics related to journalism is partially ignored. So importance is given to sensational stories related to violent crime. On the other side, printed media cannot totally ignore sensational news because profit solely depends upon popularity and circulation. In short, one can see that portrayal of crime and media profitability is interconnected to an extent. Media and news manufacturing: Generally, media expects unexpected happenings because the same can be used to create sensational reports. For instance, the media transformed the apology by media person named as Judy Finnigan (related to the rape case of Ched Evans) into breaking news because news manufacturing is not a rare phenomenon in the business world. Ellis-Petersen (2014, para. 1) opines that, ‘The TV presenter Judy Finnigan has apologised after being criticised for appearing to defend convicted rapist Ched Evans and suggesting his victim did not suffer any “bodily harm”’. On the other side, reporters are forced to select news related to crime and violence. To be specific, journalists consider the decrease in crime rate as a nightmare because they cannot create breaking news from nothing. So, journalists consider each and every happening in the mainstream society as a tread that leads to hot news. Nowadays, the mass media is not ready to unveil the story behind different news. Instead, mass media cooks up news from daily happenings in the society. This is not unusual because lack of breaking news can limit the popularity of media among the mass. When business becomes important, social responsibility is partially or totally ignored. The major players (say, multinational news agencies) consider social responsibility as unimportant because these agencies are not attached to any specific nation. In fact, quality journalism is shadowed by sensationalism and news manufacturing. So, one need not misunderstand that media is full of facts and real stories because half-cooked facts are served as real stories. In short, one cannot ignore the influence of news manufacturing among printed and visual media. Overstatement and entertainment value: Nowadays, information is not limited to any specific news agency because the mainstream society is totally exposed to different modes of mass communication. Within this context, media is forced to exaggerate crime news for entertainment purpose. When the media provides unwanted importance to violent crime, minor crimes are out of focus because the same is with less news value. The Justice Committee (2010, p.100) states that, ‘Reports about crime in the UK media disproportionately focus on serious and violent crime’. One can see that the focus upon serious crime is based upon business interest, not social responsibility. But this sort of exaggeration can create anxiety among the mass on crime news. In addition, media considers crime news as an innovative way to entertain the viewers/readers. For instance, the media provides unwanted importance to the news involving violence and bloodshed. To be specific, mass media considers criminality as a chief ingredient which can be helpful in creating breathtaking stories. While creating and broadcasting breaking news on crime, media considers the criminals as the focal point, and the victims become out of focus. The reporters know that victims are mere victims without any news value. On the other side, criminals gain attention in the media because they are the grass-root level reason behind the news. In addition, media knows that continuous broadcasting of specific crime news cannot sustain the attention of the viewers. So, media never try to conduct follow-up investigation on crime news. Besides, journalists with creativity can produce enough sensational stories from unimportant crime news. So, the media is forced to exaggerate news because entertainment is important in the global context. Summing up, the representation/illustration of crime stories is entirely different from actuality because social responsibility and business are different. The case study proves that the media provides less importance to minor crimes, but exaggerates major crimes. On the other side, crime stories created by journalists/reporters are partially different from fact because media is forced to sensationalize crime news. One can see that media uses crime news as an ingredient to increase profit. In short, the representation/portrayal of crime and criminal instinct in the media is not based upon the idea of sharing information and creating awareness, but is based upon pure business and profitability. References Anderson, S. 2014, ‘Alice Gross disappearance: Murder investigation launched as police find body in River Brent’, The Independent 1 October, viewed 14 October 2014, http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/alice-gross-disappearance-murder-investigation-launched-as-police-find-body-in-river-brent-9766298.html Cobain, I 2014, ‘Tough case to crack: the mystery of Britains falling crime rate’, The Guardian, 31 August, viewed 14 October 2014, http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/aug/31/tough-case-mystery-britains-falling-crime-rate Ellis-Petersen, H 2014, ‘Judy Finnigan apologises for rape comments about Ched Evans case’, The Guardian, 13 October, viewed 14 October 2014, http://www.theguardian.com/media/2014/oct/13/judy-finnigan-apologies-rape-comments-ched-evans-football Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Justice Committee 2010, Cutting Crime: Report, Together with Formal Minutes, London. Laville, S 2012, ‘Charlie Richardson, gangland rival of the Krays, dies at 78’, The Guardian, 20 September, viewed 14 October 2014, http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2012/sep/20/charlie-richardson-dies-78 Travis, A 2014, ‘Police telling victims to solve crimes by themselves’, The Guardian, 4 September, viewed 14 October 2014, http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/sep/04/police-telling-victims-solve-crimes-themselves Read More