Unit 1 A* Criminology essay 3
Prepare a report that describes how different media represents crime, explain how
these representations influence public perception
Newspapers
There are two main types of newspapers: Broadsheets, that seriously looks at major news stories,
and focus on facts rather than opinion, and is the more reputable form of journalism (for example: The
Times and the Guardian). And Tabloids, which focuses on less "serious" content, specifically
celebrities, sports, and sensationalist crime stories (for example: The Sun and The Daily Mail), which
is seen as the ‘working class newspaper’. Nowadays the majority of newspapers are online, causing
the sales of print newspapers to decline.
Newspapers write many stories based on crime, content analysis of media in terms of crime shows
that newspapers in Britain devote around 5 to 30% of space to crime. Focusing particularly on violent
crime, terrorism and street crimes, causing 43% of tabloid readers to believe that violent crime has
risen significantly. This is due to newspapers over-reporting violent crimes and not reporting the most
common crimes, (like minor property crimes or technological crimes), to keep readers interested. An
example of over-reporting was during the Manchester bombing attack, which left 210 injured and 22
dead. Invasive images were taken straight after the crime occurred and published on the front covers
of newspapers for two weeks, leading to a moral panic as readers believed that the same thing would
happen to them. Moral panic is an exaggerated, irrational over-reaction by society to a perceived
problem. It starts with the media identifying a group as a folk devil or threat to society’s values,
exaggerating the problems with sensationalised reporting. Amplifying the scale of the problem that
caused it in the first place. The three elements of moral panic are: exaggeration and distortion, of the
numbers involved and the seriousness of the trouble distorting the picture with sensationalised
headlines; prediction, that further conflict and violence would occur; and symbolism, symbols of the
typical perpetrators shown in the media are negatively labelled.
Newspapers (in particular Tabloids), over-report certain types of victims: children, women, white
middle-class people and the elderly. Stereotyping victims causes a social panic as it gives the belief
that these people will become victims of crime. Social panic is when a social or community group
reacts negatively, extremely and in an irrational manner to unexpected changes in their expected
social status. For example, in the 1970’s the newspapers reported on the Yorkshire Ripper case.
Causing women all across the UK to report feeling terrified about becoming victims to him because of
how the media portrayed the woman as victims. Showing that the newspapers not only have the
power of creating a social panic, but also can be the cause of immense fear among those who they
target and stereotype as being in danger.
Television
Television devoted to crime has increased from 10% in the 1950s to 25% of all TV shows. This is a
mix of fiction and non-fiction shows that mostly focus on violent crime. Fiction glamorise crime,
showing a luxurious lifestyle, and are dramatized and embellished for more views, (drama series, re-
telling of famous cases, fictional stories). In Peaky blinders, characters commit crimes to survive and
have a nice life. However, non-fiction shows are factual that allow actual images to be formed to
inform people and demonstrate the seriousness of the occurrence, (for example news,
documentaries). For example Crime watch, which accurately recounts crime, and educates people
about crime and policing methods.
People watching forensic and crime dramas on TV are more likely to have a distorted perception of
the criminal justice system, and are more likely to overestimate the frequency of serious crimes.
Furthermore, they misperceive important facts about crime and misjudge the number of workers in the
judicial system, and law enforcement. Lawyers and police officers each make up less than 1% of the
workforce, but viewers of fiction shows estimated more than 18%. This television viewing can lead to
'mean world syndrome,' where people think about the world as a scary place, and develop a fear of
victimization, which affects their feelings of comfort and security.
Prepare a report that describes how different media represents crime, explain how
these representations influence public perception
Newspapers
There are two main types of newspapers: Broadsheets, that seriously looks at major news stories,
and focus on facts rather than opinion, and is the more reputable form of journalism (for example: The
Times and the Guardian). And Tabloids, which focuses on less "serious" content, specifically
celebrities, sports, and sensationalist crime stories (for example: The Sun and The Daily Mail), which
is seen as the ‘working class newspaper’. Nowadays the majority of newspapers are online, causing
the sales of print newspapers to decline.
Newspapers write many stories based on crime, content analysis of media in terms of crime shows
that newspapers in Britain devote around 5 to 30% of space to crime. Focusing particularly on violent
crime, terrorism and street crimes, causing 43% of tabloid readers to believe that violent crime has
risen significantly. This is due to newspapers over-reporting violent crimes and not reporting the most
common crimes, (like minor property crimes or technological crimes), to keep readers interested. An
example of over-reporting was during the Manchester bombing attack, which left 210 injured and 22
dead. Invasive images were taken straight after the crime occurred and published on the front covers
of newspapers for two weeks, leading to a moral panic as readers believed that the same thing would
happen to them. Moral panic is an exaggerated, irrational over-reaction by society to a perceived
problem. It starts with the media identifying a group as a folk devil or threat to society’s values,
exaggerating the problems with sensationalised reporting. Amplifying the scale of the problem that
caused it in the first place. The three elements of moral panic are: exaggeration and distortion, of the
numbers involved and the seriousness of the trouble distorting the picture with sensationalised
headlines; prediction, that further conflict and violence would occur; and symbolism, symbols of the
typical perpetrators shown in the media are negatively labelled.
Newspapers (in particular Tabloids), over-report certain types of victims: children, women, white
middle-class people and the elderly. Stereotyping victims causes a social panic as it gives the belief
that these people will become victims of crime. Social panic is when a social or community group
reacts negatively, extremely and in an irrational manner to unexpected changes in their expected
social status. For example, in the 1970’s the newspapers reported on the Yorkshire Ripper case.
Causing women all across the UK to report feeling terrified about becoming victims to him because of
how the media portrayed the woman as victims. Showing that the newspapers not only have the
power of creating a social panic, but also can be the cause of immense fear among those who they
target and stereotype as being in danger.
Television
Television devoted to crime has increased from 10% in the 1950s to 25% of all TV shows. This is a
mix of fiction and non-fiction shows that mostly focus on violent crime. Fiction glamorise crime,
showing a luxurious lifestyle, and are dramatized and embellished for more views, (drama series, re-
telling of famous cases, fictional stories). In Peaky blinders, characters commit crimes to survive and
have a nice life. However, non-fiction shows are factual that allow actual images to be formed to
inform people and demonstrate the seriousness of the occurrence, (for example news,
documentaries). For example Crime watch, which accurately recounts crime, and educates people
about crime and policing methods.
People watching forensic and crime dramas on TV are more likely to have a distorted perception of
the criminal justice system, and are more likely to overestimate the frequency of serious crimes.
Furthermore, they misperceive important facts about crime and misjudge the number of workers in the
judicial system, and law enforcement. Lawyers and police officers each make up less than 1% of the
workforce, but viewers of fiction shows estimated more than 18%. This television viewing can lead to
'mean world syndrome,' where people think about the world as a scary place, and develop a fear of
victimization, which affects their feelings of comfort and security.
