Describe media representation of crime AC 1.4
Newspapers
Newspapers write a large number of stories based on crime, particularly
violent crimes, terrorism and street crimes, with 40% of tabloid readers
believing that violent crimes had risen significantly. This is due to newspapers
over- reporting violent crimes while not reporting other crimes such as
vandalism which reporters find necessary to do to keep readers interested. An
example of over- reporting a crime occurred during the Manchester bombing
attack which left 210 injured and 22 dead. Invasive images were taken straight
after the crime had happened of victims and published, which featured on
front covers of newspapers for 2 weeks, creating a moral panic amongst
readers who feared the same would happen. Newspapers also rationalise and
sensationalise crimes for example, a story on moped gangs claimed there had
been 22,000 moped muggings in one year with a prime victim being celebrity
Michael McIntyre. The story was focused mainly on McIntyre’s story
sensationalising the article and bringing fear amongst people as they believed
the same would happen to them after the moped incident was described as an
‘epidemic’. The crime does not happen as often as it’s portrayed and therefore
the newspapers use scaremonger to bring fear into people. Typically, unusual
crimes get more coverage because people are more interested in them.
Television
In the 1950s, one tenth of prime television was devoted to crime, which has
since risen to one quarter of all tv shows. This includes a mix of fiction and
non- fiction shows, most of which focus on violent crimes. Non- fiction shows
are represented factually with little exaggeration to demonstrate the
seriousness of what has occurred and to inform people of the true facts. These
shows are not glorified and reconstructions allow accurate images to be
formed. On the other hand, fiction shows tend to glamorise and glorify crime,
showing a luxurious lifestyle as the outcome of the crime. They are often
dramatized and embellished for more views. Examples of non- fiction shows
include Crimewatch, which accurately recounts crime in an attempt for people
to learn from their mistakes as well as educate people about crime and
policing methods. A fictional tv show based on crime is peaky blinders, where
the characters commit criminal acts in order to survive and have a nice life.
Newspapers
Newspapers write a large number of stories based on crime, particularly
violent crimes, terrorism and street crimes, with 40% of tabloid readers
believing that violent crimes had risen significantly. This is due to newspapers
over- reporting violent crimes while not reporting other crimes such as
vandalism which reporters find necessary to do to keep readers interested. An
example of over- reporting a crime occurred during the Manchester bombing
attack which left 210 injured and 22 dead. Invasive images were taken straight
after the crime had happened of victims and published, which featured on
front covers of newspapers for 2 weeks, creating a moral panic amongst
readers who feared the same would happen. Newspapers also rationalise and
sensationalise crimes for example, a story on moped gangs claimed there had
been 22,000 moped muggings in one year with a prime victim being celebrity
Michael McIntyre. The story was focused mainly on McIntyre’s story
sensationalising the article and bringing fear amongst people as they believed
the same would happen to them after the moped incident was described as an
‘epidemic’. The crime does not happen as often as it’s portrayed and therefore
the newspapers use scaremonger to bring fear into people. Typically, unusual
crimes get more coverage because people are more interested in them.
Television
In the 1950s, one tenth of prime television was devoted to crime, which has
since risen to one quarter of all tv shows. This includes a mix of fiction and
non- fiction shows, most of which focus on violent crimes. Non- fiction shows
are represented factually with little exaggeration to demonstrate the
seriousness of what has occurred and to inform people of the true facts. These
shows are not glorified and reconstructions allow accurate images to be
formed. On the other hand, fiction shows tend to glamorise and glorify crime,
showing a luxurious lifestyle as the outcome of the crime. They are often
dramatized and embellished for more views. Examples of non- fiction shows
include Crimewatch, which accurately recounts crime in an attempt for people
to learn from their mistakes as well as educate people about crime and
policing methods. A fictional tv show based on crime is peaky blinders, where
the characters commit criminal acts in order to survive and have a nice life.
