Title: Media, Crime, and Criminal Justice
1Media, Crime, and Criminal Justice
- Dr. Matt Robinson
- CJ 3532
- Injustice in America
- Appalachian State University
2What are the Media?
- Wide range of sources of news and entertainment
- Includes TV, radio, newspapers, magazines,
Internet, etc. - Mainstream media are easily, inexpensively, and
simultaneously accessible to large segments of
the population. - Even intrusive to our lives??? (consider DC
sniper stories pp. 131-132)
3What are the Media?
- Mainstream media are arranged within a hierarchy
of controlling institutions - They have an inner ring, middle ring, and an
outer ring
4What are the Media?
- Inner ring media have the most impact on us
- They are the most watched, heard, read, etc.
- Examples? (see p. 124)
5What are the Media?
- Inner ring media owned by large corporations (see
pp. 126-127) - GE owns NBC, CNBC, and part of MSNBC
- AOL/Time Warner owns CNN, Headline News, CNNfn,
CNNSI - Walt Disney owns ABC, ESPN, ESPN2
- CBS Corp. owns CBS, MTV, MTV2
- News Corp. owns Fox, Fox News Channel
6Goals of the Media?
- Viewers
- Ratings
- Advertising dollars
- and profit!
- they cover what sells (and certain types of
crimes, presented in certain ways, sell)
7Goals of the Media?
- We have no obligation to make history. We have
no obligation to make art. We have no obligation
to make a statement. To make money is our only
obligation. Internal memo by Michael Eisner,
1981, CEO of Disney/ABC, quoted in Media Mass
Monopoly Disney, Childhood and Corporate Power - We are here to serve advertisers. That is our
raison detre. Michael Jordan, CEO of
Westinghouse/CBS, 1997, in Advertising Age - Were not in the business of providing
well-researched music. Were simply in the
business of selling our customers products
Lowry Mays, Clear Channel CEO, 2003, in The
Problem of the Media
8What are the Media?
- Why is corporate ownership of the media
problematic? - Many viewers are unaware that the crime news
they see on TV is the version that large
corporations choose to air. Would it be logical
to expect these corporations to focus on their
own acts of deviance ? there is substantial
evidence that the media tend to ignore corporate
crimes.
9What are the Media?
- US corporations, through the inner ring of
media outlets they own and control, define
problems, identify crises, and thereby determine
what issues will be brought to the attention of
political leaders and US citizens. - the media have a direct impact on policies,
including criminal justice activity, because they
set limits on the breadth of ideological views
that enter the policy-making debate in the United
States. The media also choose which stories to
emphasize and which to ignore
10What are the Media?
- This does not mean the media tell us what to
think! - Instead, they tell us what to think about!
- Coverage concern
- No coverage no concern
11An Example Drugs in 1980s
121) The Media Invent Problems
- See p. 125 for example on terrorism
13How Crime Problems Get Created
- Problems are socially constructed (invented)
- from objective facts
- And blown out of proportion to actual threat.
- Problems are typified / framed
- Linked to other social problems
- Linked to powerless groups (e.g., poor,
minorities) - Policy is created (e.g., law)
- Legitimated through MEDIA
14e.g., Crack Cocaine in 1980s
- NEW YORK TIMES cover story announced arrival in
Nov. 1985 - NYT crack stories increased from 43 (last 6
months of 1985) to 92 (first 6 moths of 1986) to
220 (second 6 months of 1986) - Significance of NYT?
15New York Times
- Part of the inner ring of media
- inner ring media DETERMINE what is newsworthy
16After NYT
- 1986
- CBS 48 Hours on Crack Street
- NBCs Cocaine Country
- ( 400 other stories on it in 6 months)
- Time and Newsweek ran 5 cover stories
- April 1986 Cocaine The Big Lie (NIDA)
- 13 public service announcements
- Aired between 1,500 and 2,500 times on 75 local
networks
17After NYT
- July 1986 Big 3 ran 74 stories on nightly news
- Nov. 1986 1,000 stories in papers and magazines
on crack - biggest story since Vietnam, plague,
national epidemic, criminogenic
18After NYT
- Other news agencies PARROT the NYT
19And politicians
- Passed laws as a result
- e.g., Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986
- Created 1001 sentencing disparity (powder v.
crack) - Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988
- Created Office of National Drug Control Policy
(ONDCP)
20Why is crack war problematic?
- Invented
- Media, politicians
- Inaccurate
- Crack use rare, isolated to inner-city
- Cocaine use actually declined during time
21Why is crack war problematic?
- Dishonest (not transparent)
- Pro get tough
- Pro status quo
- Moral panic / Feeding frenzy
22Newsweeks Coke Plague Story(March 17, 1986)
Shocking Numbers and Graphic Accounts Quantified
Images of Drug Problems in the Print Media James
D. Orcutt J. Blake Turner Social Problems,
Vol. 40, No. 2. (May, 1993), pp. 190-206.
23Newsweeks Coke Plague Story(March 17, 1986)
- Panel A actual data (depicts lifetime use not
current use)
24Newsweeks Coke Plague Story(March 17, 1986)
- Panel B editorial deletions
- Cut out large increases in late 1970s
- Cut out foundation or context of data
25Newsweeks Coke Plague Story(March 17, 1986)
- Panel C tinkering with figure
- Made a finer Y scale (makes increase look
larger)
26Newsweeks Coke Plague Story(March 17, 1986)
- Panel D more tinkering with figure
- Added depth (3-D) to make look larger
- Called it a plague
27(No Transcript)
28ACTUAL Cocaine Use(MTF, 12th graders)
Current Users
29I CAN DO THIS TOO!!!
30Crack Cocaine Use(NHSDU 12 years)
31Crack Cocaine Use(NHSDU 12 years)
RUN!!! SAVE YOUR KIDS!!!
32CRACK BABIES
33CRACK BABIES
- Facts
- Yes, crack is bad for babies
- So is using cigarettes or alcohol
- So is poor health care, bad diet, stress during
pregnancy, poverty - Original studies FLAWED and now FALSIFIED
342) The Media are Inaccurate
35Media Coverage of Crime
- Crime coverage is inaccurate focus is on
- Violent
- Random
- Unusual, bizarre
- If it bleeds, it leads! (see pp. 134-137)
36For example, school violence
37For example, school violence
Source Indicators of School Crime and Violence
2004. http//nces.ed.gov/pubs2005/crime_safe04/fig
ures.asp
38For example, homeless beatings
39For example, homeless beatings
40Media Coverage of Crime
- Far less focus on corporate and white-collar
crime - this is problematic because the media serve
as the major source of information about crime or
most people
413) No Context
- Also very little context provided
- Consider terrorism (see pp. 140-142)
http//www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/CitizenGuidance
HSAS2.pdf
42Media Coverage of Crime
- Outcomes include increased
- Perceptions of risk
- Fear
- Distrust
- Insecurity
43Media Coverage of Criminal Justice
- Criminal justice coverage is inaccurate
- Most focus is on early steps of CJ process
(policing) - Less focus on courts and corrections
- Court coverage implies adjudication occurs
through formal means (trials) instead of reality
of plea bargaining - Little to no coverage of corrections
- Media outlets rely on police and politicians more
than experts with more critical views - This reinforces Crime Control Model of cjn