CRIMES

6.53 & MEDIA

ATTENTION
Портас Алёна
The modern media landscape is filled with
reports on crime, from dedicated sections in
local newspapers to docu-series on Netflix. 

2
The primary source of in-
News content
formation about crime
5%

others
mass media stories about crime
others
50% 50%

95%

3
 HOW CRIME IS COVERED IN THE
MEDIA AND ITS RAMIFICATIONS?

Newspaper

TV

Documentaries
and beyond
01.07.20ГГ
 NEWSPAPER
Despite the fact that certain crimes are considerably more common (e.g.,
property crimes), violent crimes are covered much more frequently.
A study examining the media coverage of mass murders between 1976 and
1996 found that newsworthiness of cases varied across space—that is, while nearly
all mass killings were covered by local sources, a much smaller proportion of cases
were successful in garnering national attention.
One of the many contributing factors that determine whether or not a case
receives media attention is the newsworthiness of its victims.
Local news was found to have a more significant impact on the fear of crime.

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 TV
In the United States in the 1970s, local “action news” formats, driven by enhanced live broadcast
technologies and consultant recommendations designed to improve ratings, changed the nature of
television news: a shift from public affairs journalism about politics, issues, and government toward an
emphasis on profitable live, breaking news from the scene of the crime. The crime rate was falling, but
most Americans didn’t perceive it that way.

At the same time, TV networks invested in crime shows. Fox’s big hit was the reality show Cops,
which blended crime news and entertainment. Audiences interpret crime-based reality programming
as similar to the news.
 DOCUMENTARIES
With the success of Netflix’s Making a Murderer we
have seen a public interest in criminal
documentaries.

Why? Because of the public fascination with crime

and punishment. Moreover, popular culture is
saturated with images of crime and punishment, the
public relies to a greater extent on media
representation to form their image of imprisonment,
policing, and the criminal justice system more broadly.

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 IN THE 1960S A TERM WAS POPULARIZED TO DESCRIBE
OUR SOCIETY’S FASCINATION WITH VIOLENCE AND CRIME
AS A PUBLIC SPECTACLE CALLED “WOUND CULTURE.”
 QUIZ

What is the What kind of news

primary source of What type of TV
are articles in
information shows do TV
newspapers devoted
about crime? networks invest in?
to?