MEDIA AND CRIME

GROUP PRESENTATION
GROUP MEMBERS

• STEERE KAVWENJE(BSOC/LE/02/19)
• CHRISTOPHER SHAWA(BSOC/LE/08/19)
• CHISOMO CHIKAFA(BSOC/LE/ME/16/19)
• PETER DAVIE(BSOC/LE/21/19)
• FRANCIS KADZOMBE(BSOC/LE/20/19)
OUTLINE

• INTRODUCTION
• DEFINITIONS
• MEDIA EFFECTS
• CONCLUSION
INTRODUCTION

The contemporary era is fundamentally mediatised.

The crime rate and high levels of concern about crime have become a norm.
The understanding of the crime problem, how much is out there, what types of crime are
most prevalent, who is at risk, what are the best responses drives mostly from the media
Malawi’s media reports about over 70% of homicides cases in Malawi (Holmes, 2022).
The connection between media and crime can be best understood by different theories.
FORMS

• Television
• Films
• Newspapers and
• Internet.
DEFINING MEDIA AND CRIME

MEDIA
• The media according to Macmillan dictionary refers to any form of communication that
delivers information (Macmillan dictionary blog, n.d.).
• Sociology dictionary defines media as any digital, electronic or printed means of
communication (Open Education Sociology Dictionary, n.d.).
CRIME
• Any deviant behaviour that violates the law (Farley, 1998).
MEDIA EFFECTS

MASS SOCIETY THEORY

• The theory views society as both atomized and centrally controlled cohesion.
• However, the mass give rise to a number of theoretical and empirical models claiming
that the mass media can be used as powerful means of manipulating vulnerable minds.
• Media reproduce and reinforce prejudice and stereotyping of marginalized groups or
actively challenge it.
CONT’D…

• The media representation is likely to establish how various forms of media epitomize
crime.

• Mass media theory representations exaggerate both the levels of serious interpersonal
crime in society and the risk of becoming a crime victim.

• The media can distort crime and deviance in the way it glamourizes crime thereby
encouraging criminality (Greer, 2013).
BEHAVIOURISM THEORY

• Behavioural psychologists argued that an individual’s identity is shaped by their responses to

the external environment.
• The criminal behaviour is learned from media e.g. violent programmes on the screen.
• It was observed that children who were exposed to violent films or cartoons depicting some
violent acts showed juvenile aggression.
• Those who did not watch the violent movies were less aggressive.
• Media portrayal of crime and violence desensitise the viewer to real pain and suffering and
may excite or arouse some people to commit similar acts (Greer, 2013).
CONT’D…

• Media also facilitates the rise of some cases in the society, e.g. suicide.
• Wide spread coverage of suicide in the media triggers copycat suicide
• For example the suicide of well known movie star Marilyn Monroe that increased suicide
by 12% (303 cases) during the month of her tragedy in 1962( Stack, 2003).
STRAIN THEORY AND ANOMIE

• Strain theory states that a decline of community and social order is replaced by alienation
and disorder.
• Social cohesion may be partly accounted for by the pursuit of common objectives and
anomie draws attention to the goals that people are encouraged to aspire to, such as a
comfortable level of wealth or status, and their means of attaining those goals ( Greer,
2013).
CONT’D…

• Anomie describes a situation where a society places strong emphasis on a particular goal but
far less emphasis on the appropriate means of achieving it.
• It is this imbalance that can lead some individuals to pursue nonconformist or illegal paths to
achieve the culturally sanctioned goals of success and wealth.
• The media instils in people needs and desires that may not be ratifiable by legitimate
means other than criminal.
THE LEGACY OF ‘EFFECTS’ RESEARCH

• Researchers strongly resists efforts to emphasise a straight, causal link between media
and deviant behaviour.
• This is so there are other factors that might influence a person’s behaviour.
• Those who are susceptible to harmful portrayals can be affected by a one-off media
incident .
• Effect travels the opposite way. This is to say, the characteristics, interests and concerns
of the audience may shape what media producers produce (Boyd-Barrett, 2002).
MARXISM

• Proposes that the media like any other capitalist’s institution are owned by the
bourgeoises and operate in the interests of the class denying access to oppositional or
alternative views.
• Hegemony plays a central role in theorising the media portrayal of crime, deviance and
law and order.
• Hegemony refers to the process by which the ruling class win approval for their actions
by consent rather than by coercion through media (Surette,2011).
MEDIA ANTICRIME EFFORTS

• Media efforts appear to be an effective means of disseminating information and

influencing attitudes, but their ability to significantly affect behaviour has not been
established.
• Even so, media-based anticrime programs have significant immediate effects.
• To varying degrees, media influence the agenda, perceptions, and policies of consumers
with regard to crime and justice (Surette,2011).
CONCLUSION

• In conclusion, it can be said that media portrayal of crime has had a great impact on how
people view crime in the society. Some of the theories such as mass media, behaviourism
and legacy of effects research explain different ways in which media influences crime.
Overall, the media can cause antisocial, deviant and criminal behaviours through eroding
of moral standards, subverting consensual codes of behaviour and corrupting people’s
minds.
BIBLIOGRAPHY

Boyd-Barrett, O. (2002). Theory in media research. In C. Newbold, O. Boyd-Barrett and

H. van den Bulck (eds.). The Media Book, London: Arnold.

Holmes, T. (2022, May 3). No one knows if crime in Malawi is rising or falling, not even the
police. African Arguments, p. 1. Retrieved on 8th December, 2022 from https://www.arguments.org.

MacMillan dictionary blog. Retrieved on 8th December, 2022 from

https://www.macmillandictionaryblog.com.

Surrete, R. (2011). Media, Crime, and Criminal Justice Images, Realities, and Policies (4th ed.)
Australia: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.
CONT’D…

Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Retrieved on 8 th December, 2022 from https://www.sociologydictionary.org.

Stack, S. (2003). Media coverage as a risk factor in suicide. Home Archive (Vol. 57,4). Retrieved on 9th
December, 2022 from https://www.dx.doi.org.

Greer, C. (2013). Crime and media: Understanding the connections. In Hale, C., Hayward, K., Wahadin, A. &
Wincup, E. (Eds.). Criminology (3rd ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Farley, E.J. (1998). Sociology. Prentice Hall: Upper Saddle River, N.J.
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