3. Media and Crime
3.5 Discussion questions
Dr. Chantal Faucher
- In this chapter, five models are described to account for media content on crime and justice issues (the market model, social responsibility model, propaganda model, organisational model, and cultural studies perspective). Which model do you believe best accounts for the media content you have observed? What evidence have you seen that aligns with this model? Provide examples.
- Watch the evening news and consider the crime stories that are reported. Which newsworthiness criteria do you believe led to each story being included in the newscast? What are the problems associated with the filtering of crime news in this way?
- Pick an example of an event or issue that you believe may constitute a moral panic. Identify the folk devils, moral entrepreneurs, and Goode and Ben-Yehuda’s (1994) five crucial elements for this moral panic.
- What are the advantages and disadvantages of media framing when it comes to crime reporting? For offenders? For victims? For law enforcement personnel? For journalists?
- In what ways, if any, do new media alter our understanding of crime and justice issues?
- Provide an example of a crime you learned about on social media and reflect on how learning about it on social media might differ from how it was represented in traditional news media formats.
