Mass Media Effects Crime

Consequences of Media Reporting  The media concentrates on sensational or newsworthy crimes such as street fighting, murder and other forms of violence  This can cause fear among some social groups  Surveys have shown that women and the elderly are afraid to go out after dark  Media gives people a false impression about the amount and type of crime committed in society

 Opinion polls show that people overestimate the amount of violent crime in society  The majority of British people believe that crime is increasing  Whereas the British Crime Survey show a consistent fall in crime over the past decade  The media also focuses on specific types of criminals  Who?

Scapegoating and labelling  Young males and minority ethnics for example are stereotyped as deviant and criminal  Lurid tales of drug abuse, joyriding and gang violence make popular news copy  Ironically these groups are far more likely to be victims of violent crime than any other in society

Folk Devils and Moral Panics  The role of the media was examined by Stanley Cohen in producing MORAL PANICS in society  Turn to page 162 in your textbooks and take notes on the work of Cohen on moral panics  Look at and take notes on the work of Goode and Ben-Yehuda on “folk devils”  How does this relate to DEVIANCY AMPLIFICATION?

Stuart Hall – “Mugging”  Stuart Hall is a Marxist who highlights the role of the media in promoting the public’s perception of groups in society  Look up his work on page 165 in your text book and make notes  How would Left Realists counter- argue Hall’s theory?

Functionalism, New Right and Marxism  What purpose does the media serve to society in creating folk devils according to  Durkheim?  Charles Murray?  Marx?