1.9 Media Coverage of Crimes

In the “background knowledge check” that began this chapter, did you answer this question correctly: “True or False – Violent crime in the United States has reached historical highs since national reporting began”? You might be forgiven if you got this question wrong—research has shown that entertainment and news media create an image that we are living in an ever more dangerous world (Jewkes, 2015). It can be easy to become fearful after watching too much news if we let ourselves lose sight of the fact.

Public knowledge of crime and justice is derived largely from the media. Research has examined the impact of media consumption on fear of crime, punitive attitudes, and perceived police effectiveness. Studies have found that the more crime-related media an individual consumes, the more fearful of crime they are (Dowler, 2003; Kort-Butler & Sittner, 2011). However, we also are attracted to stories about crime and victims when we choose to consume media. In other words, the media is aware of our preference for these topics and thus reports on them more. Glassner (2009) describes what he calls the “ideal crime story” for journalists to report. He notes that society likes to read about innocent victims, likable people, and perpetrators who are without remorse (Glassner, 2009).

Our society is fascinated with crime and justice, to the point that we spend hours watching films, reading books, listening to podcasts, and consuming TV broadcasts that keep us constantly engaged in crime “talk.” Perhaps what we do not always realize is that the mass media plays an important role in the construction of criminals, criminality, and the criminal justice system. Our understanding and perceptions of victims, criminals, deviants, and police are largely determined by their portrayal in the media (Dowler, 2003).

Again, the majority of public knowledge about crime and justice is derived from the media (Roberts, 1996; Roberts & White, 1986; Surette, 1990; Kappeler & Potter, 2018).  Since Gallup polls began asking whether crime had increased in 1989, a majority of Americans have usually said there is more crime than there was the year before. There is only one year where people did not estimate an increase in crime—in 2002, following 9/11 (Swift, 2016).

Despite dramatic decreases in U.S. violent and property crime rates since the 1980s, most voters say crime has gotten worse during that span, a perception that is dramatically at odds with the data (Gramlich, 2016). Research has also shown that there are stark differences in perceptions of crime across political party lines. For example, in the 2016 elections, almost eight-in-ten voters who supported President Donald Trump (78%) believed crime was increasing, compared to less than 40% of voters for Democrat Hillary Clinton (Gramlich, 2016). All of this is at odds with official data reports that will get discussed in more detail in the next chapter.

Research by the Pew Research Center has found that most Americans get their news from social media, despite having concerns about the accuracy and reliability of those sources. Almost 66 percent of Americans get news on social media, even while a majority (57%) say they expect the news they see on social media to be mostly inaccurate (Shearer & Matsa, 2018). Unfortunately, it appears that convenience outweighs concerns with accuracy.

Not surprisingly, the media focus their attention on crimes that will capture viewers’ attention. The more shocking, upsetting, gruesome, and dramatic the crime, the better! Consider the case of Eliza Fletcher, a 34-year-old teacher (and mother of two) who was abducted and murdered by a stranger while jogging near the University of Memphis in September 2022. It is shocking to imagine that one could leave one’s house and family, on a normal routine outing, and never return. It is even more shocking that the abduction occurred near a “safe space”—a major university—and moreover, involved a stranger. People will click on this story because it preys upon their fears, but such interest is problematic. How do we devise policies that effectively protect both would-be victims and offenders if we are driven by fear? Decades of research shows us that women are more likely to be victimized by people they know, not strangers. However, the media makes it seem like it is strangers that are most likely to victimize women. Yellow journalism is the practice of using sensational stories in print media to attract readers and increase profit, and it works, but not without compromising political and legislative processes (Kappeler & Potter, 2018).