NCJ Number
88470
Date Published
1979
Length
733 pages
Annotation
Various reports examine the impact of newspaper crime reports on the public's fear of crime and perceptions of danger, based on factor analyses of news stories in newspapers in Philadelphia, Chicago, and San Francisco as well as on interviews with victims, newspapers editors, and others.
Abstract
Chicago papers consistently have the largest headlines and often the longest crime stories, but San Francisco papers most often have the largest pictures. Philadelphia papers generally have the smallest pictures, headlines, and often the smallest text, but the crime articles are closest to the front of the papers. The more distant crimes had significantly higher seriousness scores than those occurring locally; about 20 percent of the top two lead stories were about violent crime. Six community profiles, done between July 1976 and September 1977, assess the nature and importance of the crime issue in each area. These areas are South and West Philadelphia, Lincoln and Wicker Park (Chicago), and Sunset and Visitacion Valley in California. Other reports assess respondents' exposure to the media, their interpersonal communication about crime, and their reliance on particular sources for information about crime in their neighborhoods. Other topics are the media and rape, crime news policy, and the origin of crime-related judgments and behaviors. A functional model of the impact of crime news on perceptions of danger and subsequent behavior is developed. Chapter footnotes and tables are supplied. Study data are illustrated, and data collection instruments appended.