Murder and Mayhem in the Media: Public Perceptions (and Misperceptions) of Crime and Criminality (From Visions for Change: Crime and Justice in the Twenty-First Century, P 37-45, 1996, Roslyn Muraskin and Albert R. Roberts, eds. - see NCJ-158451)

• NCJ Number: 158455
• Author(s): C B Fields; R A Jerin
• Date Published: 1996
• Length: 9 pages
• Sale Source: Prentice-Hall, Inc
• Publication Type: Survey
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This chapter uses qualitative and quantitative means to discuss the relationship between actual crime problems and public perceptions of crime based on media reporting.

Abstract

The analysis was based on the amount and type of crime news reported in the only national newspaper, and the differences in the amount, type, and seriousness of coverage of statewide news in the national newspaper as compared to official crime statistics. The findings show that, like patterns found in regional newspapers and other media sources, the print media sensationalize certain crimes and ignore many others. The seriousness of reported crime is often distorted because of the notoriety of the persons involved or other unusual circumstances of the crime. The reporting of major crimes does not seem to be based on official crime statistics nor state population; reporting of a few sensational crimes in low-crime States can be misleading in terms of the true amount of crime in those States. Live action reporting, gavel-to-gavel coverage of trials, and advances in information technology may improve the accuracy of crime reporting. 2 tables and 39 references