Crime in the media: A self-reflection

This blog is about me; where do I fit in with crime and the media?

My media habits are pretty thorough, I read newspapers, watch so much TV, get news online, read so many books, I’m a movie buff and I don’t mind the occasional video game. One thing all these mediums have in common is that in one way or another they feature crime.

Society seems to have a really deep fascination with crime and everything criminal, the media feeds into this obsession by creating and broadcasting so many crime related stories, shows, movies, games etc.

With so many crime outlets in the media it becomes easy for the media to alter the publics view on crimes and criminals. Three quarters of the general public generate their views on opinions of crime from what is presented to them in the media (Marsh & Melville 2009).

In my opinion the media is sometimes underestimated. The media plays a huge role in people’s lives (my own included) that it becomes a major driving force for many media-generated stereotypes and fears, for example moral panics and folk-devils (Cohen 1980). This can lead to the formation of different policies and practices within the criminal justice system which have their foundations formed by naïve interpretations in the media (Lieshman & Mason 2003, p. 144).

There is so much impetus placed on media outlets to generate interesting, exciting and newsworthy stories and the actual crime facts may become lost in translation. I’m afraid this characteristic of popular media makes it extremely difficult to get accurate and reliable crime information.

As for me I am a cynic; I have always been one and my sceptical view of the world makes me extremely suspicious and critical when viewing crime in the media.  Through my cynical nature I am able to formulate my own opinions of crime in the media, I know when something is exaggerated or sensationalised, I know when words are taken out of context, I know when numbers are manipulated to mean certain things. I’m afraid not too many people are like me though.

My message to the world is this:

Please do not believe everything you see in the media, Fox news is not a reliable source of information, neither is CSI. As intelligent and freethinking members of society we should be able to critically examine crime in the media and generate our own views. 

References:

Cohen, S (1980). Folk Devils and Moral Panics: The Creation of the Mods and Rockers, 2^nd ed. St. Martin’s Press, New York.

Lieshman, F & Mason, P 2003, ‘Policing and the media: facts, fictions and factions’, Willian Publishing, London.

Marsh, I & Melville, G 2009, ‘Crime justice and the media’, Routledge, London.

Response to Beth Marsh’s Blog “The Keli Lane Saga”

(http://bethscrimblog.blogspot.com/)

While I was reading Beth’s blog I found it very interesting as I agree that the media portrayal and demonisation of ‘child killers’ is just unbelievable. It must have been very intriguing sitting in on the Keli Lane case and get a first hand look of the side of her the media doesn't show.

Kayla Rogers

We see them in the media all the time, the evil, heartless ‘child killers’. In australia and around the world there has been so many of these cases lately, baby Tegan, Kiesha Abrahams, Kayla Rogers, Azaria Chamberlain, just to name a few. The medias fascination with these people is incredible, their private lives are thrust into the public spotlight, just like a ‘saga’. These individuals are stripped of their identity and thrown into the category of ‘child killer’.

The media ignores most of the facts and manipulates every story to make it more newsworthy. These people and their crimes fit into the newsworthy values of violence, children and individuality. (Jewkes 2004). Something else which makes these cases interesting is that the child victims represent the 'ideal victims' and most of the parents do not fit the 'ideal offender' stereotype.

Azaria and Lindy Chamberlain

I think the medias fascination with these people stems from the fact that they are different, they have a twisted mentality, thus the media utilities this belief in order to paint these people in a more demonic light.

We need to realise that these people need help, they must have serious mental issues in order to violate every possible evolutionary and biological principle, the last thing they need is the media hounding them and their family.

Also the criminal justice system operates under a innocent until proven guilty principle, the media however contradicts this principle and paints them in a demonic and satanic light. Therefore, this can create problems throughout the criminal process as their right to a fair trial is tarnished.

It may sound like I sympathie with these people, which is not the case. I am in no way saying that what these people did wasn't horrific, but rather we should be able to critically assess the medias coverage of these people in order to formulate our own opinions about them.

References

Jewkes,Y. (2004) Media and Crime 1^st ed. London: Sage Publications.

CHEATERS

Cheaters...one of televisions craziest and trashiest shows, yet it somehow managed to be featured on Australia’s Crime Channel. I have several problems with this, the first is that Cheaters technically isn’t even a crime show, since cheating in a relationship is not really a crime (well in most societies anyway), also, CI channel is risking its reputation and integrity by even broadcasting this show.

For those of you who don’t know what Cheaters is about, it’s basically a show where a suspicious spouse 

hires the private investigators of Cheaters to investigate whether there is infidelity in 

their relationship. The private investigators then follow the ‘suspect’ to find out if they are cheating. When they find sufficient ‘evidence’ of infidelity they show the video footage to the spouse who is the ‘victim’. Then the confrontation…this is where the ‘victim’ confronts the ‘suspect’ while they are on a date with someone else, not surprisingly a overly-dramatic (and always funny) fight always erupts. The show ends with the host, Joey Greco, giving updates of those featured in the show and his closing thoughts on the subject. Ultimately, Cheaters is a trashy reality show disguising itself as a ‘crime stopping’ show.

There is a Cheaters YouTube channel dedicated to providing all the best bits from the show, it total the 

channel has more than 2 million views! Some people have so much time on their hands…

This video is just a preview of what the show is about, all the best bits.

Many like me question the reality of the show, watch an episode and you can see what I'm talking about, it’s just too weird to be true, then again it is America, so who knows…This show is one of the most bizarre shows on television. There is one episode where the host was arrested, and strangely enough, in another episode the host was stabbed (allegedly). 

Now you may ask why I chose to make this crime in the media blog about the show as it is not a crime show, per se (even though assault and property damage is common in the show), however, Cheaters being on the Crime Channel symbolises the media’s evolving portrayals of crime. It represents a shift from giving pure facts and information to a more entertainment focus of crime in the media or “infotainment” (Thussu & Freedman, 2003). Cheaters can be described as a show which goes beyond usual information and infotainment to simply being entertaining.

Even though I have trashed Cheaters so much in this blog, I have to admit I am guilty of watching the show regularly; it’s one of my guilty pleasures...

On a finishing note, I urge everyone to visit the Cheaters website, really good laughs. 
www.cheaters.com

References:

Thussu,D & Freedman, D (2003). War and the Media: Reporting Conflict 24/7. Sage, London.

GRAND THEFT INNOCENCE

Right at this moment, millions of people around the world are playing video games. Video games are a radical and unique form of media entertainment. The appeal of video games is that they enable users to immerse and involve themselves in the story-lines and action of the games, rather than passively watching a video or listening to the radio. Researchers believe video games are more harmful than violent television as users are playing on an interactive platform and the player is required to act as the aggressor or ‘criminal hero’.

There is so much research focused on representations of crime in popular media such as on television and in books yet video games are a medium which are relatively ignored. Everyone knows video games are violent; the main objective of most video games is to kill in a violent and horrific way. With so many of today’s youth accessing this form of media it can create issues as to the effects this violence has on video game users.

Violent video games may increase levels of aggression in players and can desensitize players to actual violence. There are also the conflicting ideas as to whether or not video games encourage aggression, on one hand some may argue that video games may cause aggression in users as they want to satisfy their hunger for more violence and on the other hand, violence in video games may be perceived to be cathartic to some users as they are able to purge their longing to express and release their strong emotions and angers (Silvern, Williamson & Countermine 1983).

I believe modern youth are especially susceptible to these effects as they are generally at the stage in their lives where they are trying find their true selves, any major alteration caused by video games in this critical life stage may have adverse effects for many years to come. In 2003, 20 year old Devin Moore, killed 3 police officers and during trial his lawyers argued that playing Grand Theft Auto was the reason for his violent behaviour, also, while police questioned him he said that “Life is a video game; everybody has to die sometime.”

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8889445/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts/t/blaming-video-game-fails-murder-defense/

Some users may even develop an addiction. A video game addiction is just like any other addiction, Gunter (1998, p.51) defines it as when players display a compulsive behavioural involvement with the games, accompanied by a lack of interest in other activities. He even goes on to explain that addicts can suffer withdrawal symptoms when trying to cut-down on their video game use. As video games are evolving so too are the tastes of the video game users, they require and expect a more stimulating challenge out of their video game experience

Violence in the media has always been a major concern over the effects it may have on youth, however with video games they are perceived to take the concept of violence in the media to new heights as the users can directly engage in this violence through the game, without any real-life consequences, therefore making users much more ‘psychologically involved’ rather than just passively witnessing the violence.

Finally, feel free to gorge yourselves on this video of the most violent video games. Enjoy!

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K9a248Dk_WM&feature=related

References:

Gunter, B (1998). The Effects Of Video Games On Children: The Myth Unmasked. Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press. 

Silvern, S, Williamson, P & Countermine, T (1983). ‘Video Game Playing And Aggression In Young Children’ (paper presented at the Annual Meeting Of The Educational Research Association), Montreal, Canada.

TERRORISM IN THE MEDIA AND THE EMERGENCE OF ISLAMOPHOBIA

Terrorism in the media is an area that is particularly interesting to me. Terrorism is probably the first criminal activity that has sparked a moral panic on an international level. The huge volume of terrorist stories in the media has helped contribute to this moral panic. The origins of this moral panic can be traced back to the events of September 11, 2001 and subsequent terrorist attacks such as the Bali and London bombings and the 2002 gang-rapes in sydney have all exacerbated this moral panic.

A characteristic of any moral panic is that a folk devil/s or ‘other’ emerges. Bearfield (2008) defines Folk Devils as the “visible reminders of what we should not be; the personification of evil; stripped of all positive characteristics and endowed with pejorative evaluations”. The terrorism moral panic has contributed to labelling a large number of Arabs and Muslims as the enemy and demons of wider society.

Since 9/11 there has been negative attention from the media, police and security forces and from wider society towards ethnic minorities associated with Islam. There has been an increase in anti-Muslim or ‘Islamophobic’ hate crime, racial vilification and prejudice (Poynting, 2007). The media further feeds into this moral panic by labelling and over-reporting on criminals who look like they are from a ‘Middle-Eastern appearance’, in addition, the terms ‘Arab’ and ‘Muslim’ are used interchangeably in the reporting of certain crimes in the media. However, not all Arabs are Muslim and not all Muslims are Arabs, moreover, Westerners often fail to appropriately distinguish between Arabs and other ethnic minorities such as Greeks, South Africans, Indians, South Americans and even Australian Aborigines.

Examples of some islamophobic campaigns portrayed in the media include the ‘Ban the Burqa’ campaign, protesting the opening of muslim schools and the general over-reporting on criminal cases involving muslims and arabs.

In an article for The Age, Robert Manne talks about the ways in which the fear of all things Arab or Muslim in the media erodes the foundations of multiculturalism in australia. http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2002/09/15/1032054709197.html

This video taken from Q&A on the ABC is an awesome example of islamophobia at its finest, watch how One Nation’s Ian Nelson has a complete foot in mouth moment and the audience finds it hilarious. One of my favourite quotes from that show is when Nelson urged the audience to visit his website to see how muslims are threatening “hard working and true-blue Christian Australians.” http://www.abc.net.au/tv/qanda/txt/s3138582.htm

 

References:

Bearfield, D (2008) 'The Demonization of Patronage: Folk Devils, Moral Panics and the Boston Globe's Coverage of the Terrorist Attacks of 9-11', International Journal of Public Administration. vol. 31, no. 5, p. 515-534.

Poynting, S & Perry, B. (2007). Climates of Hate: Media and State Inspired Victimisation of Muslims in Canada and Australia since 9/11. Current Issues in Criminal Justice, vol. 19, no. 2, p. 151-171.

‘Law and Order’: Available to the highest bidder

Another state election, another law and order debate. This year’s state election provided all the usual tactics of any state election; those irritating tv ads, promises (which have a very short expiry date), and the law and order debate. This year the Law and Order debate surfaced itself somewhat late in the election campaigns, it seemed that only during the final weeks leading up to election is when the major parties were scrambling to make their law and order policies publicised. It was kind of like the parties were making it up as they went along.

Both political parties opened up the law and order auctions with very similar principles and policies; protect families from the ‘growing’ crime rate, increasing police numbers, technological advances in policing and protections and tougher laws to deal with criminals.

Premier Kristina Keneally vowed that, if re-elected, her government would deliver 360 extra police officers. The Labor government also pledged to introduce more police powers and tougher criminal sentences. It will provide police officers with 25 mobile command units, six mobile forensic command vehicles and new tasers for general policing. Local councils would be funded to install more than 300 new CCTV cameras, stepping up the surveillance of suburban streets.

Opposition leader Barry O’Farrell responded by declaring that a Liberal Party government would fund an extra 550 officers, by 2014. He pledged 100 more highway patrol officers, 131 new vehicles and a new counter-terrorism helicopter. The Liberals also plan to return “drunk and disorderly conduct” to the Summary Offences Act, returning to police their infamous authority to arrest allegedly “disorderly” people at will.

Law and order policies in state elections are not a new phenomenon, Bob Carr was a pioneer of the ‘tough on crime’ approach in the 1990’s and has since set a precedent for each state election campaign. This law and order elections have revolved around the idea for the need for a more coercive approach to the criminal justice system, even though there is no proof that tougher laws actually reduce crime rates anyway...

The media is used as an outlet to portray the different policies of political parties. The media and politics relationship can be described as mutual as politicians rely on the media to convey their policies and the media then utilise these policies in order to generate stories. It is no surprise that the media plays a central role in the formation of societies opinions, it is one of Australia’s and the world’s most influential and well-known intuitions for political information. Media communication has become so embedded and integrated in everyday culture and routines. The media affects politics on all fronts, including, policy shaping, politician image production and public discourse and opinion.

By the way if anyone wants some really good political cartoons on the NSW state election go to http://www.smh.com.au/photogallery/nsw/drawing-conclusions-20110309-1bnik.html