Media, Process, and the Social Construction of Crime: Studies in Newsmaking Criminology / Edition 1

by Gregg Barak

Overview

First published in 1995. One of the most pervasive forms of social control in our society is the mass media. The public learns from television, newspapers, magazines, movies, and books what is happening in the world and how to interpret it. The problem, however, is that full or complete interpretations of reality are not presented. In short, reality itself, clear and unadorned, is not to be found in the information provided by the media. Instead, media presentations consist of those various viewpoints that succeed in capturing the minds and imaginations of the masses, or in terms of the 1992 presidential campaign, that successfully put the winning spin on information. Barak and others believe that criminologists should participate in the various media presentations of crime and justice. By bringing their knowledge to bear on media presentations, criminologists can help make some news more representative and less distorted of the social reality of crime.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780815318552
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	08/01/1995
Series:	Current Issues in Criminal Justice
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	340
Product dimensions:	5.53(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.75(d)

Table of Contents

Part I: Introduction Chapter 1: Media, Society, and Criminology Part II: Constructing Crime News Chapter 2. Crime News in the Old West Chapter 3. Communal Violence and the Media: Lynchings and Their News Coverage by The New York Times between 1882 and 1930 Chapter 4. Crime in the News Media: A Refined Understanding of How Crimes Become News Chapter 5. Predator Criminals as Media Icons Chapter 6. University Professor or Sadistic Killer? A Content Analysis of the Newspaper Coverage of a Murder Case Chapter 7. Murder and Mayhem in USA Today: A Quantitative Analysis of the National Reporting of States' News Chapter 8. Patrolling the Facts: Media, Cops, and Crime Chapter 9. Newsmaking Criminology: Reflections on the Media, Intellectuals, and Crime Chapter 10. Becoming a Media Criminologist: Is Newsmaking Criminology Possible? Chapter 11. Newsmaking Criminology as Replacement Discourse

Editorial Reviews

A sure-to-be-controversial anthology that explores the ways in which today's social problems, such as homelessness, sexual assault, or drug abuse, can be viewed as politically constructed, ideologically articulated, and media-produced events. The essays suggest how oppositional discourse can expose biased media images and replace them with demystified images of crime and justice based on reason rather than emotion. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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