Crime, Media, and Reality: Examining Mixed Messages About Crime and Justice in Popular Media

by Venessa Garcia, Samantha G. Arkerson

Overview

In today's society, the public perception of crime has been skewed by how the media depicts it. People use the media for enjoyment, companionship, surveillance, and interpretation. The problem is that it becomes hard to separate fact from entertainment. This raises several questions. How are we consuming media? Are we consuming reality within the news? And are we consuming harmless pleasure from entertainment media?

In Crime, Media, and Reality: Examining Mixed Messages about Crime and Justice in Popular Media, Venessa Garcia and Samantha Garcia Arkerson focus predominantly on the social constructions of crime and justice and how we absorb them. They look at the influence of crime news and true crime television series that prevent the public from understanding pure entertainment from the realities of crime and justice. They bring to light the social science knowledge missed by media "infotainment," which has blurred the line between information and entertainment.

Throughout, all different forms of media are discussed, news media, crime dramas and true crime television series. In doing so, they keep all of its fascinating coverage while uncovering the reality of crime and justice. This book adds significant information to the constructs held by the general public by placing media depictions into historical, legal, and social context.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781442260818
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	12/08/2017
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	184
Product dimensions:	6.20(w) x 9.10(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Venessa Garcia, PhD, is professor in the Department of Criminal Justice at New Jersey City University. She has over 30 years of experience in teaching and research. Prior to joining academia, Dr. Garcia conducted state and federally funded research with the Research Institute on Addictions and the National Center for State Courts (NCSC). While at the NCSC, Dr. Garcia joined the Conference of Chief Justices (CCF) as a research liaison and worked with the U.S. Office of the Attorney General to ensure state court compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Dr. Garcia has won national awards in teaching, research, and service. While much of her research focuses on women in policing, Dr. Garcia has spent much of her time examining crime in the media. She has published several books in her area of study and her research has been published in such journals as the Journal of Criminal Justice, Police Practice and Research, Deviant Behavior, Journal of Addictions and Offender Counseling, Children and Youth Services Review, and the International Journal of Comparative and Applied Criminal Justice.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: Introduction
Chapter 2: News Media, Social Media, and Crime Waves
Chapter 3: Framing and Narrating Crime in the News
Chapter 4: Crime in the Movies
Chapter 5: Crime Television
Chapter 6: Policing Crime
Chapter 7: Courtrooms and Lawyers in the Media
Chapter 8: Prison in the Media
Chapter 9: Conclusion: Media’s Social Construction of Crime and Justice
Appendix A: Crime Movies Cited with Release Dates
Appendix B: Television Shows Cited with Air Dates

Editorial Reviews

A lively and engaging read that tells us much – not only about the American media – but also about the nature of power and politics in the States. With its emphasis on race, gender, crime and justice, Crime, Media, and Reality is a distinctive contribution to the burgeoning literature on media and crime in the U.S.” —Yvonne Jewkes, professor of criminology, University of Brighton

“In Crime, Media and Reality, Venessa Garcia and Samantha Arkerson provide an authoritative but also engaging and highly readable account of the media representation of crime, criminals and the criminal justice system. Crime and justice are staple elements across all forms of media and this comprehensive new text highlights the importance of academic criminology acknowledging the extent, popularity and influence of crime stories.” —Ian Marsh, PhD, principal lecturer in criminology, Liverpool Hope University

From the Publisher

In Crime, Media and Reality, Venessa Garcia and Samantha Arkerson provide an authoritative but also engaging and highly readable account of the media representation of crime, criminals and the criminal justice system. Crime and justice are staple elements across all forms of media and this comprehensive new text highlights the importance of academic criminology acknowledging the extent, popularity and influence of crime stories.

Ian Marsh

A lively and engaging read that tells us much – not only about the American media – but also about the nature of power and politics in the States. With its emphasis on race, gender, crime and justice, Crime, Media, and Reality is a distinctive contribution to the burgeoning literature on media and crime in the U.S.

Yvonne Jewkes