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Flashcards by Em Maskrey, updated more than 1 year ago
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Created by Em Maskrey
over 6 years ago
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| Question | Answer |
| Chris Greer and Robert Reiner reviewed studies of newspaper coverage of crime. What did they find had happened to crime coverage over recent decades? | It has increased. |
| What type of newspaper devotes a higher proportion of their space to crime coverage? | Tabloid newspaper. |
| What percent of coverage of The Sun is devoted to crime, and how does this compare to The Guardian? | 30% versus 5%. |
| Greer and Reiner found that homicide is the most widely reported type of crime. How many crime reports detail instances of homicide? | Almost a third of all reports. |
| Despite this, which sociologist found that only 40% of all homicides are reported on nationally? | Moira Peelo et al. |
| Which two factors affect the likelihood of a crime being reported? | 1. The type of crime. 2. The type of victim. |
| What four types of crime could be identified among the homicides that were reported? | Crimes containing: - Sexual motives. - Monetary gain. - Revenge. - Jealousy. |
| What three types of victim could be identified among the homicides that were reported? | - Children. - Women. - High-status individuals. |
| Which sociologist argues that media coverage of crime can be somewhat misleading? | Tim Newburn. |
| In what ways are news reports of crime distorted? | - They disproportionately feature higher-status and older offenders. - The number of crimes that are cleared up by the police is exaggerated. - The risk of being a victim of crime is exaggerated. - Crime is presented as a series of individual incidents and patterns of crime are rarely identified. |
| Additionally, media coverage implies that serious violent and sexual crimes are much more common than they are. Which sociologist points out that, despite the media implying otherwise, homicide rates have actually dropped significantly over recent decades? | Martin Holborn. |
| One of the most influential theories of why some stories are reported on and why some are not comes from pluralists. According to pluralists, what does media content reflect, and why? | It reflects public interests and attitudes, because the media relies on audiences to generate income, so they run stories that they think will keep their audiences interested and attract new audiences too. |
| Where can minority audiences be catered for? | In parts of the media that do not require a mass audience to be sustained (e.g. the internet). |
| In addition, parts of the media are funded through the licencing fee and are required to give balanced coverage of news events. What are these parts of the media known as? | Public service broadcasters. |
| Finally, pluralists believe new media has made the media even more diverse. Which sociologist points this out? | Yvonne Jewkes. |
| However, Jewkes argues that most crime coverage actually provides a homogenised version of reality that avoids controversy and preserves the status quo. What does this subsequently perpetuate? | Ignorance among audiences and the labelling, stereotyping and criminalisation of certain groups. |
| The selection of news content is partially shaped by the idea of 'news values'. Jewkes argues that there are specific news values that apply to crime stories. Give examples: | - Threshold. - Unambiguity. - Negativity. - Extraordinariness. - Reference to elite persons. - Reference to elite nations. |
| Which two sociologists argue that reporting doesn't just convey 'facts', but actually manufactures them? | Stan Cohen and Jock Young. |
| Robert Reiner illustrates this view by arguing that three main trends are evident in crime coverage. What are they? | 1. It accentuates the negative. 2. It highlights victim culture. 3. It portrays law and order as the only solution to the wave of crime society is experiencing. |
| According to Reiner, what do these trends reflect? | An increasing emphasis on individualism in a consumer-orientated capitalist society. |
| In the consumer-orientated capitalist society, everyone is seen as consuming as an individual, offending as an individual or being victimised as an individual. More collective aspects of social life get little media coverage. How does media coverage thus portray the existing social order? | As essentially conforming, secure and fair, but under constant threat from deviant outsiders. |
| This portrayal justifies the strict control of threats. What does media coverage essentially support? | A conservative ideology. |
| There have been many suggestions about the potential effects of the media on crime. It is a common belief that the mass media is actually 'criminogenic'. What does this mean? | It actually makes crime worse by producing new means of committing crime and encouraging potential criminals to offend. |
| Chris Greer and Robert Reiner identify four possible criminogenic effects of the media. What are they? | 1. Opportunity. 2. Absence of controls. 3. Means. 4. Motive. |
| How may the media increase the opportunity to offend? | The media encourages consumption, which in turn means that there are more available targets for crime. |
| How may the media result in the absence of controls? | Some argue that the mass media undermines external and internal social control. For example, the media sometimes portrays the criminal justice system as corrupt or even racist, which may discourage cooperation with them and reduce their effectiveness. It also often portrays criminals as glamorous, which may lead to disinhibition and desensitisation. |
| How may the media teach potential offenders the means to commit crime? | Individuals may learn techniques of crime through the media and commit crime that they otherwise wouldn't commit. |
| How may the media contribute to the motives that may drive criminals to commit crime? | The media may increase desire for material goods, which can increase the sense of relative deprivation or produce anomie. This in turn may lead to individuals turning to crime. |
| The four criminogenic effects of the media conform with which theory? | The social learning theory. |
| How does the social learning theory relate to media and crime? | It suggests that behaviour is shaped through observing the behaviour of others. |
| There has ben a huge amount of research on whether the media directly causes offending. What model is much of this research based on? | The hypodermic-syringe model. |
| What does the hypodermic-syringe model assume about behaviour? | It assumes behaviour can be directly caused by viewing media content, whether this is through the copycat effect, disinhibition or desensitisation. |
| What famous study conducted at Stamford University supports the hypodermic-syringe model? | The bobo doll study, conducted by Bandura et al. |
| Bandura et al have faced criticism. Why? | - It takes place in an unnatural laboratory setting. - It ignores the longer-term effects. - It ignores that the children in the study may have been influenced by those conducting the experiment. |
| Some research does indeed show an association between a tendency to watch violent television media and the likelihood of being convicted of a violent offence. However, what does Tim Newburn point out? | Rather than violent content creating violent people, perhaps violent people simply seek out violent content. |
| Furthermore, Chris Greer and Robert Reiner argue that three other factors may influence whether there are effects from witnessing crime. Give examples: | - Whether violence is seen as justified, punished or rewarded. - Whether the viewers identified with the perpetrator. - The vulnerability or susceptibility of the viewer. |
| Another significant problem with the belief that exposure to violence in the media has a direct effect on behaviour is the assumption that all members of the audience will interpret the message in the same way. Which sociologist points this out? | Yvonne Jewkes - she notes that media content is polysemic and it is wrong to assume that all audience members will interpret content in the same way. |
| Most sociologist therefore argue that any effects of media coverage of violence are likely to interact with a wide range of other factors. As such, how can the hypodermic-syringe model be described? | As very misleading. |
| In addition to directly causing crime, it can be argued that media coverage can cause a range of other effects. For example, there has been considerable research into the effects of the media in causing fear of crime. Arguably, what sort of fear of crime do the media cause? | An irrational and exaggerated fear of crime. |
| Sociologists from which perspectives agree with the view that the media cause an exaggerated and irrational fear of crime? | Marxists and critical criminologists. |
| Sociologists from which perspectives disagree with the view that the media cause an exaggerated and irrational fear of crime? | Left realists. |
| How does media coverage of crime make high levels of surveillance appear justified and, at times, even necessary? | Media coverage of crime creates a climate in which audiences support strict, harsh punishments and accept high levels of surveillance. |
| How does media coverage interact with politics? | It creates a climate in which rehabilitation is seen as being 'soft' on crime and thus dangerous. Those running for office often pledge to crack down on crime in order to win votes. Additionally, crime can act as a diversion from other political issues (e.g. inequality). |
| However, what is it very difficult to isolate the effect of crime coverage from? | Other possible causes of prevailing public opinions on crime and law and order. |
| The concept of moral panics neatly combines a number of issues relating to media effects. The belief that moral panics can be criminogenic is closely linked to what idea? | The idea of deviancy amplification. |
| What is deviancy amplification? | The process by which deviance becomes more frequent and/or serious as a result of being labelled 'deviant', particularly when labelled by the mass media. |
| Which sociologist first discussed moral panics and their relationship with the media when studying the mods and rockers in the 1960s? | Stan Cohen. |
| Why did the media portray the two groups (mods and rockers) as folk devils, according to Cohen? | Because they had a lack of other stories. |
| The concept of moral panics and their relationship with the media has been widely used in sociology. What is perhaps the best adaptation of Cohen's work? | Stuart Hall's study of London mugging. |
| The idea of moral panics has been criticised since it was established. Which two sociologists argue that the concept is now outdated and needs to be seen in the context of the development of the media and the growing sophistication of the audience? | Angela McRobbie and Sarah Thornton. |
| The media effects discussed above are largely negative, but there are also a number of ways in which the media can have positive effects. Give examples: | - It can help to solve crime or locate suspects (e.g. through Crimewatch). - It can alert the public to the dangers of different types of crime. - It can put pressure on the government to take action. - It can help to define moral boundaries. - The coverage of punishment can deter criminals. |
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