The Media's Influence On Public Perception Of Crime

Words: 1120
Pages: 5

The media is a huge platform by which news can be exposed to the masses and in turn, this is where the public’s knowledge of crime and justice is largely derived from. This essay will examine the extent to which the media influences the public perception of crime, their fears and their attitudes. Today’s society is completely immersed in the media – whether it be in the form of newspapers, magazines, books, television or just in everyday conversations.
The repetitive nature of how news is publicised leads the public to accept these stories as being true. Repetitiveness is just one of the techniques used by the media that influences the public knowledge of crime. The use of statistics or researcher’s quotes within the media provoke the public
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Hoodies are one of the most recent moral panics. The public often fear groups of young people wearing hoodies as they have become a signature garment worn by ‘chavs.’ The public, particularly older people tend to fear youths who are wearing hoodies as this moral panic has creating a misconception that young people wearing hoodies are going to mug or attack someone. This demonstrates how big the media’s influence on the public understanding of crime …show more content…
This type of headline will provoke fear and anxiousness in parents to the fact that their child could just as easily fall victim to online child abuse. The article uses some of Chibnall’s (1977) imperatives of newsworthiness such as; immediacy, dramatization and personalisation – this article was published in September 2015, creating immediacy. The article also states that 100 cases have been launched in Northern Ireland. This is alarming given the small size of Northern Ireland and therefore creates panic amongst readers, particularly