The Impact of the Media on the Fear of Crime
With so many forms of media at the tips of society’s fingers at any time, in no way is it surprising that the public’s fear of crime has generally increased over the years, even though crime itself has decreased. There is instant and seemingly unlimited access to multiple forms of media within seconds now– having access to media sites with user-generated content, the ability to access and read news articles on the recent local crimes, crime programs on prime time television, and the numerous news broadcasts on local television channels; all of which aim to entertain their audience and keep their ratings up, and to keep their viewers wanting more. Because the media aims to entertain the public and …show more content…
647). Since the goal of the media is to entertain, the producers of the media will do whatever it takes to maintain good ratings. According to studies cited by Johnson, T. et al. (2001), the media has a tendency to overemphasize more serious, violent crimes, and diminish or even ignore more common, nonviolent crimes. Since the media has a tendency to overemphasize these violent crimes, it’s no surprise that the public’s fear of crime has increased. With the entertainment factor in mind, Altheide (1997) notes that in previous research, it was found that the lines between entertainment programs on television and news programs are becoming blurred – entertainment programs seem to end up being viewed almost more as news programs, and vice versa. Altheide (1997) goes on to explain that, at the time this journal was written, many Americans who watched television had assumed that the show “America’s Most Wanted,” which is a dramatic program purely for entertainment purposes, was an actual news program (p. 652). In addition to the complications between the entertainment and news programs, the lines seem to be intentionally blurred in some cases. There have been many instances where news stories have later become TV movies, a concept that is referred to by Altheide (1997)
With so many forms of media at the tips of society’s fingers at any time, in no way is it surprising that the public’s fear of crime has generally increased over the years, even though crime itself has decreased. There is instant and seemingly unlimited access to multiple forms of media within seconds now– having access to media sites with user-generated content, the ability to access and read news articles on the recent local crimes, crime programs on prime time television, and the numerous news broadcasts on local television channels; all of which aim to entertain their audience and keep their ratings up, and to keep their viewers wanting more. Because the media aims to entertain the public and …show more content…
647). Since the goal of the media is to entertain, the producers of the media will do whatever it takes to maintain good ratings. According to studies cited by Johnson, T. et al. (2001), the media has a tendency to overemphasize more serious, violent crimes, and diminish or even ignore more common, nonviolent crimes. Since the media has a tendency to overemphasize these violent crimes, it’s no surprise that the public’s fear of crime has increased. With the entertainment factor in mind, Altheide (1997) notes that in previous research, it was found that the lines between entertainment programs on television and news programs are becoming blurred – entertainment programs seem to end up being viewed almost more as news programs, and vice versa. Altheide (1997) goes on to explain that, at the time this journal was written, many Americans who watched television had assumed that the show “America’s Most Wanted,” which is a dramatic program purely for entertainment purposes, was an actual news program (p. 652). In addition to the complications between the entertainment and news programs, the lines seem to be intentionally blurred in some cases. There have been many instances where news stories have later become TV movies, a concept that is referred to by Altheide (1997)