Media And Crime Analysis

Introduction: In many aspects, television has become a vital aspect of daily life within modern society. It encompasses a variety of genres ranging from soap operas to thrillers, as to meet the uses and gratifications of its audiences. As television continues to become more popular, networks are struggling to come up with new and inventive plots as a means of attempting to outshine other programs in their genre. Nelson Media Research ratings confirm that in 2006, aside from top shows like American Idol, part-time crime dramas have ranked as one of the most popular forms of entertainment in the industry (DeTardo-Bora, pg. 154, 2009). The relationship between the media and the criminal justice system is a delicate balance, as more often than …show more content…
Kort-Butler and Kelley Hartshorn, crime-related programming shapes both personal fear of crime and the social responses to it (Kort-Butler &Hartshorn, pg. 52, 2011). They state that there is a clear relationship between media consumption and the apparent fear of crime, due largely in part by the images presented by the media (Kort-Butler, et. al, pg. 52, 2011). Besides crime dramas’, the way in which crime is presented in the news aids in this relationship as it focuses its attention on violent human acts more so than politics or economics. Similarly, a study done by Kimberly DeDetardo-Bora, proves that not only do prime-time crime television series entice young and impressionable viewers, it also may cultivate views of the real world (DeTardo-Bora, pg. 154, 2009). According to cultivation theory, adolescence that are heavy watchers of the genre are prone to developing a cognitive set of limited images which they base reality off of (DeTardo-Bora, pg. 154, 2009) as that is what they are primarily exposed to. Many explames of this may be found; however, one in particular stands out as it involved a ten year old boy who murdered his father. The boy said he was inspired by a part of criminal minds in which a child killed his abusive father and decided to do the same …show more content…
In the article, “Watching the Detectives: Crime Programming, Fear of Crime, and Attitudes About the Criminal Justice System,” Lisa Kort-Butler and Kelley Sittner Hartshorn explain that nonfictional crime programs are largely influenced by the conservative ideologies supporting justice-based crime control (Kort-Butler et. al, 2011). In shows such as Criminal Minds, there is a certain flair that captivates audiences and leads them to believe that the way in which it is presented on television, is similar to that of reality. In their study, Kort-Butler and Hartshorn, investigate the correlation between crime-related ideological programming and whether or not it supports the current criminal justice system. Their findings showed that there is a complex relationship among viewers and the fear of crime, as well as their attitudes towards the criminal justice system (Kort-Butler et. al, 2011). Ultimately, it was proven that audiences appeared to negatively view the criminal justice system and supported more punitive punishments (Kort-Butler et. al,