CRIME AND MEDIA Introduction

The media frequently reports on criminal activity as it has a right to do. However, some believe that the media sensationalizes crime so as to create moral panic and that this is used as a way of controlling how the public behaves. Right realists are linked to moral panic while left realists condemn is use because they do believe it is used to modify behaviour. Moral panic is a term used to describe media presentation of something that has happened that the public will react to in a panicky manner. Moral panic has a tendency to e aggerate statistics and to create a bogey!man, known as a folk! devil in sociological terms. "n recent years moral panic and media presentation have covered a wide!ranging number of topics from H"#$%"&' in the ()*+,s to asylum seekers into the -. in the /+++,s. Moral panic goes back as far as 0orld 0ar 1ne when the wartime government used the media to portray the 2ermans in a certain manner in the hope of provoking a response. The same happened in 0orld 0ar Two. "n this case, the media did not have to portray Hitler in a certain manner as the public already had its view on him and that was an identical one to the government. However, moral panic and the media was used to create a fear of 3azi spies in the -.. 4ost!world war /, moral panic and the media was directed against the 5ommunist 6loc. "n %merica, 7Reds -nder The 6ed, created an atmosphere of hysteria against anyone who was even remotely seen as being linked to communism. Hollywood hunted out perceived communists in the film industry and even an international star like 5harlie 5haplin felt compelled to move to 'witzerland to escape this. However, both media and government worked for a single agreed purpose 8 ridding %merica of all communists and this had the support of the vast bulk of %merica,s population. "n the -., social conformity was e pected to ensure that social norms continued. "n the ()9+,s 7Teddy 6oys, were portrayed by the media as young men hell!bent of tuning society upside down. This continued into the ():+,s with the media,s portrayal of the clashes between Mods and Rockers. The whole idea of the media,s coverage was to convince the general public that these youths were operating outside of the social norms desired by society as a whole. 5ohen ;()</= found that minor fights between Mods and Rockers in beachside resorts were very much sensationalised by the media. 1ne headline was >0ild ones invade seaside town 8 )< arrests?. "n fact there were only /@ arrests. 5ohen found that the media reporting led to increased policing which actually intensified the problem. More recently moral panics and consequent amplification have occurred about raves, football hooligans, girl gangs and terrorist threats.

"n the ()*+,s a moral panic was created in the media over H"#$%"&'. The famous iceberg advertisement by the government clearly hinted that there was a lot more to H"#$%"&' than the public could possibly know about with the vast bulk hidden from view. 'ome media outlets nicknamed H"#$%"&' the 7gay plague, stigmatizing a specific section of the population as being the primary cause and carriers of the 7gay plague,. 0hile scientists gained a better understanding of H"#$%"&' as the ()*+,s moved into the ())+,s and beyond, the illness was still seen by many as one either caused by or passed on by the gay community. 0hen it became clear that this was not the case, the moral panic created by the media moved off in another direction blaming the general la moral standards of the younger generation ;both male and female= which then moved onto the ne t area of moral panic 8 the growth of the 7laddettes, 8 alcohol fueled young ladies who attempted to copy the behaviour of young males. 'tatistically, the number of young people who behave in an anti!social manner at the weekend is dwarfed by the actual number of young people in the -. but the moral panic subculture created by the tabloid press would have the general population think differently. Mar ism sees the media in society as acting in the interests of the bourgeoisie by promoting the ideals and values which best serve them. The media is the single and most important part of the "deological 'tate %pparatus, ;"'%=, and is used to promote the notion of hegemony, the idea that society shares the same basic values and norms. Mar ists argue that differences in politics, which is another part of the "'%, are there simply to promote the false ideas of democracy and freedom of choice, where as in the mainstream media, there is almost no difference in the portrayal of the generality of the morality of society, ;Hard 0ork, marriage, national prise etc= as well as what e actly main stream political issues are. These issues, according to Mar ists, are there to divide society and make it easier for the elite to maintain control. 'tuart Hall,s book 74olicing the 5risis, ;()*+= looked at the moral panic of mugging and its effects in the media. He found that the media in conAunction with the bourgeoisie create moral panics in order to perpetuate fear and maintain control over the whole of society. The bourgeoisie felt a lack of control due to a rise in >deviant? cultures e.g. free love movement, drug cultures and stronger unions. Moral panic was used to perpetuate fear which enabled greater control over the proletariat. 'uch fears make the public want more police, which, Mar ists argue would allow for even greater control over the population. Brom the point of view of Bunctionalists, the media is free from an overall controller, and as such serves an important role in maintaining freedom and different opinions throughout society. Bunctionalists make the argument that there are indeed collective norms throughout society. However, the media helps to present the different points of views and issues where opinion differs.

Objectives
The prevalence C nature of crime news 5overage of 5rime Dustice system -nderstanding media coverage How media coverage affect 5rime Dustice policy