Format:
176 S.
Content:
The purpose of this study was to examine the nature of crime news coverage on a Canadian early evening local television news station using a content analysis. 144 newscasts were coded from June 1, 1994 to June 29, 1995. As hypothesized, a steady rate of crime news coverage over time was found, with super sensational crimes subsumed within the 20% threshold. Moreover, the average rate of crime coverage did not differ between newscasts with and without a super sensational crime story. A mirror image pattern of results emerged such that criminal justice system and nonviolent crime news contracted to make way for more socially significant violent crime news. Surprisingly, super sensational crimes did not increase the importance of similar crimes in newscasts and mundane crimes received more coverage than sensational crimes. As hypothesized, violent crimes were presented more frequently than nonviolent crimes; however, mixed findings emerged for prominence features of news stories. Finally, details in crime newswere scarce suggesting that the media do not provide adequate context for crime incidents. The implications of the findings are discussed in terms of effects of media representations on public attitudes towards crime.
Note:
Ottawa, Ontario, Carleton Univ., Department of Psychology, Master of Arts, 1998
Language:
German
Keywords:
Hochschulschrift
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