Homicide Reporting in Chicago Dailies

Abstract

Fewer than a third of the 684 homicides committed in Chicago in 1987 were reported in either of the two metropolitan Chicago dailies. Both papers, as expected, were more likely to cover "high amplitude" crimes that involved more than one victim. They were also more likely to report homicides ifthe offender was male and the victim female, and less likely to do so if the victim was Afrcan-American or Hispanic. Additional factors aflected whether an individual paper would cover a story. Once selected for coverage, only the "amplitude" factor consistently predicted the prominence a story received.This study focuses on the coverage of homicide in two Chicago daily newspapers. Our point of departure is the realization that as the volume of homicides increases in American cities it becomes increasingly difficult for dailies to cover them case by case. This in turn necessitates either a selection of incidents, or a different type of reporting strategy, such as focusing on group rather than individual identities and circumstances.In this paper we examine selection decisions by comparing the universe of Chicago homicides in 1987 with those reported in two Chicago daily newspapers, the Tribune and the Sun-Times. Of 684 homicides investigated in 1987 by the Chicago police, 212 were reported in one orboth of these dailies. We analyze whether this subset represents the total.

How Coverage of Death Sentences Vary: A Study of Two Ohio Newspapers

“…In addition, these newspapers serve communities that are rather distinct from one another and the newspapers themselves are characterized as catering to different political audiences. General results indicated the same pattern of coverage as reported in Chermak (1998), Peelo et al (2004) and Johnstone, Hawkins, and Michener (1994) -not all homicides are treated the same. Cleveland's Plain Dealer provided more coverage of non-local death sentences relative to Cincinnati's Enquirer, although a good portion of these non-local death sentences were still ignored by the Plain Dealer.…”

“…However, since death sentences involving white defendants (constituting the majority of death sentences) were also more likely to be covered by the Plain Dealer, it casts a shadow over the previous assumption, presumably since black offender-white victim homicides would be considered more newsworthy (see Wortley, Hagan, and MacMillan, 1997). Although previous research has shown a race of defendant or race of victim effect regarding media coverage of homicides and other crimes (see generally, Sorenson, Manz, and Berk, 1998;Johnstone, Hawkins, and Michener, 1994), the narrow focus of this study (homicides that resulted in a death sentence) may have played a role in the non-significant results for these variables. Most homicides in Ohio involve black defendants and black victims, yet these homicides are least likely to result in a death sentence (see Williams and Holcomb, 2004).…”

“…In Bailey's (1998) research, individuals who read the Daily Oklahoman may very well be deterred while others are not. It could be argued that the death-eligible homicides fit the criteria of the "high amplitude" homicide discussed by Johnstone, Hawkins, and Michener (1994)-the type of homicide that is covered more extensively. However, if these "high amplitude" homicides are not covered by newspapers in the state, how can deterrence then be measured?…”

Should News on Child Homicides Be Broadcast? Opinions of Parents, Teachers, and Children

“…Research on journalist selection processes has shown that the amount of newsworthiness journalists assign to individual homicides is greatly enhanced if the victims are children (Johnstone, Hawkins & Michener, 1994). In addition, content analyses of crime news have demonstrated that news on child victims significantly increases average story length, number of news stories published, and proportion of items on the front page (Pritchard & Hughes, 1997).…”

Murder in Black

“…Ultimately, crime news is essentially a product that the media wants to sell to their viewers (Buckler & Travis, 2005;Chermak, 1995;Johnstone et al, 1994;Pritchard & Hughes, 1997) and audiences typically favor stories that are graphic or violent in nature (Chermak, 1995;Gans, 1979). The need to produce news quickly and efficiently affects the manner in which newsworthiness is assigned (Chermak, 1995;Gans, 1979).…”