Media Construction of Crime Revisited: Media Types, Consumer Contexts, and Frames of Crime and Justice*

Abstract

Through this study, we shed new light on a key line of inquiry for criminologists: the way the media influence the public's understanding of crime and justice. We argue for expanding the lens of studies on the media's construction of crime, moving away from one‐dimensional reactions to crime to an integrated set of frames about crime and justice policy while considering the potential influence of a diverse array of media forms and content. Most critically, this social construction process must be placed in context, specifically, the racial composition in which people consume media. By using two nationally representative surveys matched with contextual data, we identify two forms of media consumption that seem important to understandings of crime: local television news and TV crime dramas. Interestingly, local news seems more important than national news even to perceptions of national crime trends, whereas news consumed over the Internet is not relevant, nor are 24‐hour cable news channels once political views are taken into account. Television news viewers are also more likely to support tougher crime policies. Importantly, context matters: The influence of television news and crime dramas on perceptions of crime is strongest among White respondents who live near larger numbers of Black neighbors.

Stereotyping Online? Internet News, Social Media, and the Racial Typification of Crime

“…First, the results suggest that Internet news consumption is negatively associated with all three criminal stereotype outcomes. This result is consistent to the growing body of work that illustrates Internet news consumption is either negatively or unrelated to attitudes associated with crime and justice (e.g., fear, punitiveness) (Baranauskas and Drakulich ; Kohm et al. ; Roche et al.…”

“…Third, similar to many previous assessments on Internet news and public opinion, our study did not collect information on contextual measures (e.g., neighborhood conditions, crime rate, racial composition). For example, a recent assessment by Baranauskas and Drakulich () found that media effects are dependent on the racial composition of consumers’ neighborhoods. Using multiple nationally representative samples, the authors found that among white respondents, the effect of television news and crime drama viewership increased perceptions of crime among those who live near a large number of African Americans, suggesting that “people interpret crime news within the racial context of their own neighborhoods” (Baranauskas and Drakulich :28).…”

“…For example, a recent assessment by Baranauskas and Drakulich () found that media effects are dependent on the racial composition of consumers’ neighborhoods. Using multiple nationally representative samples, the authors found that among white respondents, the effect of television news and crime drama viewership increased perceptions of crime among those who live near a large number of African Americans, suggesting that “people interpret crime news within the racial context of their own neighborhoods” (Baranauskas and Drakulich :28). Thus, we recommend that future research to explore whether the relationship between online media consumption and criminal stereotyping differs by contextual characteristics.…”

“…As stated by Dixon (2016:170), "we feel better about ourselves by negatively judging and evaluating outgroup members." Regarding media effects, members of one racial ingroup (e.g., whites) may select media messages that negatively portray members of their outgroup (e.g., blacks) in order to maintain or enhance ingroup members' self-image (Appiah, Knobloch-Westerwick, and Alter 2013;Mastro 2003;Mastro and Tukachinsky 2012). Previous research has used social identity/categorization theories to explain how racial group membership affects consumers' evaluation and interpretation of media content (Mastro, Behm-Morawitz, and Kopacz 2008).…”

“…For over a half century, scholars from various disciplines have explored the connection between media consumption and outcomes associated with crime and justice. In fact, a large body of research illustrates that television news consumption, particularly local news viewership, is positively related to fear of crime and increased punitiveness (Baranauskas and Drakulich 2018;Callanan 2012;Chiricos, Eschholz, and Gertz 1997;Chiricos, Padgett, and Gertz 2000;Dixon 2008a;Gilliam and Iyengar 2000;Gross and Aday 2003;Roche, Pickett, and Gertz 2016;Rosenberger and Callanan 2011;Weitzer and Kubrin 2004). One key explanation for these prior findings is the distortion of race found on local television news broadcasting.…”