Newspaper Reporting and the Public Construction of Homicide

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.…”

“…How the media portray certain crimes (usually violent or heinous), certain offenders and victims (e.g., Black offenders, White victims, etc. ), or certain criminal justice processes (e.g., the death penalty) likely influences public perceptions (Peelo, Francis, Soothill, Pearson, and Ackerley, 2004;Duwe, 2000). Murders typically gamer the most coverage, but other crimes deemed heinous by the media (and the public), such as rape and child abduction/molestation, will be covered if murders are not as common (Chermak, 1995, Duwe, 2000.…”

“…An analysis by Peelo et al (2004) examined homicide coverage in England and Wales. The authors indicated that not all homicides are the same, and some lead to more outrage than others.…”

Murder in Black

“…Both female and White victims were found to be salient predictors of whether or not a victim receives newspaper coverage by Johnstone et al (1994), Lundman (2003), Paulsen (2003), Peelo et al (2004), and Pritchard and Hughes (1997). When examining age, both child and older victims were posited to lead to a greater likelihood of coverage (Chermak, 1995;Paulsen, 2003;Peelo et al, 2004;Pritchard & Hughes, 1997).…”

“…When examining age, both child and older victims were posited to lead to a greater likelihood of coverage (Chermak, 1995;Paulsen, 2003;Peelo et al, 2004;Pritchard & Hughes, 1997). Both Johnstone et al (1994) and Wilbanks (1984) found child victims to be predictors of coverage, though older victims did not have a greater propensity for coverage.…”