WJEC A2 Unit 4, Crime
and Deviance Week ?:
The Role of the Media
and Crime
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Crime and Deviance Chapter ?: Role of
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Objectives of Chapter ?
Following this Slide Show you should know:
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That people have both a fear and fascination about crime
which is partly shaped by the media.
That the media can sensitise issues and help define crime.
That the media can both amplify deviance and create
moral panics.
That crime as a spectacle is increasingly common in
Postmodern society.
That the media is selective in who and how it treats victims
of crime.
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What crimes in the media are you most
fascinated with?
 Why?
 Think sociologically!
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XfSlsakJhg
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Fears and Fascinations of Crime
The media plays an important role in
shaping ideas, fears and fascinations about
crime in society.
People’s perception of crime comes from
newspapers, tv news, films, magazines,
books and programmes like Crimewatch.
Left Realists emphasise there is a real fear
of crime by ordinary people which is to a
large extent shaped by the media.
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Crime as a Postmodern Spectacle
Kidd-Hewitt and Osborne (1995) see
media reporting of crime increasingly
driven by the need for a 'spectacle'.
Spectacles are engaging because
audiences become both repelled by
the activities but fascinated at the
same time.
Kooistra and Mahoney (1999) argue that media coverage of
crime is increasingly a mixture of entertainment and
sensationalism (what Neil Postman calls 'infotainment').
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Geoffrey Pearson
Geoffrey Pearson (1983) in his book
Hooligan claims that the middle-aged of
every generation tend to look back
nostalgically on the early years of their
lives as 'golden ages' of morality.
He refers to this nostalgic image of the
past as reflecting 'respectable fears’ of
becoming a victim of crime, but also a
fascination with all aspects of crime.
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Sensitization of Issues
The media plays a crucial role in
‘sensitising’ the public into perceiving
and reporting certain activities as
crimes.
For example, media attention and
‘zero-tolerance’ campaigns have
challenged the idea that domestic
violence is not a ‘family matter’ but a
crime.
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Media Coverage
Tabloid newspapers negatively target
‘undesirable’ groups such as gypsies
and asylum-seekers. Such groups are
viewed as “not us” or “other-groups”.
The media tends to demonise rapists as evil
psychopaths, whereas in reality the majority
of victims are raped by men they know,
trusted, and often live with.
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Deviancy Amplification
‘Deviancy amplification’ was coined by
Leslie Wilkins (1964) to describe how
agencies like the police and media can
actually generate an increase in deviance.
Minor and rare problems can look serious
and common place. People become
motivated to keep informed on events.
The resulting publicity has potential to increase deviant
behaviour by glamourising it or making it seem common or
acceptable.
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Middleton Studies
Many regard the ‘Middleton Studies’,
conducted in the USA in 1925, as perhaps
the first example of deviancy amplification.
Lynd and Lynd (1929 and 1937) identified
how community and religious leaders in
small town ‘Middleton’ condemned radio
for promoting immoral behaviour.
Subsequently, comics, Hollywood films, television, video
nasties and most recently the Internet have all been viewed as
contributing to deviant and criminal behaviour.
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Happy Slapping
Happy slapping is said to have
started in South London, but
has spread across the UK,
Europe and possibly globally.
The image is then sent
using the medium of the
mobile phone, resulting in
copy-cat actions.
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The term refers to the
phenomenon of slapping or
striking a stranger while an
accomplice films the assault
using a camera phone.
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Plenary
Check key terms
 Infotainment
 Sensitising
 zero-tolerance
 Demonise
 Deviancy amplification
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Stan Cohen and Moral Panics
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XfSlsa-kJhg
The term moral panic was developed by
Stan Cohen (1970, pictured left).
It is based on a false or exaggerated idea
that some group’s behaviour is deviant and
is a menace to society.
Cohen used the term ‘folk
devil’ to refer to such groups.
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‘Moral panics’ are generally
fuelled by media coverage
of social issues.
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Cohen’s Study of Mods and
Rockers
Stan Cohen studied mods
and rockers in 1960s.
In the absence of a major
story one wet Easter
weekend a minor affray in
Clacton became front
page news.
The media developed these groups into ‘folk devils’ and
constructed a ‘moral panic’ about young people generally.
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Cohen’s Study of Mods and
Rockers (2)
Cohen noted how the media
used ‘symbolic shorthands’
such as hair styles, items of
clothing, modes of transport,
etc as icons of troublemakers.
Symbolisation
Exaggeration
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Prediction
(of further
trouble)
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Circular Nature of Moral Panics
5. Problem
becomes
redefined
1. An activity
gains media
attention
2. Agencies
of control
respond
4. Exaggeration
Symbolisation
Prediction
3. Deviance
becomes
amplified
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Apply the cycle to a story you’ve
read about.
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Examples of Moral Panics
Mods & Rockers (1960s) (Cohen)
Mugging in the 1970s (Hall et al).
HIV/Aids (1980s).
Satanic child abuse (1980s).
Heroin and crack cocaine distribution (1980s/1990s).
Video-nasties (1980/1990s).
Guns (1990s and 2000s)
Acid raves, Ecstasy, (1990s) (Thornton and Critcher).
Male under-achievement in education (1990s).
Asylum seekers (2000s).
Islamic terrorism (2000s)
Knife crime (2000s)
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Quiz
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1. Kidd-Hewitt and Osborne said that media coverage of crime is
increasingly driven by the need for what?
2. Who coined the term ‘Infotainment’?
3. Which crime was an example of the way that the media has made
us more sensitive to certain offenses?
4.Name one minority group that have been treated unfavourably in
the media.
5. Who coined the term ‘Deviancy Amplification’?
6. What famous studies were the first to identify how the media
affects deviance in society?
7. What did Stan Cohen call the groups who are Demonized in
moral panics?
8. What theory links moral panics to interactionism?
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Media as ‘Moral Crusaders’
The media, having played a part
in constructing a moral panic,
may then embark upon a 'moral
crusade' against the identified
'folk devils'.
The desired outcome is to swell
public opinion and for the
authorities to embark upon a
moral clampdown on deviants.
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Moral Panics as Ideological Control
Miller and Reilly (1994) see some
moral panics used to soften up
public opinion and thus act as a
form of 'ideological social control'.
For example, the media's coverage
of Islamic terrorism is seen by
many to promote 'Islamophobia‘.
The resulting Government anti-terrorist legislation has received
broad public support despite seriously reducing ordinary
people's civil liberties. (compare to Hall’s study of mugging)
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McRobbie and Thornton: Moral
Panics are an Outmoded Concept
Frequency
The frequency of moral panics has increased: they are no
longer noteworthy.
Context
In the past moral panics would scapegoat a group and
create ‘folk devils’. Today there are many viewpoints and
values in society.
Reflexivity
Because the concept of moral panic is well-known, some
groups actually try to create one for their own benefit.
Difficulty
Because there is less certainty about what is unambiguously
‘bad’ today, moral panics are harder to start.
Rebound
People are wary about starting moral panics as there is the
possibility of it rebounding on them, e.g. John Major’s ‘family
values’ campaign.
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Media Treatment of Victims
The media can be selective in
focusing upon some victims more
than others.
For example old people attacked by
strangers in their home often
become front page news.
But ‘elderly abuse’ (abuse by people
old people live with, and estimated
by Age Concern (2006) to affect
500,000 old people in the UK) is
largely ignored.
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Missing White Woman Syndrome
Missing white woman syndrome,
is also known as missing pretty
girl syndrome.
It is a term coined to describe a
form of media hype in which
excessive news coverage is
devoted to a specific missing
white woman or girl.
Reporting of these stories often lasts for several days or
weeks, and displaces reporting on other newsworthy issues.
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Black Criminality
The media plays up the image of
black offenders, muggers and
criminality generally.
However, it reports less the fact that
the evidence from official statistics
suggests that African-Caribbeans
and South Asians are twice as likely
to be victims of crime as the majority
White population.
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Marxist Theory on Media and
Crime
Marxists would argue it is not surprising
that moral panics centre around groups
viewed as deviant or threatening to the
rich and powerful in society
They highlight the way the media
portrays criminals as working-class,
ignoring white-collar or corporate crime.
Frankfurt School point to the ideological control the media
exerts in perpetuating false consciousness. Louis Althusser
would describe the media as an ideological state apparatus.
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Interpretive Theory on Media and
Crime
Interpretive theorists, such as
interactionists, emphasize the role of the
media in the social construction of news.
They view the media as supporting
specific arguments with selective
evidence and data from appropriate
surveys etc.
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Functionalist and Pluralist Theory
on Media and Crime
Functionalists and Pluralists argue the
media is simply a ‘window on the
world’ reflecting life as it is.
Therefore, the media simply reflects a
true or real picture of crime.
However, critics argue that this is rather naïve given the fact
that the real figure of crime is way above the official figure.
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Feminist Theory on Media and
Crime
Feminists argue that the media plays
down the extent of women as victims of
crime.
Feminists argue that the sexually explicit
representation of women in all forms of
pornography (including tabloid
newspapers and ‘lads mags’) renders all
women potentially unsafe since they
encourage predatory attitudes amongst
men.
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Postmodernist Theory on Media
and Crime
Postmodernists see the media as a
crucial player in our perception of crime
(regardless of whether this perception is
accurate or not).
They highlight how the media present
crime with a mixture of entertainment
and sensationalism ('infotainment').
The ultimate expression of this is crime expressed as a
spectacle.
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Written Task
Explain how at least two perspectives view
the media and crime.
 Swap sheets with someone else
 Have they……
 Included theories, writers or research?
 Explained the issues clearly?
 Write a comment for improvement.
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