CCJ 4934 Media and Crime
Summer B 2015
Website: www.lss.at.ufl.edu
Canvas e-learning platform
Instructor:
Lauren Henry
Office Hours:
I am available for online office hours on Mondays 9:00 am – 12:00 pm. If you would like to meet in person please email
to make an appointment.
Course Description:
The media constitutes one of the modern world’s most important and rapidly changing social institutions. The
relationship between media and crime & justice is not new, but it is changing and getting more complex. This course examines
important features of that relationship, including the role of the med
ia in constructing images about crime and justice, in shaping our perceptions of reality about crime and justice, and in
influencing our debates about criminal justice policies.
Requirements:
The text is: Surette (2011) Media, Crime, and Criminal Justice: Images, Realities, and Policies. 5th ed. Belmont,
CA: Wadsworth. There is a useful summary at the end of each chapter; and the Headings and Sub-Headings in the text should
help you outline its contents. Used copies are available (including through Amazon.com). To give students a chance to get the
text, we will post the first chapter as a pdf file on the website. Other required readings and material will also be posted on the
website. The course will be divided into 6 modules, found under Course Materials in the Canvas e-learning site. There will be
required readings and web lectures for each module. See the Tentative Schedule below. That schedule is complete for the first
half of the course; the first three modules. The last three modules will be finalized when Dr. Levett returns from maternity
leave.
Grading:
The success or failure of an online program (and the value of your degree) will depend on academic integrity: both in
terms of content of the courses and in terms of the grades you earn. We need to structure grading in ways that make cheating
harder. One cheating scandal and we all lose. Rather than requiring you to attend test sites (and defeat the flexibility of online
courses) or to use cameras and expensive monitoring services (that would drive your costs up), we have structured the course
to discourage cheating and to require more graded activities and more varied kinds of graded assignments than you would find
in many university courses, which are heavily dependent on closed-book midterm and final examinations. Even though this
course is set up in a flexible way as compared to many other university courses, there is a limit on its flexibility. Please plan
ahead of time, communicate any issues that you may have and keep up with your work.
Grammar, punctuation, and syntax matter in all written assignments. You may, of course, discuss assignments
with others but you are expected to submit your own independent work. Please be careful about plagiarism; it is easy to
“cut and paste” from others’ work. CITE, CITE, CITE! If you take someone else’s ideas, cite them; if you take someone’s
words verbatim, use quotation marks and a citation. Remember it is also easier to run programs to detect plagiarism
these days.
There will be a quiz after each module over the material covered in that unit rather than a midterm and final. So you will
have 6 quizzes worth a possible 20 points each. There will 5 discussion activities worth 10 points each. There will also
be 4 short papers in the course (2 of them have 2 parts) worth 30 points each. See the Tentative Schedule below for the
due dates and the descriptions of the graded activities.
Grading will be done on a point system. The points are spread across the various graded activities (see below for a
description of each module). We will not use minuses in the final grade. Your final point totals will be graded using the following
scheme (there are 290 total possible points in the class):
Total Points Earned
259 or higher
Corresponding
Grade
A
250-258
230-249
221-229
201-220
192-200
171-191
190 or lower
B+
B
C+
C
D+
D
E
Late Policy:
Late papers will be accepted within 24 hours of the due date and will have the assignments grade lowered by one letter
grade as a penalty. Any work submitted after 24 hours will not be accepted. This is set in stone and exceptions will not be
made. If an emergency occurs, please contact me. Late discussion posts and discussion responses WILL NOT be accepted.
Please contact me before an assignment is due to inform me that it will be late if some emergency arises (more than 24 hours
before).
Student Rights and Responsibilities:
Please inform yourself about your rights and responsibilities, including academic honesty guidelines, formal and
informal procedures for hearing academic dishonesty cases, the grievance procedure, and the confidentiality of student
records. See http://www.dso.ufl.edu/studentguide/. According to university rules, on all work submitted for credit by
students at the university, the following pledge is either required or implied: “On my honor, I have neither given nor
received unauthorized aid in doing this assignment.”
You may raise matters or concerns with your instructor (l.m.henry@ufl.edu), department chair (Dr. Zsembik,
zsembik@ufl.edu), or ombudsman (http://www.ombuds.ufl.edu).
You may also submit comments to: http://www.distance.ufl.edu/student-complaints.
Students requesting accommodations should register with the Disability Resource Center
(http://www.ufl.edu/disability), which will provide documentation to give to the instructor.
Student records are confidential. If your parent(s) contact(s) us about your grade or any information that is not
“UF directory information,” we will ask them to contact you.
Communications:
Email is the best form of communication for individual concerns for this class; it’s easy to maintain a history and record that
way. USE YOUR UF EMAIL! It’s one way to indicate official business; it is less likely to be delayed or rejected as spam; we
use it to set priorities in how I respond because I get in excess of 100 emails on some days.
The email in Canvas organizes emails for us, so please use that delivery. However, if it is critical, contact me directly
just in case the alert mechanism in Canvas gets turned off).
If you are having problems with accessing the Canvas page please contact UF technology support and email me at
l.m.henry@ufl.edu. Make sure to email regarding any access issues with Canvas so that if it impacts your ability to complete
assignments or assessments I am able to assist you. Sent messages are not completed communications until they are
received. If you leave an important message and don’t hear back, follow up to make sure it has been received. This applies to
phone messages and email. The discussion board in Canvasi will be useful for sharing ideas and questions class-wide. There
will be discussion-based activities so get used to it early on in the class.
Tentative Schedule
The tentative schedule for this course is listed below. This is subject to change. Be alert to any announcements
that are made on the Canvas page since this is the method that I will use to inform all students of any changes. Make sure
to keep up with the readings, lectures and assignments and I hope that you learn from and enjoy this class!
Media and Crime
CCJ 4934
Summer 2014
Module 1: Intro to the Media’s Role in the Social Construction of Crime & Justice; June 29 – July 6)
Readings and Postings:
1)
Ch. 1 Predators, Pictures, and Policy
2)
Posting of Walker’s wedding cake model and the nature of “celebrated” cases
3)
Ch. 2 Social Constructionism
4)
Hollinger & Lanza-Kaduce on “… The Case of Computer Crime Laws”
Videos for Module 1 include videos 1a through 1g (7 videos total)
Assignments:
1)
Get-to-know Discussion exercise (via Discussion on Canvas). 10 pts. Due July 1 by 11:55 pm
Introduce yourself to your classmates by entering a post. Include information on the following
points.
 Your name
 Your field of study
 Your reasons for taking this class
 What you hope to get out of this class
 Something interesting about yourself
Then respond to at least two other students’ introductions by July 6 at 11:55 pm.
2)
The “Symbolic Assailant” Short Paper PART I (30 pts. Total for parts I and II)
In the study of criminal justice, scholars have identified “processing stereotypes” or ways in which
people construct categories that they use in thinking and dealing with crime. One such
processing stereotype is the “symbolic assailant.” Skolnick introduced the notion of the “symbolic
assailant” as he tried to understand the “working personality” of police officers. “The policeman,
because his work requires him to be occupied continually with potential violence, develops a
perceptual shorthand to identify certain kinds of people as symbolic assailants, that is as persons
who use gesture, language, and attire that the policeman has come to recognize as a prelude to
violence. This does not mean that violence by the symbolic assailant is necessarily predictable.
… Like the animals of the experimental psychologist, the policeman finds the threat of random
damage more compelling than predetermined and inevitable punishment.” Indeed, experimental
psychologists have found that when rats are exposed to completely random reinforcement and
punishment schedules (rather than patterned ones that permit learning how to discriminate
between cues), they exhibit counterproductive behavior.
This writing assignment asks you to extend this concept to how we think and act about crime.
Consider your subjective image about who will victimize you and the nature of that victimization.
List the characteristics of the person you fear will victimize you and the kind of victimization you
think that person will perpetrate against you. Be subjective—this list has to do with your fears and
anxieties. Describe your “symbolic assailant.” Discuss how closely your description matches
what you see and hear and read about crime in the media. Submit it by July 2 at 11:55 pm, but
keep an electronic copy for PART II. Target length 2 pages.
3)
Frames in a Crime Newspaper Story (10 pts.)
Select an online newspaper story about crime or criminal justice. Post a citation to the story on
the class discussion board and include the following: 1. Provide a basic summary of the article.
2. Show how the article is relevant to class. 3. Discuss the frame and/or narrative that is used
by the author. 4. Indicate your reaction to the article and give reasons (i.e., is it fair and balanced
or misleading and/or biased and why do you think that?). This is due by July 2 at 11:55 pm.
Respond to two other students’ postings. Your responses are due by July 6 at 11:55pm.
4)
Quiz 1 (20 pts.):
The quiz will occur on July 5 and 6; Sunday at 7 pm and Monday at 9 am. It will cover the
Module 1 videos, chapters 1 and 2 of the text, the posted reading from Hollinger and LanzaKaduce, and the posted excerpt on the Wedding Cake Model. You will have 22 chances to get 20
correct. You will have 30 minutes to complete the quiz. It is open book and open note, but you
will not have time to look up all the answers so it is important that you prepare.
Module 2: The Media and Crime and Criminality (July 6 – July 13)
Readings and Postings:
1)
Ch. 3 Images of Crime and Criminality
2)
Ch. 4 Criminogenic Media
3)
Posting on Crime Data and Crime Correlates—The “Backwards Law”
4)
Dowler on “Fear of Crime in the U.S….”
5)
Examples of Theory:
 A theory of Copy Cat Crime—in ch. 3 of the text
 Social Learning Theory—a posted overview of social learning theory
Videos for Module 2 include videos 2a through 2f (6 videos total)
Assignments:
1)
Symbolic Assailant PART II (To be announced after Part I submission):
Use your “Symbolic Assailant” list and compare it with the information about crime and its
correlates in the posted reading on Crime Data and Crime Correlates. Discuss how similar or
different your list is compared with the objective reality and whether you think it is an apt
illustration of the “backwards law.” Due July 9 at 11:55 pm. Target length: another 2 pages
attached to Part I.
2)
Media as Criminal—The Rupert Murdoch Scandal in Great Britain (10 pts.)
Pull down and watch the PBS program on the scandal
(http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/murdochs-scandal/). Write a posting for the class
discussion board in which you:
1.
List 2 ways in which Murdoch’s media empire is alleged to have committed crimes.
2.
List 2 important ways in which other media uncovered and reported the scandal.
3.
Use the PBS presentation to discuss the tension between a free press and abuses that
powerful media groups can have on democratic institutions.
This posting is due by July 10 by 11:55 pm. Then respond to two other students’ postings.
Due by July 13 at 11:55 pm.
3)
Quiz 2 (20 pts.):
The quiz will occur on July 12 and 13; Sunday at 7 pm and Monday at 9 am. It will cover the
Module 2 videos, chapter 3 and 4 of the text, and the posted readings on social learning theory
and on Dowler’s Fear of Crime article. You will have 22 chances to get 20 correct. You will have
30 minutes to complete the quiz. It is open book and open note, but you will not have time to look
up all the answers so it is important that you prepare.
Module 3: The Media and Crime Control (July 13 – July 20)
Readings and Postings:
1)
Ch. 8 Crime Control
2)
A review of First Amendment Issues on “Free Speech and Freedom of Press”
Videos for Module 3 include videos 3a through 3c (3 videos)
Assignments:
1)
Paper (30 pts.):
In December, 2012, Adam Lanza opened fire on students and teachers at Sandy Hook
Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. He killed 20 children and 6 adults, and the shootings
received heavy media coverage and brought calls for changes in criminal justice policy. We have
posted two constructions of the events that are geared toward policy advocacy (one is of the NRA
speech after the shooting and the other is about changing the gun culture). Write a short paper
addressing the following matters:
1. Compare and contrast how the competing constructions framed the issue. To what extent
do the frames present an episodic format vs. a thematic format?
2. Discuss the extent to which the event has become a “symbolic crime.” What are the
implications of that construction for policy changes?
3. Consider how likely it is for policy changes to be enacted as a result of the tragedy. Why
will change in gun policy be likely, or why will change be unlikely?
Due July 17 by 11:55 pm. Target length of 4-5 pages.
2)
Quiz 3 (20 pts):
The quiz will occur on July 19 and 20; Sunday at 7 pm and Monday at 9 am. It will cover the
Module 3 videos, chapter 8 of the text and the posted readings on Free Speech and Freedom of
the Press. You will have 22 chances to get 20 correct. You will have 30 minutes to complete the
quiz. It is open book and open note, but you will not have time to look up all the answers so it is
important that you prepare.
Module 4: The Media and the Social Construction of Law Enforcement and Corrections (July 20 – July 27)
Readings and Postings:
1)
Ch. 5 Crime Fighters
2)
Ch. 7 Corrections
3)
Tyler on the CSI Effect
4)
An experimental investigation of the CSI Effect
Videos for Module 4 include videos 4a – 4g (7 videos total)
Assignments:
1)
Corrections in the Media: Discussion posting and response (10 points):
Locate a newspaper article online that presents a construction of correctional institutions (jails or
prisons). Make sure you choose an article that no one else in class has chosen yet. Post a
citation to that article and your analysis of it.
Cover the following:
1.
Provide a basic summary of the article.
2.
Show how the article is relevant to class.
3.
Discuss the frame and/or narrative that is used by the author.
4.
What is your reaction to the article and give reasons? Is it fair and balanced or
misleading and/or biased and why do you think that?
Due on July 23 at 11:55 pm. Then respond to at least two other students’ postings. Your two
responses are due by July 27 at 11:55 pm.
2)
Writing Assignment: Crime Fighters
Crime fighters are popular subjects of popular media; from Law and Order to Police Academy,
police specifically have been the subject of countless numbers of movies and television programs.
For this assignment, your job is to analyze this media depicting police officers using the
information from your textbook. So, choose a popular media movie or television show involving
police, and watch it (for the television show, watch two episodes minimum). Then, answer the
following questions using the following headings:
1. Media source: What television show or movie did you watch? Give a basic short plot
summary of your choice (one paragraph maximum).
2. Media portraits/stereotypes: What media portrait or stereotypes were used in portraying
police work in the media? Was more than one portrait/stereotype used? In your answer,
describe the media portrait(s)/stereotype(s), and then give specific examples from the
television show/movie that support the use of this portrait(s)/stereotype(s) in the television
show or movie.
3. Media accuracy: Was the show basically accurate or inaccurate? How was the media
portrayed police work different from real-world police work? How was it similar to real-
3)
world police work? Again, in your answer, use specific examples from the television
show/movie that support your statements.
4. Effect on public: How might the portrayal of police work in this television show/movie
affect public support for anticrime policies (if at all)? How might the
accuracies/inaccuracies in the television show/movie affect public perception of crime
fighting and police more generally? What implications does that have for the criminal
justice system?
This paper should be between 4-5 double spaced pages (12 point, times new roman font with one
Inch borders). Please include a separate cover page (i.e., your name should not interfere with
your page length). This assignment is due July 24 by 11:55 pm, and is worth 30 points toward
your final grade.
.
Quiz 4 (20 pts.)
The quiz will occur on July 26 and 27; Sunday at 7 pm and Monday at 9 am. It will cover the
videos, chapters 5 and 7 of the text and posted readings. You will have 22 chances to get 20
correct. You will have 30 minutes to complete the quiz. It is open book and open note, but you
will not have time to look up all the answers so it is important that you prepare.
Module 5: Media Social Constructions and the Courts (July 27 – Aug 3)
Readings and Postings:
1)
Ch. 6 The Courts
2)
Greahouse & Kovera: Pretrial Publicity
3)
Studebaker et al.: Measuring Pretrial Publicity
Videos for Module 5 include videos 5a through 5h (8 videos total)
Assignments:
1)
Paper #4: An analysis of Pretrial Publicity, Part 1
For this assignment, you are going to do a mini-analysis of pretrial publicity in an actual case. For
this case, you will be choosing a recent, high profile case in which the media generated a
significant amount of publicity. The choice of which trial is up to you – choose a trial that you are
interested in or that you read/heard about in the media. In your analysis, you will be investigating
how publicity in the trial may have affected jurors’ decisions.
For part one of the assignment, you are responsible for finding 3 newspaper articles that were
published before the start of the trial. Once you find your newspaper articles, complete an analysis
of the articles that reports the information included below. This analysis will be the first part of your
paper.
1.
What are the sources of the articles?
2.
Measures of ‘amount’ of pretrial publicity.
a.
How many paragraphs (on average) are there in the articles?
b.
What is the average number of words in the articles?
c.
What is the average length of the headlines of the articles?
d.
How many pictures are included (on average) in each article?
3.
Measures of pretrial publicity:
a.
Was emotional pretrial publicity present in the articles?
If yes, were the sources pro-defense, pro-prosecution, neutral or a
combination of these? Give examples from the articles.
b.
Was factual pretrial publicity present in the articles?
If yes, were the sources pro-defense, pro-prosecution, neutral or a
combination of these? Give examples from the articles.
4.
If pictures were included in any of the articles, provide the following analysis of
the pictures:
a.
Were the pictures emotional-based, factual based, or both? How many of
each?
b.
Give an example of each type of picture by describing what was shown.
Part one of this paper is due July 30 by 11:55 pm, and it is worth 10 points toward your final
grade. Target length 1-2 pages (12 point, times new roman font with one inch borders). Please
include a separate cover page (i.e., your name should not interfere with your page length).
2)
Paper #4 (continued): An analysis of Pretrial Publicity, Part 2
In part two of this assignment, provide an evaluation of the pretrial publicity in your chosen case in
an essay format. In your essay, use the following headings, and in each section, make sure to
answer the questions posed below each heading. This part of the paper should be tacked on to
the end of the analysis you conducted for part one of this assignment.
1. How might the pretrial publicity in your chosen case affect jurors’ decisions? Using your
analysis in the beginning of the paper and the information from your readings and
lectures, describe how the pretrial publicity you found might affect jurors’ decisions in the
case.
2. Can we fix the problem of pretrial publicity in this case?
a. Would any of the pretrial publicity remedies help in this case? If so, which ones
might help? If not, why not?
b. If you were an expert in this case, what would you recommend to the judge as a
plan of action based on the analysis that you conducted and your class lectures
and readings?
Part two of this paper is due August 3 by 11:55 pm, and it is worth 20 points toward your final
grade (for a total of 30 points between the two parts). Target length 2-3 pages (12 point, times
new roman font with one inch borders). Remember to add this section to the end of the analysis
you conducted for part one of this paper.
3)
Quiz 5 (20 pts.)
The quiz will occur on August 2 and 3; Sunday at 7 pm and Monday at 9 am. It will cover chapter
6 of the text and the posted readings. You will have 22 chances to get 20 correct. You will have
30 minutes to complete the quiz. It is open book and open note, but you will not have time to look
up all the answers so it is important that you prepare.
Module 6: The Media and Criminal Justice Policy Now and in the Future (August 3 – 7 (note, this module is shorter than
the others, and the quizzes are on Thursday and Friday instead of Sunday and Monday)
Readings and Postings:
1)
Ch. 9 Media and Criminal Justice Policy
2)
Ch. 10 New Media, Crime and Justice
3)
Ch. 11 Media and Crime & Justice in the 21st Century
4)
Reading on wrongful conviction
Videos for Module 6 include videos 6a through 6f (6 videos total) (may be subject to change)
Assignments:
1)
This discussion is worth 10 points toward your final grade. For this discussion, make sure to
watch lectures 6a through 6d. Lecture 6d explains the discussion in depth - it is based on the law
review article you all read for this module.
For this assignment, you are all assigned to a particular case discussed in your reading ‘The
revolutionary role of journalism in identifying and rectifying wrongful convictions'. You will receive
your case assignment on the discussion boards. Make sure to answer each question thoroughly
for your assigned case to start the discussion. Then, comment on at least two other students'
case analyses. Your comments must be on at least two different cases that were not assigned to
you, but you can comment on additional cases if you wish.
Questions to address in the discussion:
1.
In your assigned case, does the media use a due process or crime control orientation?
Does it use both orientations? Use specific examples from your assigned case to illustrate
which model(s) are adopted.
2.
Use the information you have learned in class to explain how the information portrayed
and the orientations adopted by the media in your case are likely to affect people's
constructions of crime and justice (if at all). What beliefs might people form based on
those constructions?
3.
Did any policy change result in your case? If so, explain which media-criminal justice
policy relationship model best describes the policy change.
4.
In the conclusion of the reading, the author explains how policy about the death penalty
changed in Illinois in 2000. Did the media contribute to this policy change? Explain which
media-criminal justice policy relationship model best describes the policy change.
Your first discussion posting is due by 11:55 pm on August 5 at 11:55 pm; your two
follow up comments are due August 7 by 11:55pm (although, feel free to make more
than two follow up comments - I think you'll find these cases interesting!).
2)
Quiz 6 (20 pts.)
The quiz will occur on August 6 and 7; Thursday at 7 pm and Friday at 9 am. It will cover
chapters 9, 10 and 11 of the text. You will have 22 chances to get 20 correct. You will have 30
minutes to complete the quiz. It is open book and open note, but you will not have time to look up
all the answers so it is important that you prepare.