"Crime and Media Studies concisely and efficiently pulls the curtain back on the reality of crime and punishment and the role media has played in the United States becoming the world's leader in incarceration. By addressing literacy rates that have remained virtually unchanged since 1935, the stark ramifications of the communication disconnect between those who study key issues and the ordinary citizen is explored. Crime and Media Studies calls for the dismantling of ideological divides between qualitative and quantitative researchers in favor of a united multidisciplinary front to create an informed citizenry. Divided into the key parts of the criminal justice system (crime, law enforcement, courts, corrections, etc.), the text explores prominent issues (drugs, domestic violence, race, gender, etc.) facing the criminal justice system. Each section contains crime and media research articles that analyze a variety of media (print news, broadcast news, movies, court TV, crime dramas, comic books, hip-hop, etc.) using quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methodologies. In the tradition of Gregg Barak's ""News Making Criminology,"" each section contains discussion questions (designed for traditional and online classrooms), writing assignments (blog posts, press releases), literacy level exercises, brownbag sessions, and community engagement projects to help students understand the importance of being able to effectively communicate both with the press and the public. Crime and Media Studies is well suited for undergraduate and graduate courses in the social sciences that seek to address the role of media in policy and legal issues. The text, its test questions, discussion sessions, and writing assignments are designed to be used in both traditional and online classrooms. Franklin T. Wilson is an associate professor in the Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Indiana State University. He received his Ph.D. from the College of Criminal Justice at Sam Houston State University and has taught crime and media studies courses for over a decade. Dr. Wilson is the founding and current chair of the Annual International Crime, Media, and Popular Culture Studies Conference and is the editor of the Journal of Criminal Justice and Popular Culture. He is also a member of the Board of Directors for CRIMCAST. His research has been published in such noted journals as The Prison Journal, Journal of Criminal Justice and Popular Culture, Race & Justice, and Women & Criminal Justice. Dr. Wilson's research has also been featured in a variety of media outlets including the New York Times, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Houston Chronicle, and Texas Tribune. "

This book critically examines the complex interactions between media and crime. Written with an engaging and authoritative voice, it guides you through all the key issues, ranging from news reporting of crime, media constructions of children and women, moral panics, and media and the police to ′reality′ crime shows, surveillance and social control. This third edition: Explores innovations in technology and forms of reporting, including citizen journalism. Examines the impact of new media including mobile, Internet and digital technologies, and social networking sites. Features chapters dedicated to the issues around cybercrime and crime film, along with new content on terrorism and the media. Shows you how to research media and crime. Includes discussion questions, further reading and a glossary. Now features a companion website, complete with links to journal articles, relevant websites and blogs. This is essential reading for your studies in criminology, media studies, cultural studies and sociology. The Key Approaches to Criminology series celebrates the removal of traditional barriers between disciplines and, specifically, reflects criminology’s interdisciplinary nature and focus. It brings together some of the leading scholars working at the intersections of criminology and related subjects. Each book in the series helps readers to make intellectual connections between criminology and other discourses, and to understand the importance of studying crime and criminal justice within the context of broader debates. The series is intended to have appeal across the entire range of undergraduate and postgraduate studies and beyond, comprising books which offer introductions to the fields as well as advancing ideas and knowledge in their subject areas.

Why are newspapers and television programmes filled with stories about crime and criminals? Is their portrayal of crime accurate? How do the media transform our attitudes to crime? Is fear of crime, for example, really created by the media? The relationships between crime and the media have long been the subject of intense debate. From the earliest days of the printing press to the explosion of cyberspace chat rooms, there have been persistent concerns about the harmful criminogenic effects of the media. At the same time, the media are fascinated with crime – on the news, in films and on television there are countless stories about crime, both real and imagined. In this innovative and accessible new book, Eamonn Carrabine carefully untangles these debates, and grapples with the powerful dynamics of fear and desire that underlie our obsession with crime. Chapter-by-chapter the book introduces the different ways in which relationships between crime and the media have been understood, including classic debates about the media’s effects, news production, and moral panics, as well as more cutting-edge studies of the representation of crime in the contemporary media. Combining empirical research findings with the latest theoretical developments, the book will appeal to advanced undergraduates and graduate students across the social sciences, especially those taking courses in criminology and media studies.

Media, Crime, and Criminal Justice: A Reader provides readers with a variety of articles that showcase examples of cutting-edge research on crime and media. The text helps students better understand how crime and media are intertwined within culture and how this unique connection influences our behaviors, attitudes, and values. Unit One provides an overview of the major conceptual tools used by media and crime scholars. Dedicated readings explore the concept of globalization to contextualize the study of crime, copycat crime, moral panic, the debate surrounding the influence of violent media content on violent behavior, and more. Unit Two examines common crime narratives in the news media and popular culture. Students read about the over inflation of crime statistics, actors and institutions within the criminal justice system, and television news coverage of corporate crime. The final unit explores how political processes and media narratives combine to either deepen or hinder our democratic values. Dedicated readings speak to the political economy of media ownership, how mass media often reinforce criminal stereotypes about Black Americans, the rise in feminism in the horror genre, and more. Media, Crime, and Criminal Justice is ideal for courses in criminal justice, criminology, communications, cultural studies, and sociology.

MEDIA, CRIME, AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE is the definitive text on media and criminal justice. The book features impeccable scholarship, a direct and approachable style, and an engaging format--supported by visual examples and sidebar material that complements the narrative. With the ever-increasing role of media in both reporting crime and shaping it into infotainment, the importance of the interplay between contemporary media and the criminal justice system is greater today than ever before. Author Ray Surette comprehensively surveys this interplay and showcases its impact, emphasizing that people use media-provided knowledge to construct a picture of the world and then act based on this constructed reality. Important Notice: Media content referenced within the product description or the product text may not be available in the ebook version.

In today's society, the public perception of crime has been skewed by how the media depicts it. People use the media for enjoyment, companionship, surveillance, and interpretation. The problem is that it becomes hard to separate fact from entertainment. This raises several questions. How are we consuming media? Are we consuming reality within the news? And are we consuming harmless pleasure from entertainment media? In Crime, Media, and Reality: Examining Mixed Messages about Crime and Justice in Popular Media, Venessa Garcia and Samantha Garcia Arkerson focus predominantly on the social constructions of crime and justice and how we absorb them. They look at the influence of crime news and true crime television series that prevent the public from understanding pure entertainment from the realities of crime and justice. They bring to light the social science knowledge missed by media "infotainment," which has blurred the line between information and entertainment. Throughout, all different forms of media are discussed, news media, crime dramas and true crime television series. In doing so, they keep all of its fascinating coverage while uncovering the reality of crime and justice. This book adds significant information to the constructs held by the general public by placing media depictions into historical, legal, and social context.

First Published in 1995. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.