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.

"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. "

First published in 1995. One of the most pervasive forms of social control in our society is the mass media. The public learns from television, newspapers, magazines, movies, and books what is happening in the world and how to interpret it. The problem, however, is that full or complete interpretations of reality are not presented. In short, reality itself, clear and unadorned, is not to be found in the information provided by the media. Instead, media presentations consist of those various viewpoints that succeed in capturing the minds and imaginations of the masses, or in terms of the 1992 presidential campaign, that successfully put the winning spin on information. Barak and others believe that criminologists should participate in the various media presentations of crime and justice. By bringing their knowledge to bear on media presentations, criminologists can help make some news more representative and less distorted of the social reality of crime.

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.

Criminal Law in Focus

This textbook reader examines the concept of flawed policies in the criminal justice arena. The authors address the costs of bad criminal justice policy and offer suggestions for the creation of good, sound, evidence-based policy. Specific topics highlighted include: * The War on Drugs * Immigration Laws * The Patriot Act and Terrorist Laws * Sentencing Guidelines * Three Strikes Laws * Capital Punishment * Sex Offender Laws * "Get Tough" Juvenile Policy * Zero Tolerance in Schools * Policies for Mental Health Offenders * Policies with Pregnant Offenders Courses appropriate for this textbook reader include upper level undergraduate and graduate level criminal justice courses dealing at least in part with public policies, the media impact on law making, public fear of crime and the legislative response. Other disciplines will also find this book an excellent supplement to their courses in Psychology, Political Science, Public Administration and Policy. "As a policy-oriented coursebook in the social science arena, Flawed Criminal Justice Policies by Reddington and Bonham is unparalleled. The authors' proficiency in examining unsustainable criminal justice policies, the misguided public perception and the capricious nature of the media's portrayal of crime compels students to reexamine our nation's crime problem from a much more common sense approach. My students described the textbook as 'practical, real world and thought provoking'. I highly recommend this text and many of my colleagues have also adopted it. It will truly engage your students and elicit great debates and classroom discussion." -- Professor Joanne C. Metzger J.D, Temple University, Department of Criminal Justice The Teacher's Manual is available as a pdf via email or on a CD. Please contact Beth Hall at [email protected] to request a copy. PowerPoint slides are available upon adoption. Sample slides from the full, 153-slide presentation are available to view here. Email [email protected] for more information.

This text is the definitive work on media and criminal justice. With the media's role in reporting crime and using crime as entertainment gaining increasing influence and attention, the importance of the interplay between the mass media news and entertainment systems and the criminal justice system may be greater today than ever before. Surette comprehensively explores this interplay. The basic premise of the text is that people use knowledge obtained from the media to build a picture of the world and then base their actions on this constructed image.