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Analyses the case study you have presented to your tutor in terms of media representation and crime statistics. The internet, radio, television and newspapers play a significant role in carrying out crime stories, providing individuals with information about the importance of crime and how we see the world. The purpose of this essay is to argue the ways in which burglary is seen in terms of crime statistics and how it is represented by the media.
To do this, throughout the essay topics such as the level of newsworthiness, moral panics and over representation of both the representation of burglary en by the media and in crime statistics will be discussed. The media do have a big influence on people’s opinions and attitudes as the media only choose stories that are newsworthy, crime stories are dramatic and tragic, therefore crime is the dominant theme of all media. Reined agrees with this; “In the former the media are perceived as a source of criminality; in the latter a source if misrepresentation and exaggeration.
Both positions rest on the assumption that the mass media have some impact on attitudes and/or conduct. ” (Reined, 2007 cited in Newborn, 2007: 85). The news is transmitted o the public by radio, television, newspapers and now the internet. There is approximately one quarter of all output on television is now dedicated to crime. This is due to a massive audience; “98% of British households have at least 1 TV’ (Barometric et al. 2000 cited in Soothing et al. 2002) therefore reaching a large audience.