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Topic: The media should present the news without promoting crime and violence Cheap sensationalism characterizes much of what passes for news reporting on incidents of violent crime. This has the tendency to inflame without really informing which is very dangerous for a world inundated with images of violence in every home. Violence begets violence, especially for the young and impressionable, emotionally and mentally unstable and for those simply prone to violence. The News Media presents a nightly carnival of the most terrifying stories.
This sensationalism is especially true with local news which is the primary news source for 2/3 of Americans with 61% of all lead stories on local news dedicated to crime, fires, disasters and Accidents (Pew Research Center 2006). Giving prominence to stories of crime and violence has various effects. It emboldens the perpetrators of the violence, making them into criminal superstars who feed off the media recognition. Everybody desires their 3 minutes of fame, even criminals. The media makes this and more possible for them.
In another instance, through constantly highlighting the criminal actions of a few, the media adversely colours an entire race of people. Also, the effects can be felt in the unhealthy fears and anxiety that the viewers may experience. Therefore, we believe that it is imperative that the media present the news without promoting crime and violence. Let us first begin by defining two key words in the topic of debate. News is defined by the Oxford Concise Dictionary as newly received or noteworthy information especially about recent events.
To promote as defined by the Oxford Concise Dictionary, is to one (1) further the progress of; support or encourage and two (2) raise to a higher position or rank. Therefore it is the responsibility of the Media to present current and noteworthy information about crime and violence in a manner that does not raise, support or give a higher position to said crime and violence. The Media should present the news in an objective, neutral and unbiased manner but what we find most often than not is the total opposite.
Media houses, in an attempt to stay ahead of the competition, often promote their own agenda and unfortunately crime and violence sells and the more sensational the better but the social effects are disastrous. When horrendous crimes are carried as cover stories or aired as main stories, this gives credence to the perpetrators who are then seen as a force to reckon with which then creates mayhem in representing gangs or group with each group attempting to prove that they are ‘bigger and badder’.
This is evidenced in Spanish Town, the capital of St. Catherine, where rival gangs ‘one order’ and ‘clansman’ often noted for their monstrosities which include extortion, rape, murder etc. When the actions of one group are highlighted in the news, this fuels the next group to outdo the first by preying on innocent civilians or for retaliation purposes. Based on our investigations and interviews we strongly believe that criminals feed on the fact that their names and the crimes they commit are highlighted in the news.
In the 2006 article “Media-Made Criminality: The Representation of Crime in the Media”, Robert Reiner ??highlighted that more than 50% of 3 year olds??have television sets in their bedrooms, and among this age group, approximately five hours per day is spent before a television screen. These youngsters have impressionable minds??and absorb everything they see and learn. Just as how we learn to say thank you, please and excuse me, and these values would stay with us for the rest of our lives, it is also true that the act of criminality seen in the media is imprinted on the minds of children and lorded by children watching.
One may wonder why we are speaking about children and crime, but based on information received from the Statistics Division and the Jamaica Constabulary Force (J. C. F. ), 80% of major crimes committed in Jamaica are committed by males 15-25yrs old. The fact is that at this age, young men are vulnerable and are looking for leadership especially due to the fact that many of them are from single mother households where due to the missing father figure, boys tend to look to the criminal leaders and dons as role models, plugging the gap that the missing father creates.
They then grow up into this culture of crime and seek to emulate their crime fathers. In an interview with senior Superintendent Delroy Hewitt, Officer in charge of the St. Andrew South Division, he agreed that criminals are motivated by the fact that the crimes they commit are in the electronic and print media and love??when their names are featured on the news. Criminals would retaliate in anger and seek to commit other crimes if their names were not heard in the media.
While committing these acts of violence, criminals would also ensure they are seen by community members and would also contact the media houses themselves to ensure their names are a part of the news update. According to SSP Hewitt, a criminal in West Kingston who committed a crime and whose name was not featured in the news, also threatened a journalist’s life. The journalist??reported the threats made against him to the Denham Town police station. Now you may be asking yourself why criminals would knowingly send out threats with the understanding that they may be arrested or killed by Law enforcement.
Well the answer for this??came out in an interview with a young man only 17 years??old. This young man is presently held at the Spanish town police station, charged with several counts of shooting and murder. During our chat, he revealed that it is the dream??of every gangster to be the area don. In order to be that person, you must earn “stripes” and be featured in the media as the main perpetrator. He also revealed that, in the inner-city communities when you are involved in criminality and pass the age of 25, it is seen as a milestone because you are not expected to live past that age.
SSP D. Hewitt also shared with us one of his crime fighting strategies while he was in charge of the Kingston Western Division (Denham Town). He said that in order to keep crime under control, they were forced to divulge less information to the media thereby removing a contributing factor??of what motivated their criminal acts. This method along with other strategies that were employed reduced the level of crime within that area by 30% within one year.
Further to the point is that some rebels or extremists use the news platform as a stage for their ruthless acts of crimes through terrorism against other groups with the added intent of injecting terror into the international communities. When the atrocities are committed, they send self promoting recorded messages to the media claiming responsibility for the offence, revelling in the mayhem they create. For example, Al Qaeda was quick to go on air, taking responsibility for the September 11 bombing of the twin towers in New York, thus taking advantage of the stage the media creates for their act of terrorism.
A trend that was in effect in the Jamaica Gleaner was the daily tallying of the murders committed in the country on the front page of the papers. We agree with many of the citizens who thought that this gave victory and incentive to those who thrive on the mayhem and murder to glorify their works. Instead, the Gleaner should have been engaging in creative solutions to fight the crime wave. The imbalance in the coverage of crime and violence skewed to a group or a place engenders fear and panic in relation to that group or place.
For example, the attitude towards Arabs and Latinos, and the fear demonstrated by people to shop in Downtown, Kingston or to travel through Rema and other inner city communities. The condemnation and fear for certain types of people or groups are based not on actual relationships with these people but on relations with the media and the way the media allows us to see these people. According to the John Hay School of Criminal Justice, 2/3 of those who say crime is a serious or very serious problem get their news from television.
This is a clear relation between the amount and type of media we consume and the amount of fear and condemnation of the world. This comes into effect especially for people that are farthest away from us geographically and our most accessible source to their lifestyle would be through media. So most of what we see or hear about these ethnic groups is information from television and unfortunately these pictures are most times painted as appearing in the news in a crime and violence feature. This is quite evident with the Latin community in the United States where their population is the fastest growing group in the U.
S and represents 15% of the population and according to the PEW Research Centre only 2% are mentioned in the news media and this image is portrayed showing Latinos doing criminal or violent acts. The focus by the news media on the Latinos exhibiting crime and violence all stems from one tree, which is illegal immigration. Programs such as CNN Lou Dobb’s Tonight have been found to focus on illegal immigration in 70% of their episodes. These one sided images has lead 73% of the population to believe “More immigrants cause higher crime rates” according to a poll conducted by the science research council in 2007.
But in reality the F. B. I has stated that crime is at a historical low in high immigrant cities such as Chicago, New York, L. A etc. where immigrant population is at an all-time high. Moreover because of this untrue image of the Latin community representing crime and violence and there is little or no positive representation in the news, this leads to anger and rage by the average viewer to the group resulting in demonstrations, prejudice, neglect, abuse and hate crimes against this group. The same can be said, if not even more about the most dynamic community worldwide.
The Arabs and Muslims, especially after 911, are extensively depicted in the news media as being blood thirsty terrorists and extremists and are repeatedly shown in the news as committing violent acts such as bombings, suicide, beheadings, torture etc. Where is the balance? Are all Arabs bad? No, of that we’re sure but the lack of positive stories about this race in the news and the over emphasis of the negative causes viewers to feel adverse emotions towards the entire group. As a result 48% of Americans believe torturing suspected terrorists is often or sometimes justified and nearly ? f Americans say they would not have a Muslim as a neighbor according to the USA today/Gallop poll 2006. All in all the media created a mean world and mean people with their constant portrayal of violence and crimes from these two ethnic groups to an audience who maybe has never had any form of personal contact or relation with them but now will perceive those groups as very violent and if ever they come across these groups personally will have a level of fear or rage towards them seeing that their only primary knowledge about them comes from the media.
Another argument to support the idea that the media must present the news without promoting crime and violence is the fact that the overexposure and constant repeat of violent images in the news and media may develop a heightened sense of fear and anxiety in viewers. We get a lot of information from the media, and for most, the nightly news is their largest source for information on current affairs. According to Dr.
George Gerbner in his study “The Cultural Indicators Research Project” and “The Mean World Syndrome”, he states that society has gone through a shift in where they receive their stories and has adapted media as their main storytellers whereas before the conveying of stories would’ve been left up to churches, parents, schools, etc. Dr. Gerbner states that with this shift of media being society’s storytellers, it has tainted the purpose of storytelling because the media as a different agenda. Media is concerned more about ratings rather than sharing values and morals which was the primary focus when the stories were in the hands of parents and churches. Since we accept the fact that media houses are mainly concerned about ratings and viewership, we can see where the media may not be concerned with the outcome of the violent content and imagery injected into the public’s mind daily, or are just completely oblivious to its effects. According to Dr.
Gerbner in his study “The Mean World Syndrome”, he attributes that the overexposure to violence and crime in the news helps to develop a great sense of fear and anxiety about our surroundings and the world at large, making us feel that we live in a “mean world” and that crime is extremely pervasive even if things really are not as bad as people view it to be. A study from the National Rifle Association showed that when crime decreased in the United States over the period of 2005 – 2010, overall gun sales dramatically increased during this same time period.
Drawing parallels to Jamaica, crime has seen a decline from 2009 to present day but yet still the average Jamaican is still very much in fear of their surroundings and would not dare venture in certain regions. Also many foreigners overseas who may be ignorant of Jamaica and its conditions also have very skewed views of the crime atmosphere, with their views being grossly exaggerated in most instances. The foremost and number one creator of these impressions is the news.
A study carried out by Women’s Media Watch shows that Jamaica, in comparison to other newspapers worldwide, reported less on the economy and more coverage was given to crime and violence. The report raised concern over the potential implications of reporting twice as much on crime and violence than on economics, given that the latter is expected to fuel national development. With these unwarranted fears and anxieties looming over the perception of Jamaica, it also has the possibility to cause potential investors, both local and overseas, to be discouraged in investing into the island.
This may cause a vicious downward spiral if it is perceived to be a prevalent issue. The lack of investors investing into the country may lead to a decline in jobs; a decline in jobs will lead to an increase in poverty; and an increase in poverty will inevitably then lead to an increase in crime and violence. Some people will say that when the media highlights these criminalities, persons are better able to take the necessary precautions to safeguard themselves against pending dangers and thus are better able to get around without having to expose themselves to the many risks that exist.
But we argue that although it is sometimes necessary to inform about criminal activities for the reasons stated, to use a colloquial term “too much of one thing nuh good”. The consistent and prominent placement of crime and violence then works in opposition to the original intent. The intent should be to inform not to inflame; to educate not to excite; to discourage, not to encourage. Let us in our presentation of the news demonstrate journalistic responsibility in reporting on crime and violence.
Let us not resort to cheap sensationalism that seeks to promote the very crime that we seek to rid our societies of. Yes, we know that violence sells, but the news should be the one authority, if indeed the only, that should engender to cater to the well being of its viewers, broadcasting and publishing stories in a balanced way to uplift and unite its viewers while emasculating those that would seek to benefit from the stage that the news creates. Topic: The media should present the news without promoting crime and violence .