Document Type : Original Article

Authors

M.sc. Graduated of Criminal Law and Criminology, Islamic Azad University, Rafsanjan, Iran

Abstract

Media messages are endemic in our society through exposure to television and radio, movies, outdoor and point of sale advertising, via newspapers and magazines, on the internet and through books, brochures and posters. News media rely on willing participants, such as police sources, to produce crime stories in an efficient and cost-effective manner. News organizations have offices at police headquarters so reporters are near police sources.This convenient location exposes reporters to official knowledge of crime, selecting a variety of potentially newsworthy crimes from what is known to the police. News media can hold the police accountable to the public by critically evaluating current responses to crime, promoting alternatives, and informing the public. News organizations are in a strategic position to educate the public about the effectiveness of police responses to crime because the public uses media sources to develop opinions about crime.

Keywords

Alexander, H. M., Callcott, R. & Dobson, A. J. (1983) Cigarette smoking and drug use in school children. International Journal of Epidemiology, 12, 59–66.
Chermak, S. (1994). Body Count News: How Crime is Presented in the News Media. Justice Quarterly, 11(4): 561-582.
Chermak, S. (1995). Victims in the News: Crime in American News Media. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.
Davis, J. F. (1952). Crime news in Colorado newspapers. American Journal of Sociology, 57, 325-330.
Dorfman, L. (1994). News Operations: How television reports on health. Doctoral Dissertation, University of California at Berkeley.
Dorfman, L. and Woodruff, K. (1998, Summer). The roles of speakers in local television news stories on youth and violence. Journal of Popular Film & Television, 26, 80-85.
Entman, R. (2000). Race and the media: A decade of research. Human Relations Task Force Report, Prepared for the Human Relations Foundation of Chicago.
Ericson, R. (1989). Patrolling the Facts: Secrecy and Publicity in Police Work. The British Journal of Sociology, 40(2):205-226.
Ericson, R.; P. Baranek; and J. Chan (1991). Representing Order: Crime, Law, and Justice in the News Media. Toronto, Canada: University of Toronto Press.
Gans, H. (1979). Deciding Whats News: A Study of CBS Evening News, Newsweek and Time. New York, NY: Patheon Books.
Garofalo, J. (1981). Crime and the mass media: A selective review of research. Journal of Research & Crime Delinquency, 18, 318-350.
Gorman, Dennis M., Stephen W. Duffy, Stephanie Raine, and Carl L. Taylor. 1989. Level of agreement between questionnaire measures of alcohol dependence, alcoholism and problem drinking in a sample presenting at a specialist alcohol treatment service. Drug and Alcohol Dependence 24:227–232.
Graber, D. (1980). Crime News and the Public. New York, NY: Praeger Publishers.
Greenfeld, Lawrence A. 1998. Alcohol and crime: An analysis of national data on the prevalence of alcohol involvement in crime. NCJ 168632. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics.
Lotz, R. (1991). Crime and the American Press. New York, NY: Praeger.
Marsh, H. (1988). Crime and the Press: Does Newspaper Crime Coverage Support Myths about Crime and Law Enforcement? (Ph.D. Dissertation: Sam Houston State University). Ann Arbor, MI: University of Microfilms International.
Sheley, J. and C. Ashkins (1981). Crime, Crime News, and Crime Views. Public Opinion Quarterly, 45(4):492-506.
Skogan, W. and M. Maxfield (1981). Coping With Crime: Individual and Neighborhood Reactions. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage Publications.
Skolnick, J. and C. McCoy (1984). “Police Accountability and the Media. American Bar Foundation Journal, 3:521-557.
Surette, R. (1992). Media, Crime, and Criminal Justice: Images and Realities. Belmont, CA: Brooks/Cole Publishing Company.
Tuchman, G. (1978). Making News: A Study in the Construction of Reality. New York, NY: The Free Press.