Term Papers on CRIME, VIOLENCE, AND THE LAW IN MEDIA

Term Paper Title	CRIME, VIOLENCE, AND THE LAW IN MEDIA
# of Words	3285
# of Pages (250 words per page double spaced)	13.14

CRIME, VIOLENCE, AND THE LAW IN MEDIA

     The national media, and in particular television, is the most powerful source of information we
have. The media, more than anything else in today’s world, shapes public perception. Unfortunately, most
of what we see, hear, or read is about the chaotic condition of planet earth. Sure, there is plenty of chaos to
report on, but by bombarding the public with one horrific report after another, the media acts like a giant
amplifier of pain and misery. In many people this creates a climate of anxiety, fear, and frustrated
hopelessness. In my essay I will discuss the different types of mass media and talk about the way crime,
violence, and the law are all portrayed and represented in culture past and present.

CONTROVERSIES ABOUT THE MEDIA

     Controversy over mass communication comes from a point of consensus bearing on the potential
impact of the media. More and more people are spending more and more time in exposure to media
content.  With the more efficient technologies to transmit images, the world-wide opportunities continue to
accelerate. The United States continues to set the pace by creating and extending a communication system
unparalleled in its magnitude. Having something so good gets a lot of critical response. A persistent feature
of that operation is the portrayal of violence. Although this is not the only contributing factor for the
dissatisfaction with the state of the communication system. In the American systems of mass
communication, complaints whether thoughtful or not, can be the beginning of a process that may
ultimately register an impact on the decision as to what content the media will offer their audience. Guided
by economic considerations intimately tied to audience size, the media can b!
e quite sensitive to audience feedback.  If complaint causes controversy and if controversy causes
consensus, then the probability of change is increased.  In some cases, complaint can also be effective apart
from a real consensus because the media are known to overgeneralize certain reactions.
     In American society, in sharp contrast to the situation in many other countries, a critic will not
automatically get support for his complaints about the portrayal of violence in the media. A number of
value clusters are here. One is the traditional position that Americans hold toward censorship and
restriction of free expression. Another is a deep cultural commitment to violence extending back to frontier
days.  Throughout our history a great deal of violent behaviour has been positively sanctioned. Many
occupations allow for and even require the use of violence. Public fascination with violence is all around
us. As witnessed in the popularity of certain athletic events, such as football (sometimes referred to as
“Mayhem on a Sunday Afternoon”), Christmas sales of toy weapons ranging from gun-shaped teething
rings to simulated bombs, and the continued attraction of both real and fictional accounts of war and crime.
While the media may whet the appetite for such materials, an!
y would-be critic must ultimately come to recognize that such an appetite is rooted much deeper in
American experience, if not in human nature.

SOCIAL SENSITIVITY TO MEDIA

     Most people are not particularly critical of media content. The ongoing routines of daily life do not
ordinarily include major efforts to evaluate and criticize how the media bring the world of reality and
fantasy to the household. Displeasure with media performance does arise. When it does, people may cancel
subscriptions, fail to show up at the box office, or write letters and make telephone calls to register
complaints.
     Widespread criticism and complaint about media rarely emerge in an unguided, spontaneous
fashion. When it does though it is done by a person or persons who know how to create arguements in
clear, sharp normative terms that specify how media content is a threat to values.

JOURNALIST PRIVILEGE

     At common law there some in...

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