Module 2: Perceptions, facts and fallacies

Question 1

What is the main source of indirect knowledge?

Answer 1

the media

Question 2

How is Crime News influenced?

Answer 2

influenced by how crime is defined

Question 3

When is there less crime news?

Answer 3

less crime news when crime is narrowly defined as a violation of criminal law

Question 4

When is there more crime news?

Answer 4

when crime is broadly defined as all forms of social deviance

Question 5

what is selectivity?

Answer 5

when the media presents a version of the crime that tells the story they want to portray

Question 6

How does selective reporting affect society?

Answer 6

can lead to moral panics

Question 7

What is newsworthiness?

Answer 7

criteria that determines newsworthiness,linked to news values

Question 8

What are the main news values?

Answer 8

Prominence 
Timeliness 
Impact
Proximity
Novelty
Conflict
Contemporaneousness 
Human Interest

Question 9

What is prominence?

Answer 9

media focuses on crimes that involve prominent people or organisations, such as actors or politicians

Question 10

What is Timeliness?

Answer 10

media focus on crimes that occurred recently,

Question 11

What is Impact?

Answer 11

media focus on crimes that have a higher impact on the audience, that impact a larger number of people

Question 12

What is Proximity?

Answer 12

media focuses on crimes that are geographically closer to audience, or emotionally close to audience (happening to similar communities)

Question 13

What is Novelty?

Answer 13

media focus on unusual or dramatic crimes, treat these crimes as common

Question 14

What is Conflict?

Answer 14

stories that have 2 or more parties of conflict are more newsworthy

Question 15

What is Contemporaneous?

Answer 15

media focus on stories that fit with current events or similar stories, try to link events which have common themes, despite the fact that they are unrelated

Question 16

What is Human Interest?

Answer 16

media reports stories that show positive aspects of human behavior, may not contain other news values

Question 17

What is a media crime frame?

Answer 17

media frames the story a certian way, presenting a particular pov, assisting the news stories limited space or time, unconsciously or consciously conveying a particular view

Question 18

Framing

Answer 18

organising the story
defining the problem
diagnosing causes
making moral judgements
suggest remedies

Question 19

What are the 5 principal news frames?

Answer 19

Fault criminal Justice
Blocked opportunities
Social Breakdown 
Racist System 
Violent Media

Question 20

Faulty Criminal Justice Frame

Answer 20

people commit crime because the criminal justice system isnt effective, doesnt punish enough or is too focused on the rights of the offender

Question 21

Blocked Opportunities Frame

Answer 21

people commit crime due to lack of opportunities to participate in society because they have a lack of opportunities, are in dire circumstances or victims of discrimination or social injustice

Question 22

Social Breakdown Frame

Answer 22

People commit crime due to social ills such as decline in social values, morality and increased levels of divorce or family structures

Question 23

Racist System Frame

Answer 23

people from ethnic and racial minorities are disproportionally caught and punished, or are more frequently wrongly arrested and convicted

Question 24

Violent Media Frame

Answer 24

people commit crime, particularly violent crime, as a consequence of increased exposure to violent media

this frame is usually presented alongside other frames so media isnt portrayed as sole reason

Question 25

What are the 3 models that explain the relationship between news values, selectivity and media frames and how people think about criminals and crime?

Answer 25

Effects Model
Functionalist Model
Institutional Model

Question 26

Effects Model

Answer 26

people are directly effected by what they see and read

views consumers of media as passive and uncritical

consumers of media unquestionably believe the view of crime which they are presented

Question 27

Functionalist Model

Answer 27

views consumers as active participants in media consumption

focuses on consumer engagement with media content for gratification

Question 28

Institutional Model

Answer 28

media influence is via active subjective interpretation meditated by experience and perception

views media as powerful institution of social control

Question 29

Government owned media

Answer 29

ABC and SBS are government Media outlets, government own media in australia

Question 30

Community owned Media

Answer 30

community organisations are usually funded by government

Question 31

Commercially owned media

Answer 31

privately owned and compete to make profit

Question 32

Why is media ownership so important

Answer 32

decision making
democratic process
political influence