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Crime, Culture and the Media

ISBN: 978-0-745-63466-1

August 2008

Polity

300 pages

Description
Why are newspapers and television programmes filled with stories about crime and criminals? Is their portrayal of crime accurate? How do the media transform our attitudes to crime? Is fear of crime, for example, really created by the media?

The relationships between crime and the media have long been the subject of intense debate. From the earliest days of the printing press to the explosion of cyberspace chat rooms, there have been persistent concerns about the harmful criminogenic effects of the media. At the same time, the media are fascinated with crime – on the news, in films and on television there are countless stories about crime, both real and imagined.

In this innovative and accessible new book, Eamonn Carrabine carefully untangles these debates, and grapples with the powerful dynamics of fear and desire that underlie our obsession with crime. Chapter-by-chapter the book introduces the different ways in which relationships between crime and the media have been understood, including classic debates about the media’s effects, news production, and moral panics, as well as more cutting-edge studies of the representation of crime in the contemporary media.

Combining empirical research findings with the latest theoretical developments, the book will appeal to advanced undergraduates and graduate students across the social sciences, especially those taking courses in criminology and media studies.

About the Author
Eamonn Carrabine is Lecturer in Sociology at Essex University.
Features
Covers a core component of undergraduate criminology courses which have exploded in number in the past few years.

Most competing volumes are simplistic, whereas this book is more sophisticated and comprehensive.

Covers classic debates such as media effects, production and panic-mongering, as well as cutting-edge studies of the representation of crime.

Written clearly, but does not shy away from dealing with some complex issues.