Assignment:
Question 1: (Answer Length 2 to 3 pages)
In using the readings for guidance, I want you to discuss why negative media coverage about crime, policing and corrections is more newsworthy than positive news stories and address what you think can be done to change the public perception about crime, policing and corrections. Think in terms of what can be done to reduce fear and improve perceptions. Furthermore, I want you to address who is most responsible for the narrative that is told within the media about crime, policing and corrections and what if anything can be done to present a more fair and truthful narrative about these issues within the criminal justice system.
Question 2: (Answer Length: 2 to 3 pages)
Again, in using your readings for guidance, I want you to take a local or national criminal event (limited to United States) and discuss how competing narratives or constructions of the issues were framed within the media. In your discussion, I want you to focus on both the positives and negatives of how this event was covered and how the media may have used pieces of the event you have chosen to manipulate public perception. Finally, I want you to discuss how coverage of this event within the media made it more or less likely to generate positive social change and positively impact criminal justice policy.
Readings:
Media, Crime, and Criminal Justice-Images, Realities, and Policies
By RAY SURETTE