How does the media represent crimes such as paedophilia and do shows such as Chris Morris' 'Brass Eye' illustrate a need for change in the way crime news is presented to society?

The first 200 words of this essay...

How does the media represent crimes such as paedophilia and do shows such as Chris Morris' 'Brass Eye' illustrate a need for change in the way crime news is presented to society?

Society is in continual need of being aware of what is going on around them. The most common and what is widely agreed to be the most useful source, is the media. Whether this medium gives a continuously fair representation of the world's events is a subject, which has been much debated, in the criminological sphere.

Crime and Criminal Justice has been the main subject of the media for an extremely long time. Reiner et al.'s historical study of two British newspapers since the Second World War found that homicide was by far the most common type of crime reported, accounting for about one-third of all crime news stories throughout the period. Studies conducted in the 1990's continued to show the same pattern of over representation of violent and interpersonal (especially sex) crimes. (Chiricos et al, (1997) as cited in Oxford handbook of criminology p.384 (2002).

The media has a huge influential power therefore having the ability to control the way society thinks and perceives