Body count news: How crime is presented in the news media

This article examines how the news production process affects the presentation of crime in the news media. Content analysis and ethnographic methods were used to determine the types of crime presented. The media rely heavily on criminal justice sources for crime story information; this reliance influences the type of stories selected and how they are presented to the public. The news media and the sources are motivated to cooperate because cooperation allows each party to accomplish organizational objectives. The media presents a distorted picture of the types of crime known to the police because sources define what is important about crime in a way that furthers organizational needs. News media select and produce those stories which they think are of most interest to the public. This research finds that violent crime predominates in print and electronic media. The presentation of crime, however, varies somewhat, depending on the need for news media to satisfy format requirements and on their degree of access to serious crime.