The Crime Report (https://thecrimereport.org/category/media/)
“Research increasingly tells us that our coverage of mass shootings has implications for public health,” said The Trace, a website covering gun issues. Meanwhile, President Trump promoted the views of Northeastern University criminologist James Alan Fox that there is no evidence of an “epidemic” of mass shootings.
That’s what some journalists and politicians are saying about coverage stemming from last weekend’s two mass shootings. Much of the commentary centered on reporting of statements by President Donald Trump.
A freelance photographer at the site of the Gilroy Garlic Festival shooting describes a flood of national media creating a “movie set” before moving on to the next tragedy.
As “Orange Is The New Black” launches its seventh and final season, an assessment of its message about women’s prisons finds stories of corruption, cruelty, racism, and tragedy.
Two dozen university professors have challenged the Philadelphia Inquirer to cover violent crime with deeper reporting, claiming it has created a “false narrative” about whether recent reforms are the cause of a spike in street violence.
Which is more powerful: a good story, or a telling statistic? The success of the recent documentary on the Central Park 5 suggests effective storytelling can change public attitudes, but that might not be enough to change public policy, according to two scholars.
Boston’s DA is under fire from critics, including the local press, for decisions that allegedly let “criminals off the hook.” In fact, she’s pursuing the vision of justice that won her election as a “progressive” prosecutor—and threatens defenders of the status quo, argues TCR’s legal columnist.
Does naming the perpetrators or quoting from their twisted manifestos encourage copy cats? Does it glorify the violence? In Virginia Beach, Va., in May, most news organizations refrained from naming the gunman who slaughtered 12 people.
Federal officials say privacy concerns prevent reporters from entering detention facilities, so news reports are based on secondhand accounts. Critics say the poor detention units would disappear if journalists had access.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch said it made a “serious error in judgment” for linking to a video of the aftermath of the fatal shooting of a local police officer.