OVERVIEW

WSOC in Charlotte began its newscast one evening this last fall with the following lead stories:

Murder suspect arrested. Drive-by shooting at church. Armed robbery. Truck slams into Pizza Hut. Truck slams into Wendy’s. Truck crashes on highway. Truck crashes, spills glue. Couple killed in gasoline fire. Rock climber falls to his death. Man drowns in boating accident. Baby drowns in swimming pool. Commercial.

Blaming television with what’s wrong in the country is not new. Recently, social scientists have argued that the overload of crime and disaster stories on local television gives the public a warped view of reality.

A year-long study at Los Angeles’ KABC found that 51% of the lead stories were about crime. Within that group, 78% of the stories focused on violent crime, while 27% were about murder. Yet, statistics suggest, that murder account for only 2% of the felonies reported in L.A.

The study also found a dramatic racial skew in crime coverage. Fifty percent of the crimes committed by blacks in L.A. are violent; 47% of white crime is also of violent nature. Yet, 61% of crime stories broadcast by KABC involved violence by black perpetrators, while only 36% of the crime stories aired involved whites.

The question arguably remains—does the sheer repetition, pervasiveness, and overrepresentation of sensational and violent crime in today’s media falsely shape public opinion?

QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION AND DISCUSSION

1. Do you watch the local news? How often and for how long?
2. Where do you develop your beliefs about crime and the criminal justice system?
3. Do you think that local TV overrepresents violent and sensational crime? How?
4. Are African Americans treated unfairly by the local news? In what way?
5. Does television make people think that things are worse off than they are? List examples of recent headline stories that you have witnessed on TV.

IMPLICATIONS

1. The topic of television violence is an important subject to be discussed with youth. This topic could be included in a unit on the media—the impact of TV, music, and the movies.
2. This topic could be discussed in a parents’ meeting. Review articles and brainstorm ideas about how to approach this subject when watching the local news with young people.

Rob Malenich cCYS