Media Influence on Crime Myths and Public Perception

Introduction: Crime Myths and the Media

People who watch the news on television believe there is far more crime than there really is, according to researchers. This apparent effect of watching televised newscasts is compounded by crime programs, movies, and made-for-television dramas, which also perpetuate crime myths. Most people are unaware that they hold such myths. The myth of crime has been rhetorically constructed through discourse and has sunk into the collective consciousness — people talk about it until they believe it. Once a myth is embedded in consciousness, it is difficult to dislodge. This essay focuses on the role the media plays in the maintenance and perpetuation of crime myths, and considers some approaches for challenging them.

Commercial Television and the Appeal of Crime

Television — and radio — exist and profit through the sale of advertising. The more viewers expected to watch a program, the more money TV executives can charge for the time they sell to advertisers. The programs themselves are considered "fillers"; it is the advertising time and revenue that truly matter. Producers and executives are therefore interested in whatever draws the biggest audiences, and crime apparently sells. People seem fascinated by dramatic accounts of criminal acts and stories built around crime.

Consider the popularity of programs that focus on crime scene evidence. CSI became such a hit that numerous spin-offs followed, while cable "reality shows" like Cold Case Files and American Justice purport to document true crimes and how they were solved. Yet even reality shows present a distorted picture of police work. For one thing, every crime must be solved within half an hour, which means the drudgery, setbacks, and part-time nature of actual crime-solving are cut from the story. According to Bohm, police solve crimes only about 10% of the time — a reality these programs never reflect. Furthermore, because so many such programs now air simultaneously, they create the impression that murderers, serial killers, and rapists are everywhere, preying on vulnerable women. One myth Bohm does not explicitly address is that women are the primary victims of crime. On television they consistently are — but in reality, they are not.

News Coverage and Sensationalism

The news itself also promotes the illusion of increasing violent crime by over-publicizing sensational cases. Consider a case in which a child was taken from her bed by a man with a history of sex offenses who lived near his sister's home — very close to the child. During the week the child was missing, it was nearly impossible to avoid constant updates, and the suspenseful dimensions of the unfolding case were heavily emphasized. Newscasters appear to select stories based on what will entertain and keep audiences engaged. There were undoubtedly other important events occurring that week, but the emotional weight of a missing child — the anguish of the parents and grandparents, the fear that a similar offender could appear in one's own neighborhood — combined to make compelling television.

This obsessive media focus implies that such a violent crime could happen to any child, that this type of crime is on the rise, and that law enforcement is powerless to stop it. In reality, most child molestation is not committed by strangers — it is most often perpetrated by someone the child already knows. Such cases, however, receive far less publicity.

Conclusion: Breaking the Cycle of Crime Mythology

As long as people continue to find crime stimulating and exciting to talk about, see, and hear about, the myth will continue. The myth of crime is part of a larger belief that evil is a natural part of human nature. As long as that belief persists, people will always seek evidence to confirm it — and this is what encourages TV producers to keep making crime-centered programs. By talking about evil, and by writing, producing, and watching stories about evil (with crime as one of its forms), society remains in a state of mass hypnosis. We assume it is natural for evil and crime to exist, and unnatural for people to be good and to live in harmony. If the belief that human beings are fundamentally evil by nature — often paired with the doctrine that we are born with sin on our souls — could be challenged, it might be possible to begin waking up from the many myths surrounding crime that currently shape public consciousness.