WJEC Criminology Prep Notes: Cornell Style for AC 1.4

Newspaper Coverage of Crime

Newspapers dedicate massive amounts of space to crime stories - think stabbings, shootings, murders, and terrorist attacks dominating your news feed. Both local and national papers focus heavily on reporting current crimes and their impact on communities.

When major incidents happen, crime completely takes over newspaper coverage. Front pages and entire sections become devoted to the latest updates and developments.

Take the August 2017 Barcelona terrorist attack as a perfect example. Headlines screamed words like 'massacre', 'bloodbath', 'evil', 'terror', and 'slaughtered on the street'. Both tabloid and broadsheet newspapers used this dramatic language.

Key Point: Media often sensationalises crime stories, using dramatic terms and focusing on negative aspects to grab your attention - even when it means overexaggerating events.

Television's Role in Crime Representation

Television plays a massive role in how crime gets portrayed through both fictional and factual content. You've probably seen programmes like Crimewatch or Police Camera Action that show real criminal cases.

High-profile crime dramas based on actual events are incredibly popular. Shows like 'Little Boy Blue' (about Rhys Jones' murder in 2007) and 'The Moorside' (covering Shannon Matthews' kidnapping in 2008) turn real tragedies into television entertainment.

Then there's the endless stream of fictional crime shows: Law & Order, Midsomer Murders, and Sherlock dominate TV schedules. According to researcher Tim Newburn, crime and law enforcement content has exploded from one-tenth of prime-time TV in the 1950s to a quarter of all output today.

Reality Check: Crime shows have quadrupled on TV since the 1950s - meaning you're constantly exposed to criminal content, whether you realise it or not.

Films and Gaming Impact

Films have a huge influence on how people perceive crime, mixing both factual and fictional portrayals. Movies like Suicide Squad, Die Hard, Human Centipede, and The Wolf of Wall Street all focus heavily on crime and corruption themes.

Electronic gaming presents perhaps the most controversial representation of crime. Most crime-based games target over-18s, but they often trivialise criminal behaviour by suggesting violence is acceptable or normal.

Grand Theft Auto perfectly illustrates this issue - the game literally encourages players to steal cars, engage with prostitutes, and kill people for points. This normalisation of criminal activity through entertainment raises serious questions about media influence.

Think About It: When games reward criminal behaviour with points and progression, what message does that send about real-world consequences?

Social Media and Music Representations

Social media has revolutionised crime reporting through blogs and social networking platforms. Members of the public can instantly raise awareness about criminal activity by posting updates and sharing information.

Police forces now actively use Facebook and Twitter to increase public awareness of particular crimes. These platforms help communities see what criminal activity is happening in their area and allow police to make appeals for information from potential witnesses.

Music has long been fascinated with crime and criminals. Classic tracks like 'I Fought the Law' by The Clash and 'Bonnie and Clyde' by Georgie Fame celebrate infamous criminal figures.

Modern artists continue this trend - Eminem has created multiple songs referencing crime and drugs, while Nirvana's 'Polly' is based on an actual crime. This phenomenon isn't limited to Western music either; Korean boyband B.A.P uses concepts of murder, theft, and kidnapping in their music videos to portray gang culture.

Global Perspective: Crime representation in media transcends cultural boundaries - it's a worldwide phenomenon that shapes how different societies understand criminal behaviour.