SOC 1500 Chapter Notes - Chapter 3: Trutv, Moral Panic, Csi Effect

• School: University of Guelph
• Department: Sociology
• Course: SOC 1500
• Professor: Stephanie Howells

Document Summary

Media plays an integral role in how the general public understands the social reality of crime. Way crime is portrayed in the media differs considerably from how crime is measured and defined officially. On the basis of how crime is depicted in the media, society has come to feel more threatened by interpersonal violence and mayhem. News that travels through interpersonal networks is more likely to induce fear than news from airwaves of mass media. Media capable of distorting public understanding about crime and its control. Moral panic: when a condition, episode, person, or group of persons emerge to become more defined as a threat to the societal values and interests. Nature is presented in a stylized and stereotypical fashion by the mass media. To be identified as moral panic , evidence must be available that calls into question the factual basis of the claims being made.