There are some important lessons we’ve learned about how the coverage of violence—especially juvenile violence—influences the way many of us think about teenagers and crime. RELATED ARTICLE “What Numbers Can Tell … Read more
336% = the percentage increase in coverage of homicide on NBC, ABC, and CBS nightly news between 1990 and 1995. During this time, homicide arrests dropped by 13%. 99% = the percent of violent deaths of children that occurred outside … Read more
The funeral of a Boston youth. Photo by Stan Grossfeld. There is little doubt that television coverage contributes to the public hysteria about youth crime. In particular, local television news plays a … Read more
Picture these scenes from two local TV news stories: A young pilot accepts the cheers of well-wishers as she completes a solo cross-country flight, becoming the youngest person ever to do this. A distraught young woman describes how a sniper … Read more
Reporting on crime and violence has been a staple in the newspaper diet since before the pennycress. In that time, one by-product of this coverage has remained consistent: readers have been presented with distorted picture of the world. For example, … Read more
In 1995, Jane Ellen Stevens, a science writer, embarked on a collaborative project with Dr. Lori Dorfman, Director of the Berkeley Media Studies Group, a public health research organization, and Dr. Esther Thorson, a statistician and Associate Dean at the … Read more
