Media & Public Opinion

The media consequently affects the public opinion, based on the type of information that it conveys to the public. Currently, most people spend most of their time working at home, thus making them to watch the television more than when they are at work (Kort-Butler & Hartshorn, 2011). In the year 2003, the percentage of people working from home was 3%, this has however changed, and by the 2015, it had increased to 24% (Bjornstrom et al, 2010). This consequently shows how much time most spend while watching the TV while at home. The media tends to affect the beliefs of the public, through presenting either good or bad information concerning certain groups of people.

The media widely covers crime in the news, and consequently shows the group of people who participate in criminal activities (Entman & Gross, 2008). This puts the issue of race in question, since most people tend to believe that, since most people of a certain color are usually arrested particularly during a criminal act, the public tends to discriminate people based on their colors. For instance, when the crime rates in Chicago are very high, the media consequently reports such news, whereby the images of those arrested is usually captured (Smolej & Kivivuori, 2006). In an area such as Chicago which is dominated by African Americans, it is highly expected that most African Americans within that region will participate in crime.

When people from other states such as New York get such information, they will consequently link African American’s with crime (Doyle, 2006). Moreover, the ages of and gender of the criminals is usually recorded, a thing which makes most people of a certain age, color, and gender to criminal activities. The issue of social classes is usually depicted, whereby most criminals tend to come from lower social classes, thus making most people to associate people of a low social class with crime. On the other hand, the media also affects the perception of criminal justice, and this usually through covering falls information concerning a person whose case is currently in court (Sandstig, 2010). This makes the jury to think otherwise concerning the criminal, hence rendering falls justice.

Reference

 Bjornstrom, E.S., Kaufman, R. L., Peterson, R. D., & Slater, M. D. (2010). Race and Ethnic Representation of Lawbreakers and Victims in Crime News: A National Study of Television Coverage. Social Problems, 57(2), 269-293. 

Doyle, A. (2006). How not to think about Crime in the Media: Canadian Journal of Criminology & Criminal Justice, 48(6), 867-885. 

Entman, R. M., & Gross, K. A. (2008). Race to judgment: Stereotyping media and criminal defendants. Law & Contemporary Programs, 71(4), 93-133. Retrieved from http://find.galegroup.com.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/gtx/infomark.do?contentSet=IAC-Documents&docType=IAC&type=retrieve&tabID=T002&prodId=EAIM&docId=A191514426&userGroupName=minn4020&version=1.0&searchTyp

Sandstig, G. (2010). Media influences and effects on experiences of uncertainty and fear n urban public spaces. Journal of US-China Public Administration, 7(12), 66-84. Retrieved from http://ezp.waldenulibrary.org/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=57457328&site=ehost-live&scope=site

Smolej, M., & Kivivuori, J. (2006). The Relation between Crime News and Fear of Violence: Journal of Scandinavian Studies in Criminology and CrimePrevention, 7(2), 211-227. 

Kort-Butler, L. A., & Hartshorn, K. (2011). Watching the detectives: Crime programming, fear of crime, and attitudes about the criminal justice system. Sociological Quarterly, 52(1), 36-55. Retrieved from http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1533-8525.2010.01191.x/abstract