Crime, the Media and the Law Policy Research Paper

Crime, the Media and the Law Policy - Research Paper Example The power of the media and its responsibilities towards ensuring a harmonious state shall be looked into and the effects of such media coverage on the people shall be explored. Apart from this, the commercial aspect of the media and the advertising industry that forms a large part of the media and depends on sensationalism to a great extent for drawing its revenues shall also be a part of the focus of this paper. The only way in which the masses of a particular place would get to know about the crime rates of the area that they live in is through the media. Kenneth Dowler states – â€Å"The mass media play an important role in the construction of criminality and the criminal justice system. The public’s perception of victims, criminals, deviants, and law enforcement officials is largely determined by their portrayal in the mass media† (2003). Statistics regarding the performances of specific sectors of the law enforcement agencies are often let out to the society through the work of the media. Te channel of communication between the rulers and the ruled being the media, it has the onus of redirecting power back to the people from whom it is supposed to originate. The working of a democracy in an ideal manner has thus, a lot to do with the way in which the cycles of power are managed. The interest of the people at the helm of affairs would lie in the way in which the negative aspects of their tenure along with the positive ones are reported. This would result in a balanced analysis that would enable the smooth functioning of democracy in a nation. The media would then be able to fulfil its role as a check on the power of elected representatives in a government. Problems arise, however, when this system is subverted for the sake of profits on the part of increasingly profit-oriented media ventures. The effects of commercialization can be seen the most in the news media which provides people with the maximum amount of knowledge regarding crime s and the mechanisms that seek to control it. Such control is dependent on the taxes that people pay and hence depends on their consent regarding the modes of prevention of crime and the punishments that are meted out to people who violate the law. The opinions of people regarding the methods that seek to tackle crime are always factors that decide the person that occupies the seat of power. Consequently, the process of dealing with crime is something that is important to not just the people who cover it as a part of the media but also for the people who make laws for the prevention of it (Current Problems in the Media, 2012). The credibility of the media too has undergone erosion in the last few decades. With a growth in the corporatisation of the media, the power of its lobbies has grown too. The power of the media in shaping public opinion too is something that provides it with immense clout in deciding the social affairs of the state. This has however, instead of encouraging hon est investigative reporting led people to look for easy successes and fame through sensationalism (ibid). An unhealthy state of affairs in the media reflects badly upon the health of the nation’