An analysis of crime reporting (and audience perceptions of it) in selected South African media

The study on which this article was based was part of an international news study, conducted in 10 countries (Australia, China, Chile, Germany, India, Israel, Jordan, Russia, South Africa and the USA). In this article, the way in which crime as a topic is dealt with in selected news media is explor...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Daan du Plessis
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: University of Johannesburg 2022-10-01
Series:Communicare
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journals.uj.ac.za/index.php/jcsa/article/view/1805
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1832593760903495680
author Daan du Plessis
author_facet Daan du Plessis
author_sort Daan du Plessis
collection DOAJ
description The study on which this article was based was part of an international news study, conducted in 10 countries (Australia, China, Chile, Germany, India, Israel, Jordan, Russia, South Africa and the USA). In this article, the way in which crime as a topic is dealt with in selected news media is explored. Focus group results were also analysed to establish how people perceive crime reporting. Shoemaker’s theory on news values is applied to analyse media content and results from focus groups. From the analysis, it emerged that the media perform a surveillance function on behalf of their audiences and that the news media apply regular news values to decide on the reporting and presentation of news items dealing with crime events. Media audiences make practical use of information provided by the media on crime events to take precautions or to become aware of dangerous situations and people. Shoemaker’s theory also provides a valuable framework according to which news content can be analysed and understood. The data used in this study was collected as part of the What’s News? Project, based at the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York, USA, and is part of a larger study of the definition of news in ten countries. The principal investigators are Dr Pamela J. Shoemaker (Syracuse University) and Dr Akiba Cohen (Tel Aviv University, Israel). Additional researchers participated in the study from the following countries: Australia, China, Chile, India, Israel, Germany, Jordan, Russia, South Africa and the United States. Syracuse University acknowledges the support of the John Ben Snow Foundation.
format Article
id doaj-art-2ec00a13ee94402caf8a99efed2a4ac0
institution Kabale University
issn 0259-0069
2957-7950
language English
publishDate 2022-10-01
publisher University of Johannesburg
record_format Article
series Communicare
spelling doaj-art-2ec00a13ee94402caf8a99efed2a4ac02025-01-20T08:50:40ZengUniversity of JohannesburgCommunicare0259-00692957-79502022-10-0122110.36615/jcsa.v22i1.1805An analysis of crime reporting (and audience perceptions of it) in selected South African mediaDaan du Plessis0University of South Africa The study on which this article was based was part of an international news study, conducted in 10 countries (Australia, China, Chile, Germany, India, Israel, Jordan, Russia, South Africa and the USA). In this article, the way in which crime as a topic is dealt with in selected news media is explored. Focus group results were also analysed to establish how people perceive crime reporting. Shoemaker’s theory on news values is applied to analyse media content and results from focus groups. From the analysis, it emerged that the media perform a surveillance function on behalf of their audiences and that the news media apply regular news values to decide on the reporting and presentation of news items dealing with crime events. Media audiences make practical use of information provided by the media on crime events to take precautions or to become aware of dangerous situations and people. Shoemaker’s theory also provides a valuable framework according to which news content can be analysed and understood. The data used in this study was collected as part of the What’s News? Project, based at the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York, USA, and is part of a larger study of the definition of news in ten countries. The principal investigators are Dr Pamela J. Shoemaker (Syracuse University) and Dr Akiba Cohen (Tel Aviv University, Israel). Additional researchers participated in the study from the following countries: Australia, China, Chile, India, Israel, Germany, Jordan, Russia, South Africa and the United States. Syracuse University acknowledges the support of the John Ben Snow Foundation. https://journals.uj.ac.za/index.php/jcsa/article/view/1805international newcrimenews mediacrime reportingShoemaker’s theorynews values
spellingShingle Daan du Plessis
An analysis of crime reporting (and audience perceptions of it) in selected South African media
Communicare
international new
crime
news media
crime reporting
Shoemaker’s theory
news values
title An analysis of crime reporting (and audience perceptions of it) in selected South African media
title_full An analysis of crime reporting (and audience perceptions of it) in selected South African media
title_fullStr An analysis of crime reporting (and audience perceptions of it) in selected South African media
title_full_unstemmed An analysis of crime reporting (and audience perceptions of it) in selected South African media
title_short An analysis of crime reporting (and audience perceptions of it) in selected South African media
title_sort analysis of crime reporting and audience perceptions of it in selected south african media
topic international new
crime
news media
crime reporting
Shoemaker’s theory
news values
url https://journals.uj.ac.za/index.php/jcsa/article/view/1805
work_keys_str_mv AT daanduplessis ananalysisofcrimereportingandaudienceperceptionsofitinselectedsouthafricanmedia
AT daanduplessis analysisofcrimereportingandaudienceperceptionsofitinselectedsouthafricanmedia