NCJ Number
122579
Date Published
1989
Length
149 pages
Annotation
This book focuses on the process by which journalists and their news organizations construct crime news.
Abstract
Chapters on agencies and institutions with which journalists interact to obtain their information about crime indicate that interrelationships among police, courts, corrections departments, news organizations, and journalists are significant in determining what crime news is published and how that news is presented. A risk involved in reporting on crime and justice issues, however, is the possibility of being in contempt of court or making statements about public figures that attract libel writs. Other chapters examine corporate crime and the way reporters handle offenses committed by businesses, the role of reporters in investigative journalism in Australian media, and ethical issues faced by reporters in covering crime and criminal justice. Particular attention is paid to the rules which journalists apply in writing about crime victims and in reporting such incidents as suicides and drug use. It is concluded that news media represent a powerful educative function in democratic societies and that Australian journalists may need to be more responsible in their coverage of crime and criminal justice. The book is based on interviews with a cross-section of Australian journalists and news organizations. Appendixes contain the Australian Journalists' Association Code of Ethics and a list of journalists interviewed. 59 references.