NCJ Number
106463
Journal
Deviant Behavior Volume: 8 Issue: 3 Dated: (1987) Pages: 283-297
Date Published
1987
Length
15 pages
Annotation
This study examined the attributions of responsibility contained in factual accounts of crime in a number of Canadian daily newspapers. The focus was upon the relative amount of coverage accorded crime suspects and victims, as well as upon the presence or absence of references to the victim's contribution to the offense.
Abstract
Also examined were the effects of the type of crime involved and the gender of the parties to an offense upon offender/victim coverage and references to victim contribution. As expected, offenders tended to receive greater coverage than victims. The coverage of the offender, relative to the victim, tended to be greatest when the offender was a male and a property, rather than violent crime, was involved. The victim's gender did not exercise an effect on offender/victim coverage. In about one-quarter of the articles, a mention was made of the victim's contribution to the offense. Such references to the victim's role were more likely to be found where the offender was a female, the victim a male, and where the offense was violent in nature. The findings about the media portrayals of the respective roles in crime of offenders and victims, as well as the effects of the type of crime and gender on these roles, conformed, in large part, to what is known about the actual dynamics of criminal behavior. (Publisher abstract)