Portrayal of Crime in the Cypriot Media: An Exploratory Study

• NCJ Number: 195324
• Journal: Western Criminology Review Volume: 3 Issue: 1 Dated: 2001 Pages: 1-39
• Author(s): Olga Tsoudis
• Date Published: 2001
• Length: 39 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: Downloaded June 21, 2002.

Annotation

This article discusses the significance of using social sanctions, in place of legal sanctions, in the media’s portrayal of crime in Cyprus, Greece.

Abstract

This author maintains that while criminologists have focused on the ways that crime is portrayed in the United States’ media, they have conducted limited research on nations with low crime rates. Focusing on the Greek Cypriots, this study explores the significance of family and social, rather than legal sanctions in the portrayal of crime by the Cypriot media. This article asserts that unlike the United States’ media, Cypriot media strongly reflects Cyprus’s family-based, honor-bound society. Newspaper articles on criminal activity from the Cyprus Mail are coded into data sets and analyzed. Using deterrence theory to guide the analysis, results of examining three years of media articles indicate that the Cypriot media focuses on social aspects of criminal behavior, including public shaming. Tables, notes, references