NCJ Number
104674
Date Published
1987
Length
21 pages
Annotation
Newspaper and magazine coverage of the corrupt activities of two officials of the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) demonstrates how the media's selection and presentation of information produces a particular image of illegal activity and its causes and thereby hinders progress in developing criminological theory.
Abstract
Data came from a content analysis of the articles in four major newspapers and the major independent magazine on transportation between 1977 and 1979. Information from these sources was compared with data from two sets of Federal hearing transcripts on the same cases. The 52 news stories included 20 in 'Traffic World,' 15 in 'The Washington Post,' 12 in 'The New York Times,' 3 in the 'Wall Street Journal,' and 2 in the 'Chicago Tribune.' The news accounts emphasized individual acts of corruption and their links to organized crime, but overlooked the organizational issues involved. Thus, the stories gave little attention to the contention of one of the accused officials that he did not deviate from organizational norms. Only four articles examined alleged patterns of ICC wrongdoing not involving organized crime. Overall, the media coverage suggested that corruption resulted from personal failings and from organized crime figures who were external both to the ICC and to the usual operations of the economy. Thus, the news media provided only a partial understanding at the agency. This emphasis may promote a focus on control of individual behaviors rather than attention to structural problems in organizations. 23 references.