The Role of Media in the Framing of Criminals and Race

The Role of Media in the Framing of Criminals and Race

Introduction

The Media has been a significant tool for passing information and reaching a higher number of people in the US and other regions of the world. It has over the years to influence the way viewers think about specific events taking place in the country, from political campaigns, education, breaking news, criminal justice, and the major issues in the state. The ability to reach huge masses makes the masses believe what the Media is feeding them, and most of the information passed is sometimes never validated to the public. It is difficult to sometimes distinguish between accurate information and rumors which are spread through media. Some individuals will use the media to pass a particular message targeting a particular group, especially when one member of that group has been arrested by cops, or involved in crime. Media is then used to picture that entire group as criminals, which is inaccurate. This article explores the role of media in influencing the perception of the viewers who see the crime-suspects as connected to specific ethnic groups in the state.

Racial identity has been a significant issue in the US, and some types of media do still use their influence in portraying certain minority groups like criminals, just because the police caught a single suspect of a crime (Leonard, 2012).  They influence the viewer’s perceptions of the entire community from which the suspect comes from. Surveys were done after reading of a mock-up article in the newspaper, the people who participated were given a questionnaire to complete assessing their attitudes towards suspects’ race, and showing either black or white suspects framed in terms of sympathy and scrutiny. Results gave different conclusions concerning the issue and were that individuals would likely be sympathetic towards a suspect if they share a similar racial identity. At the same time, the ones who read scrutinizing the information frame will blame more the suspect from the other race and having negative feelings towards that particular race (Dixon, & Josey, 2012).

People consuming information from the media usually get ideas over various racial groups in the country because of the power created by mass media, which enforces and gives rise to stereotypes and racial ideologies. Issues come up when media are stereotyping turns from explaining the general environment to becoming negative and creating inaccurate information regarding an entire group of people, whereby others perceive the information as true. There is a chance that the group in question will face stereotyping and discrimination as the media had portrayed them, according to Abraham and Appiah, 2006. Recent events like the Ferguson unrests, the Black Lives Matter movement, and the rampant protests in the University of Missouri, 2015 show the primary role of media that it plays in shaping discussions and, more notably, the attitudes on race (Seltzer, & Michael, 2009).

The media, for a long time, has associated people with dark skin tones with negative stereotyping, making the pattern to continue being portrayed in the present American society. Black people are perceived as being disproportionately indignant, violent in nature, criminals, and illiterate, especially in the news talking about crimes in the state. They are portrayed in dehumanizing ways than Whites and are more associated with being perpetrators instead of victims. Police officers used more force on people with color as they perceived them to be dangerous and unruly, unlike whites who, despite being unruly and in possession of arms, were taken more humanely. Black suspects were shown on TV being handcuffed, and fewer of them were mentioned by name, indicating them as an unidentified group in the USA. On the other hand, white suspects were identified by name more, giving them the individual identity, and not as a whole community of whites. Still, blacks were generalized by their ethnic groups.

Blacks are over-represented by media in the context of specific stereotyping in ways that fail to reflect actual realities. They are linked with drugs, smuggling and stealing, poverty, prisons, and neighborhoods where blacks live are depicted to be unsafe, with higher crime rates. Furthermore, people of color are shown in police custody more frequently than whites. Media pairs images of black people with negative topics, and is a way of activating racial biases in the community. The messages about crime have the ability to shape public views and opinions of the crime and easily guess who the suspect is, or the ethnic group suspects come from. The information framed in an accusatory way increases the likelihood that the viewers will perceive the suspect of being guilty of the crime in question. Stereotyping is activated in the minds of viewers who see and read information from the media because they believe that what is said or written is correct. The outcome is often negative feelings and fearing an entire racial community to being criminals, and that widens the gap of inequality within the state extensively.

Looking at the Thirteenth Amendment Documentary film, there is the exploration of race, justice, and mass incarceration that took place in the United States. Slavery was perpetuated from the period when the American Civil war ended, and certain norms are seen as criminal, making the police to conduct arrests on the poor freedmen and forcing them to work for the state under convict leasing. Minority communities are linked with drugs, and politicians use the war against drugs as a way of targeting these communities, lynching and suppressing them. Jim Crow legislation is passed to segregate and suppress the minority and placing them in the second-class status in their own country. Politicians in 2016 were working to generate fear of crime, claiming that New York had the most incidences, and media was the mainstream of these causing, putting fear among the citizens of the US. Some encouraged the construction of prisons, and target suspects were the minority groups plus the African-American communities. Media is used negatively to create confusion and stress among the minorities, as leaders and prominent business people use it to tarnish these communities based on racial differences.

In conclusion, Media has to research the information it feeds the public before writing and airing it out. Data has to be valid, accurate, and free from racial biases, or generalization of communities being seen as criminals. The minor ethnic groups should not be regarded as criminals in general. Instead, specific names should be reported and not link them to an entire community. Further studies to be done to assess people’s attitudes towards different races in the country so as to come up with solutions to solve the differences that are existing in modern society. Media framing and race studies should not just be about blacks and whites, but research has to encompass other ethnic communities present in the US. Policies should be put forward to allow recognition of all people from different backgrounds in the US and promote equality throughout the state to ensure everyone feels safe and has a sense of belonging in the greatest country of the world. When people live together, the country grows and flourishes.