This document summarizes a research study that analyzed media coverage of three mass shooting cases to determine if there is media bias in the portrayal of homicide victims. The study used computerized content analysis to examine news articles about mass shootings in Mattapan, MA (2010), Tucson, AZ (2011), and Oak Creek, WI (2012). The hypothesis was that media coverage would be biased based on extralegal factors of victims and offenders, like race. The findings provided mixed support for this hypothesis. Specifically, the Mattapan case received only local coverage focused on the later trial, while the Tucson and Oak Creek cases received prolonged national attention, with Tucson focused more on victims and Oak Creek on the investigation.
The relationship between university students’ perceptions ofRula alsawalqa
By conducting a set of quantitative surveys, this study aimed to detecting the correlation between Jordanian
University students’ perceptions of terrorism and a variety of demographic variables. The results revealed that
the majority of students viewed terrorism as the most heinous crime, and is never justified, and that terrorists
are hard-core criminals, separatist groups that want to weaken the unity of the country. Therefore, they should
be treated as traitors and punished as they pose a threat to national interest, and the safety and security of
citizens. While a few of student indicated that there are some terrorist activities’ as a repercussion of repressed
needs and the demands of society, it should however be managed and the violations committed by states
against their nationals be confronted with the aim of eliminating injustices to vulnerable citizens. Most
students believe that poverty and material deprivation are of the most prominent causes of terrorism. They
also stress the necessity of providing food security and optimal life for citizens to limit the spread of the
phenomenon of terrorism and achieve societal solidarity to save human lives and stability of communities.
Furthermore, the results confirmed that there are no academic specializations, age, sex, academic level, and
monthly income statistically significant differences in perceptions of the terrorism among university students.
The relationship between university students’ perceptions ofRula alsawalqa
By conducting a set of quantitative surveys, this study aimed to detecting the correlation between Jordanian
University students’ perceptions of terrorism and a variety of demographic variables. The results revealed that
the majority of students viewed terrorism as the most heinous crime, and is never justified, and that terrorists
are hard-core criminals, separatist groups that want to weaken the unity of the country. Therefore, they should
be treated as traitors and punished as they pose a threat to national interest, and the safety and security of
citizens. While a few of student indicated that there are some terrorist activities’ as a repercussion of repressed
needs and the demands of society, it should however be managed and the violations committed by states
against their nationals be confronted with the aim of eliminating injustices to vulnerable citizens. Most
students believe that poverty and material deprivation are of the most prominent causes of terrorism. They
also stress the necessity of providing food security and optimal life for citizens to limit the spread of the
phenomenon of terrorism and achieve societal solidarity to save human lives and stability of communities.
Furthermore, the results confirmed that there are no academic specializations, age, sex, academic level, and
monthly income statistically significant differences in perceptions of the terrorism among university students.
Geographies of domestic violence in rural spaces: Case of rural Nepali commun...IJRTEMJOURNAL
Recognition that past research on domestic violence largely concentrated on urban areas has
helped to generate a body of work focusing specifically on the rural. This work has begun to identify important
characteristics of the experience of intimate partner violence in rural communities and, in particular, to draw
attention to the problems of resourcing and delivering services in support of families and individuals living with
and escaping violence. A key direction of research has been the interrogation of rates of domestic violence in
the comparison of urban, suburban and rural areas. Some studies have extended this comparative approach in
highlighting the prevalence of different forms of violence across types of community. This focus on the rural has
been a welcomed response to academic criticisms of the lack of work on the rationality of space and violence
and to associated calls by geographers to foreground the centrality of space in work on both the experience and
conceptualization of violence. Three remote villages of Bank district of western Nepal has been selected for the
household survey at 90 households. In addition to that, KII and FGD as well as interactive interview with the
local stake holders have also been conducted. Main finding of this research is women in the rural and remote
areas are more likely than women in urban areas to experience domestic and family violence. Similarly, women
living in the rural and remote areas who experience domestic and family violence face specific issues related to
their geographical location and the cultural and social characteristics of living in small communities.
Firearm suicide among the elderly poses a serious challenge to public health. One of the greatest barriers to finding a solution to this problem is the highly politicized and bipartisan nature of the gun control debate. This paper studies the underlying risk factors contributing to suicide and existing legislation to develop recommendations for reducing firearm suicide among the elderly. Various databases were searched for evidence of successful interventions including PscyhInfo, PubMed and Scopus. The search criteria were limited to studies published within the U.S. between 2008 and 2018. Based on available evidence, the social ecological model provides the best intervention for reducing firearm suicide and firearm mortality among the target population through small interventions at the intrapersonal, interpersonal, community and societal levels.
Diverting hate speech with simple online tools (Chioma Agwuegbo - Reboot)mysociety
This was presented by Chioma Agwuegbo from Reboot at the Impacts of Civic Technology Conference (TICTeC 2018) in Lisbon on 18th April 2018. You can find out more information about the conference here: http://tictec.mysociety.org/2018
What we see may not always be the reality and what we
presume as real may not be our observation always. In a democratic
set-up, this has often emerged as a reality. Democracies had always been subjected to criticism but it is astonishing to note how the
interplay of corrupt vision and changing social attitudes playing a
havoc in our democratic systems. This paper broadly investigates
the voting behavior and attitudes in response to sophisticated
tempting actions by political parties to pull voters. This research
demonstrates that higher the level of temptation combined with
many socio-economic perils leads to higher biasness towards
them. Participatory research, interviews, journals, publications,
and observation and media reporting have been studied, analyzed,
and scrutinized to discover how different poor and illiterate people
vote. Findings and results attribute a greater role of education,
financial liberty, backwardness, and awareness to political reality
in determining voting behavior.
This paper presents the results of a new monitoring project of the US presidential elections with the aim of establishing computer-based tools to track in real time the popularity or awareness of candidates. The designed and developed innovative methods allow us to extract the frequency of queries sent to numerous search engines by US Internet users. Based on these data, this paper demonstrates that Trump was more frequently searched than the Democratic candidates, either Hillary Clinton in 2016 or Joe Biden in 2020. When analyzing the topics, it is observed that in 2020 the US users had shown a remarkable interest in two subjects, namely, Coronavirus and Jobs (unemployment). Interest for other topics such as Education or Healthcare were less pronounced while issues such as Immigration were given even less attention by users. Finally, some “flame” topics such as Black Lives Matter (2020) and Gun Control (2016) appear to be very popular for a few weeks before returning to a low level of interest. When analyzing tweets sent by candidates during the 2020 campaign, one can observe that Trump was focused mainly on Jobs and on Riots, announcing what would happen if Democrats took power. To these negative ads, Biden answered by putting forward moral values (e.g., love, honesty) and political symbols (e.g., democracy, rights) and by underlying the failure of the current administration in resolving the pandemic situation.
Capstone Project: Database Administrator
HRPO 2301
Capstone Project
Narrator: You are the head director at Vigo county tax and municipal services office, where new computer systems have created uneven workloads and ambiguous job responsibilities, have become a source of much contention in the office. These are your employees and here are their problems. First up, Janie.
Janie: Myra and Johnny have way too much free time to socialize and run personal errands while I do most of their job.
Myra: Okay, so maybe we do go out quite a bit. But we also have to complete tasks that should really be left to a data admin.
Johnny: That and our paychecks don't really reflect the added responsibilities of the data admin. The duties we have acquired over the years go way beyond the job descriptions in our employment contract
Narrator: Alistair, your database admin, doesn't seem to be having any problems at all.
Alistair: I'm not having any problems at all.
Narrator: OOF! It would appear you haven't updated the job descriptions for these positions in a number of years. Responsibilities have multiplied but the new boundaries of each job have yet to be defined. Judging by the conversations you've been having lately, it's high time you did something about it.
Running head: TERRORISM IN THE U.S.
6
TERRORISM IN THE U.S.
Terrorism in the U.S.
Terrorism in the U.S.
Introduction
My study focuses on the terrorist attack that took place on September 11, 2001 in multiple cities in the United States. The attack on the United States was brought on by Osama Bin Laden and his al-Qaeda organization as an act of terrorism. Almost three thousand people died that day in the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and the airplanes that were hijacked. The ultimate effect that the attack had on the nation was immense, with reactions and effects still being present to this day.
For many people involved in the attacks, the shock triggered PTSD that must be treated to this day (Neria, DiGrandre, & Adams, 2011). Additionally, people who were there for support and aid, such as telecommunicators and social workers also suffered from effects like PTSD due to their exposure to the victims and their first-hand experiences (Lilly & Pierce, 2013).
Support groups were formed to help people grieve and cope with the loss of their loved ones. Different groups took different approaches, with all groups sharing the goal of keeping the memory of their loved ones alive. It is important to have different alternatives in terms of support for people that need help to deal with the harsh reality that is terrorism.
Another important detail to address that came upon as a result of the actions of Osama Bin Laden and al-Qaeda was xenophobia. Americans grew a certain fear and disrespect for all Middle Easterners and Muslims because it is the population that was blamed. American Muslims living in the U.S. were being harassed and treated unfairly as a result, although they.
Geographies of domestic violence in rural spaces: Case of rural Nepali commun...IJRTEMJOURNAL
Recognition that past research on domestic violence largely concentrated on urban areas has
helped to generate a body of work focusing specifically on the rural. This work has begun to identify important
characteristics of the experience of intimate partner violence in rural communities and, in particular, to draw
attention to the problems of resourcing and delivering services in support of families and individuals living with
and escaping violence. A key direction of research has been the interrogation of rates of domestic violence in
the comparison of urban, suburban and rural areas. Some studies have extended this comparative approach in
highlighting the prevalence of different forms of violence across types of community. This focus on the rural has
been a welcomed response to academic criticisms of the lack of work on the rationality of space and violence
and to associated calls by geographers to foreground the centrality of space in work on both the experience and
conceptualization of violence. Three remote villages of Bank district of western Nepal has been selected for the
household survey at 90 households. In addition to that, KII and FGD as well as interactive interview with the
local stake holders have also been conducted. Main finding of this research is women in the rural and remote
areas are more likely than women in urban areas to experience domestic and family violence. Similarly, women
living in the rural and remote areas who experience domestic and family violence face specific issues related to
their geographical location and the cultural and social characteristics of living in small communities.
Firearm suicide among the elderly poses a serious challenge to public health. One of the greatest barriers to finding a solution to this problem is the highly politicized and bipartisan nature of the gun control debate. This paper studies the underlying risk factors contributing to suicide and existing legislation to develop recommendations for reducing firearm suicide among the elderly. Various databases were searched for evidence of successful interventions including PscyhInfo, PubMed and Scopus. The search criteria were limited to studies published within the U.S. between 2008 and 2018. Based on available evidence, the social ecological model provides the best intervention for reducing firearm suicide and firearm mortality among the target population through small interventions at the intrapersonal, interpersonal, community and societal levels.
Diverting hate speech with simple online tools (Chioma Agwuegbo - Reboot)mysociety
This was presented by Chioma Agwuegbo from Reboot at the Impacts of Civic Technology Conference (TICTeC 2018) in Lisbon on 18th April 2018. You can find out more information about the conference here: http://tictec.mysociety.org/2018
What we see may not always be the reality and what we
presume as real may not be our observation always. In a democratic
set-up, this has often emerged as a reality. Democracies had always been subjected to criticism but it is astonishing to note how the
interplay of corrupt vision and changing social attitudes playing a
havoc in our democratic systems. This paper broadly investigates
the voting behavior and attitudes in response to sophisticated
tempting actions by political parties to pull voters. This research
demonstrates that higher the level of temptation combined with
many socio-economic perils leads to higher biasness towards
them. Participatory research, interviews, journals, publications,
and observation and media reporting have been studied, analyzed,
and scrutinized to discover how different poor and illiterate people
vote. Findings and results attribute a greater role of education,
financial liberty, backwardness, and awareness to political reality
in determining voting behavior.
This paper presents the results of a new monitoring project of the US presidential elections with the aim of establishing computer-based tools to track in real time the popularity or awareness of candidates. The designed and developed innovative methods allow us to extract the frequency of queries sent to numerous search engines by US Internet users. Based on these data, this paper demonstrates that Trump was more frequently searched than the Democratic candidates, either Hillary Clinton in 2016 or Joe Biden in 2020. When analyzing the topics, it is observed that in 2020 the US users had shown a remarkable interest in two subjects, namely, Coronavirus and Jobs (unemployment). Interest for other topics such as Education or Healthcare were less pronounced while issues such as Immigration were given even less attention by users. Finally, some “flame” topics such as Black Lives Matter (2020) and Gun Control (2016) appear to be very popular for a few weeks before returning to a low level of interest. When analyzing tweets sent by candidates during the 2020 campaign, one can observe that Trump was focused mainly on Jobs and on Riots, announcing what would happen if Democrats took power. To these negative ads, Biden answered by putting forward moral values (e.g., love, honesty) and political symbols (e.g., democracy, rights) and by underlying the failure of the current administration in resolving the pandemic situation.
Capstone Project: Database Administrator
HRPO 2301
Capstone Project
Narrator: You are the head director at Vigo county tax and municipal services office, where new computer systems have created uneven workloads and ambiguous job responsibilities, have become a source of much contention in the office. These are your employees and here are their problems. First up, Janie.
Janie: Myra and Johnny have way too much free time to socialize and run personal errands while I do most of their job.
Myra: Okay, so maybe we do go out quite a bit. But we also have to complete tasks that should really be left to a data admin.
Johnny: That and our paychecks don't really reflect the added responsibilities of the data admin. The duties we have acquired over the years go way beyond the job descriptions in our employment contract
Narrator: Alistair, your database admin, doesn't seem to be having any problems at all.
Alistair: I'm not having any problems at all.
Narrator: OOF! It would appear you haven't updated the job descriptions for these positions in a number of years. Responsibilities have multiplied but the new boundaries of each job have yet to be defined. Judging by the conversations you've been having lately, it's high time you did something about it.
Running head: TERRORISM IN THE U.S.
6
TERRORISM IN THE U.S.
Terrorism in the U.S.
Terrorism in the U.S.
Introduction
My study focuses on the terrorist attack that took place on September 11, 2001 in multiple cities in the United States. The attack on the United States was brought on by Osama Bin Laden and his al-Qaeda organization as an act of terrorism. Almost three thousand people died that day in the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and the airplanes that were hijacked. The ultimate effect that the attack had on the nation was immense, with reactions and effects still being present to this day.
For many people involved in the attacks, the shock triggered PTSD that must be treated to this day (Neria, DiGrandre, & Adams, 2011). Additionally, people who were there for support and aid, such as telecommunicators and social workers also suffered from effects like PTSD due to their exposure to the victims and their first-hand experiences (Lilly & Pierce, 2013).
Support groups were formed to help people grieve and cope with the loss of their loved ones. Different groups took different approaches, with all groups sharing the goal of keeping the memory of their loved ones alive. It is important to have different alternatives in terms of support for people that need help to deal with the harsh reality that is terrorism.
Another important detail to address that came upon as a result of the actions of Osama Bin Laden and al-Qaeda was xenophobia. Americans grew a certain fear and disrespect for all Middle Easterners and Muslims because it is the population that was blamed. American Muslims living in the U.S. were being harassed and treated unfairly as a result, although they.
Capstone Project: Database Administrator
HRPO 2301
Capstone Project
Narrator: You are the head director at Vigo county tax and municipal services office, where new computer systems have created uneven workloads and ambiguous job responsibilities, have become a source of much contention in the office. These are your employees and here are their problems. First up, Janie.
Janie: Myra and Johnny have way too much free time to socialize and run personal errands while I do most of their job.
Myra: Okay, so maybe we do go out quite a bit. But we also have to complete tasks that should really be left to a data admin.
Johnny: That and our paychecks don't really reflect the added responsibilities of the data admin. The duties we have acquired over the years go way beyond the job descriptions in our employment contract
Narrator: Alistair, your database admin, doesn't seem to be having any problems at all.
Alistair: I'm not having any problems at all.
Narrator: OOF! It would appear you haven't updated the job descriptions for these positions in a number of years. Responsibilities have multiplied but the new boundaries of each job have yet to be defined. Judging by the conversations you've been having lately, it's high time you did something about it.
Running head: TERRORISM IN THE U.S.
6
TERRORISM IN THE U.S.
Terrorism in the U.S.
Terrorism in the U.S.
Introduction
My study focuses on the terrorist attack that took place on September 11, 2001 in multiple cities in the United States. The attack on the United States was brought on by Osama Bin Laden and his al-Qaeda organization as an act of terrorism. Almost three thousand people died that day in the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and the airplanes that were hijacked. The ultimate effect that the attack had on the nation was immense, with reactions and effects still being present to this day.
For many people involved in the attacks, the shock triggered PTSD that must be treated to this day (Neria, DiGrandre, & Adams, 2011). Additionally, people who were there for support and aid, such as telecommunicators and social workers also suffered from effects like PTSD due to their exposure to the victims and their first-hand experiences (Lilly & Pierce, 2013).
Support groups were formed to help people grieve and cope with the loss of their loved ones. Different groups took different approaches, with all groups sharing the goal of keeping the memory of their loved ones alive. It is important to have different alternatives in terms of support for people that need help to deal with the harsh reality that is terrorism.
Another important detail to address that came upon as a result of the actions of Osama Bin Laden and al-Qaeda was xenophobia. Americans grew a certain fear and disrespect for all Middle Easterners and Muslims because it is the population that was blamed. American Muslims living in the U.S. were being harassed and treated unfairly as a result, although they ...
Jones 1Jones 7Kyle JonesMatthew ZimmermanEnglish 10222 N.docxpriestmanmable
Jones 1
Jones 7
Kyle Jones
Matthew Zimmerman
English 102
22 November 2014[Title]: [Subtitle]
In 2014, we live in a world with a media saturated culture. This is the era of digital news services, of 24-hour news channels, free newspapers, and even media based applications. For the majority of us, the way in which we learn about the world outside our personal perception is through the consumption of news, mainly still through broadcast or print (OFCOM 2007). Various forms of media has fed the public statistics that created a sense of stereotyping for each particular race. For example, the media and those on film, such as politics and leaders of the government, link together race and crime, which conveys a criminal image of the public’s consumption (St. John & Heald-Moore, 1995). Since race and crime are tied together, when one thinks of a crime, hears about a crime, or when crime is being reported, race is usually associated with it. In the American society, a frequent representation of crime is that it is majorly committed by African- Americans. The view of African Americans has been distorted and twisted by the media. Without question, almost everything that is being covered by the media is believed by most of society and it becomes their actual perceptual reality. Broadcast media and other various forms of media has a history for portraying African Americans in a biased manner, as if they were mostly reported involved in crime, drugs, or acts of violence. This has led to many cases of stereotyping, racial profiling, police brutality, prejudice, inhumane acts and has brain washed most of our society into believing that almost every African American is mischievous or a threat to their well-being. African Americans are unjustly, as well as unrealistically depicted on broadcast news and various other types of mass media. These negative connotations affects more than just African- Americans but also every other culture that exists in America.
African Americans have been associated with crime for quite some time. It was not until some in the 1970’s and early 1980s that the popular stereotype of the young black man evolved in the eyes of many from a petty thief or rapist into the notorious , malicious criminal predators, or what Kathery Russel ( 2002) has argued, is the world recognized “ criminalblackman”. Within the last few decades there have been controversial law enforcement practices of racial profiling. Law enforcement officials pursue minorities in an attempt to increase the likely hood of catching illegal activity or the predetermined act of illegal activity, which is part of a consequence from the racial profiling that the media has inflicted upon society. The questionable practices has led to negative effects on blacks. To the African American culture law officials are deemed more criminal or more of a threat than what the media and statistics has condemned blacks to be. The after math, after the many years of harassment, African ...
Running head INEFFECTIVENESS OF THE CAPITAL PUNISHMENT SYSTEM1.docxcowinhelen
Running head: INEFFECTIVENESS OF THE CAPITAL PUNISHMENT SYSTEM 1
INEFFECTIVENESS OF CAPITAL PUNISHMENT SYSTEM 8
Ineffectiveness of the Capital Punishment System
Name
Introduction
Capital punishment is one of the major social issues affecting the sustenance of peace, democracy and mutual coexistence in the United States. Capital punishment is sometimes referred to as the death penalty and is largely recognized as a lawful sentence in 31 out of 50 states found in the United States. The Eighth Amendment constrains the application to disturbed killings submitted by rationally capable grown-ups. Historical analysis reveal that this mode of punishment began officially in 1776 after being authorized for identical law offences in the greater part of the American provinces preceding the country’s independence. This paper seeks to establish the ineffectiveness of the entire system and conclude by providing alternative solutions.
Problem Statement
According to Melusky and Pesto (2011), capital punishment in America is a broken procedure existing as a major social challenge. Currently, many opponents have risen to criticize and champion for the abolishment of the capital punishment due to its alleged ineffectiveness. These forms of punishments are anticipated not by the grievousness of the wrongdoing but rather by the low quality of the safeguard legal advisors, the race of the blamed or the casualty, and the district and state in which the wrongdoing happened.
On numerous occasions, research has shown that the criminal equity framework neglects to secure the poor and persons with genuine mental inabilities and ailments from execution (Melusky & Pesto, 2011). Indeed, even the organization of executions is totally defective: Every strategy for execution accompanies a heinously high danger of great agony and torment. Today, open backing for capital punishment is falling; the quantities of new capital punishments and executions are both quickly diminishing, it perhaps communicates the message that the time is ripe for America to end this fizzled test. It is, therefore, imperative to discuss the ineffective of capital punishment as a social issue in the United States.
Current Statistical Overview
Previous statistics reveal that thirty-five prisoners were executed last year in the U.S., and over 3,000 were on a death row. From 1976 to 2015, 1,392 executions happened in the United States, and 995 of them occurred in the South. Nonetheless, this deadly infusion has been the most widely recognized technique since the late 1970s. Thirty-four states have had executions since the death penalty was restored in 1976. Some of the states that took a lead role in the implementation of this awful law included Oklahoma, Ohio, Missouri, Texas, Arizona, Florida, Georgia and Virginia. Additionally, these states were accused to have executed the law with relative recurrence. However, Texas and Oklahoma led the charge, with the most executions, and the m ...
Running head: Hate Crimes
1
Hate Crimes
2
My tutorial comes with a Certificate, which is a report attached to each tutorial, and shows that my work is plagiarism free. I usually use Turnitin checker software and Dustball plagiarism checker software to prepare this certificate. According to most Plagiarism checker systems, an original paper is a paper with similarity amount range between 10% to 20 % OR (( 80-90% unique contents)).
In many cities throughout the United States, the prevalence of hate crimes has increased. You have been asked to provide your insight into this and recommend ways to decrease the occurrence of these types of crimes.
Research the topic of hate crimes and address the following:
· Create a profile of the typical individual who commits hate crimes.
· Who are some targets and/or victims of hate crimes?
· What are some of the causes and effects of these crimes?
· What actions can be taken to minimize the occurrence of hate crimes?
Hate Crimes
Student Name
University Name
Hate Crimes
Hate Crimes care awful and nevertheless they happen each day. The thought that a hate crimes will happen anytime anyplace isn't one thing that crosses everyone’s mind daily. among this essay we'll cowl the everyday individual United Nations agency commits hate crimes, United Nations agency the targets or victims of hate crimes ar, what the causes and effects of hate crimes ar, and what actions are often taken to reduce the number and prevalence of hate crimes. sadly hate crimes are a vicinity of the u. s., before the u. s. being named. they're a vicinity of our history as Americans, tho' it's not sensible history, it's still there. “A hate crime is typically outlined by state law jointly that involves threats, harassment, or physical hurt and is driven by prejudice against someone's race, color, religion, national origin, ethnicity, sexual orientation or physical or mental incapacity.” (USLegal, 2011)
According to statistics an outsized majority of hate crime offenders ar white, young adult, males. this is often solely statistically speaking tho', hates crime offenders are often anyone, anytime, anywhere. tho' this looks a shivery thought that's however things ar. there's no excellent profile for a personal that
commits hate crimes, any person has the potential to try and do it, and it simply depends on the individual and whether or not they place their thoughts into motion. It are often as easy as somebody harassing or stepping into a fight with another person as a result of they are doing not believe their faith, or it are often as horrific as someone murdering somebody due to their physiological property or race.
The targets of hate crimes are often anyone. people that commit hate crimes, commit them as a result of they are doing not sort of a person’s faith, race, physiological property preference, ethnicity, or maybe physical or mental incapacity. A majority of your time we tend to hear cases on the news that talk o.
Running head Overpopulation and violence 1Overpopulation and v.docxjeanettehully
Running head: Overpopulation and violence 1
Overpopulation and violence 9Overpopulation and Violence: The poison of America
Roger F. Lewis
St. Thomas University
Table of Contents
Abstract 3
Overpopulation and Violence: The poison of America 4
Literature Review 6
Data 8
Data Analysis/Findings 8
References 10
Tables 12
Figures 13
Abstract
America has seen a lot of violence in the past two decades. We have experienced violence in many forms form terrorists’ attacks on September 11, 2001, mass shootings such as Las Vegas and Pulse Orlando shootings, mass school shootings, FedEx bombings, Walmart shootings, racial violence, and even bullying. Majority of our violence are by our own citizens and in order to determine why America is so violent, a research study will be conducted on what makes people commit violent acts? Why America is so intrigue with violence? Does it have to do with how America was founded?
The research is conducted in review of previous events in order to determine if the United States can be considered a violent community. When you look back at the previous events, most of the violence is linked with guns. The paper is also set up to investigate the impact of such violence on society, and the younger generation. The measure of violence is comprehensive with terrorist activities, mass shootings, cyber-bullying/bullying and poverty.
The study was conducted through questionnaires that were shared amongst a group of 30 random individuals who form the sample population. The individuals are composed of American citizens, visitor in the state and other persons who have taken up residence in the U.S. for a period of time. The study is also conducted using SPSS for the interpretation and gathering of the analysis. The questionnaire contains 20 identified possible causes of violence for the participants to pick out from.
Overpopulation and Violence: The poison of America
The United States is a ranked as the most violent country globally. The rates of murder in the country are extremely high compared to other nations such as Japan and Canada. There more cases of assault, rape and robbery in USA compared to most nations. Crime rates in the country have always been greater than in other rich nations. Violence entailing relationships accounts for 32% of the violent deaths. Knives and guns are the main weapons utilized in murders involving relationships. It is estimated that more than 70% of the privately-owned guns in the world are found in United States and majorly owned by men. Over the years, deaths that have been performed using guns have reached the 30,000 mark. Approximately more than 300 million guns are privately owned in United States (Stark, 2017).
I believe that overpopulation is the reason why America is a violent society. Basically, overpopulation leads to the depletion of resources and individuals begin fighting to acquire the scarce resources. Individuals are willing to use violence to acquire the scarce resources theref ...
Running head: RACE AND CRIME
1
RACE AND CRIME
8
Race and Crime
Why Racialization of Crime in the United States News Media is Dangerous and should be stopped
Introduction and Current Failings
The United States news media plays a massive role in informing and educating the public not only on political issues but also on social issues like crime. Since the inauguration of President Donald Trump in 2016, he has succeeded in using fear as his political weapon (Evers, Fisher & Schaaf, 2019). One of the things that stand out in his presidency is the dishonest claim that the rates of crime have gone up, despite the national trends on violent crimes going down significantly. Trump’s fear-mongering, which seems to be working, has permitted the news media with the Center for American Progress and GBA Strategies reporting that 88 percent of Americans regard crime on the national level as a major issue and that of immediate crisis (Adamson, 2017).
Whether through well-intended intentions or not, the news media are amplifying the national-level fear through constant reporting on Donald Trump, crime and how it has been racialized. Since the perception of national crime is an abstract concept to the ordinary citizens, the news media has likely been playing an out sized role in shaping the imagination of the public (Douai & Perry, 2018). Needless to say, the news media not only contributes towards the overestimation of crime statistics by members of the public through its reporting on the president’s fear-mongering and controversies but it also over reports on violent crimes, which feed destructive ethnic and racial biases about the people responsible.
African American men are often over-represented as the major perpetrators of violent crimes in the United States media (Zack, 2015). For instance, one survey of late-night news outlets in the city of New York established in 2014 that the media reported on violent crimes like assault, theft and murder in which black men and women were suspects at a rate that was far higher than the actual arrest rates for the same mentioned crimes (Adamson, 2017). The study also found out that black people are vilified by the news media by presenting black crime suspects as more dangerous and threatening than those from other dominant races like the whites.
The vilification is done by displaying the mug shots of African American suspects more frequently than those from the white community; depicting African American suspects in police cells more frequently; and paying deeper attention to criminal cases where the victims are strangers (Zack, 2015). Further, the news media has also played a part in worsening the racial differences and tensions between the white people and the blacks by particularly perpetuating and spread ...
Violence and Popular CultureViolence exists and has existed in a.docxdickonsondorris
Violence and Popular Culture
Violence exists and has existed in all societies. In contemporary North American society, we also see violence frequently in media--from news to films to video games. These representations have been blamed for creating a culture of fear and inspiring real violence, particularly among youth.
Media analysts argue that the question of media and violence must shift from a focus on violence in media to a focus on violence in our broader society. They argue that we need to make interconnections between class, gender, race and inequality in the debate on violence. This can be a difficult shift to make because contemporary media is rife with overt and subtle instances of violence. Violence is portrayed in the news, music videos, reality TV crime shows, films and video games.
In the wake of the tragic shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, media pundits discussed (Opens new window) whether video game consumption was producing violent people. While this is an interesting question, in this module we do not focus on whether violent images produce violent people. Nor do we examine whether media imagery has become increasingly violent. As one scholar (Opens new window)puts it,
Violence has always figured prominently in storytelling. Violent imagery has been around since hunters began scratching accounts of their exploits on the walls of caves. . . . Artifacts of Egyptian, Sumerian, Minoan, and Babylonian peoples all depict violent events, as do classical works of the ancient Greeks written 3,000 years ago. . . . The books of the Old Testament, written during the same period, are filled with accounts of genocide, war, human sacrifice, and, of course, various plagues. And as Mel Gibson so eloquently reminded moviegoers with his hugely successful film, The Passion of the Christ (2004), the biggest story of the New Testament culminates in rioting, ritual torture, and public execution. Perhaps more to the point, these grizzly stories have been repeated for centuries to children and adults alike as important works of history and religion. (Trend, The Myth of Media Violence 12-13)
This is not to deny that exposure to violent images may contribute toward violent behaviour.(Opens new window) But in a sociology course like this one, our job is to examine the role popular culture's representation of violence plays in the maintenance of cultural hegemony.
Video
Watch Mean World Syndrome (2010). (Opens new window)According to the documentary, what are some of the myths associated with media violence? What does George Gerbner say is the reason why violence pervades the media? How does popular culture use representations of violence to perpetuate racist myths? What is "mean world syndrome" anyway?
Law-and-order ideology
Law-and-order ideology has been chronically present in public, media, and political discourse, but it has assumed an even larger role in recent years. Particular media portrayals of criminal justice interact with ...
Sexual assault cases regularly make headlines and can potentially cause serious reputational harm to law enforcement agencies and police departments for mishandling the cases or not pursuing them vigorously enough.
Sexual assault cases regularly make headlines and can potentially cause serious reputational harm to law enforcement agencies and police departments for mishandling the cases or not pursuing them vigorously enough.
The picture on the left shows the latest developments in a long-term problem of sexual assault on college campuses. In June, Candice Johnson, OCR Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights issued a memo that effectively stalled investigation of civil rights violations including sexual assault on campuses. A month later, Democratic Senators Kirsten Gillibrand from New York State and Claire McCaskill from Missouri urged Secretary of Education Betsy Devos to reverse this decision as unlawful because of failure to protect students under Title IX. Full text of the memo and Title IX, Sec. 1681 Sex are part of your lesson handout.
Similar problem with widespread sexual assault, and especially against minors, is a long-term problem at cruise ships. Because of the nature of cruise ships, there is no immediate response by law enforcement and the ship guards that investigate the matter are the cruise company’s employees therefore often unlikely to be of meaningful help to the victims. Jurisdiction can be federal, state or foreign, depending on the ship’s flag.
Finally, sexual violence in a workplace can be difficult to address because of the unequal relationship between parties and under-reporting. Recently, car company Tesla appeared in the news as a hostile workplace to women.
Speaking out against prejudice and discriminationBy Dave Finkeln.docxwhitneyleman54422
Speaking out against prejudice and discrimination
By Dave Finkelnburg
Expressions of support for Muslim students and Muslim community members here speak well for Pocatello. The outpouring of concern for local Muslims has been both heartfelt and sincere.
It appears, though, that many international students will not be back here next fall. That’s not just because two Middle Eastern countries announced they will no longer provide scholarship support for students from their nations attending Idaho State University. Muslims, and even individuals who appear to be Middle Eastern, have reason to fear for the welfare of themselves and their families here. The fact that Pocatello is not the anti-Muslim community media reports have claimed will not readily change that.
“What can we do to help?” has been the most common question I have heard in response to news last week that the stabbing of a Middle Eastern student at ISU may have been a hate crime. That incident was just the latest in a string of anti-Muslim acts in Pocatello recently.
Tout Middle Article Injection Point
I am distressed that such intolerance can rear its ugly head in this community I’ve called home most of my life. Here are some thoughts about what’s happening and, more important, what can be done about it.
We are a community governed by laws. Those laws take effect after some wrong has occurred. A criminal prosecution, though it may punish the perpetrator, does not repair the damage of the crime.
Even if someone is ever charged for stabbing an ISU student while calling him a “terrorist,” that charge will not heal the knife wounds. Nor will it restore the sleep lost by parents worrying about the safety of their children or even make others feel secure in their homes and daily lives.
While laws are necessary and useful, they cannot and do not, by themselves, solve the problems of prejudice and intolerance. Only people who are willing to speak out and act against discrimination and hate can have that effect.
There will, of course, be those who continue to promote intolerance. An estimated 15 to 20 percent of our friends and neighbors live in an echo chamber of discrimination. They get so much feedback from sources of intolerance that they actually believe their views are widely held. Only by speaking out is it possible to show them they are wrong.
Here’s one such example. “Dear Neighbors,” read a hand-written card delivered on Saturday to the home of foreign students near ISU. “We want you to know that we are HAPPY to have you living in our neighborhood. There are a few hateful people doing scary things in Pocatello right now, but most of us are pleased that you are here. We appreciate the diversity you bring to our small town and university and feel terrible about recent events.” The card, which originated with a middle-aged couple, was also signed, with personal notes, by others.
If you want to know what you can do, do as these fine folks have done. Speak up. Offer a kind word or ge.
Similar to Media Coverage on the Portrayal of Homicide Victims (20)
2. BridgEwater State UNIVERSITY 2014 • The undergraduate Review • 49
Victim Worthiness: The Effect of
Media Coverage on the Portrayal
of Homicide Victims
Danielle Christenson
I
n the last thirty years with the growth of 24-hour news channels, Internet
only news sites and the decline of the newspaper, there have been tremendous
changes in how the media covers crimes. Whether it is a catastrophic terrorist
attack, school shooting or a low-profile homicide, violent crime is a staple
of news coverage. The field of victimology has documented that the media does
not portray all crime victims the same. The race and class of the victim as well as
seemingly non-relevant factors such as their age, profession and the location of the
crime as well as the demographics of the offender all influence public portrayals
of crime victims. Scholars refer to these factors as influencing “victim worthiness.”
Victim worthiness can have an influence on jury selection, prosecutorial discretion
and sentencing (Stabile, 2006). Utilizing computer content analysis, this study
examined three case studies of violent crime, analyzing the news coverage and its
impact on “victim worthiness.” The hypothesis of this study was there would be
media bias in the portrayal of homicide victims due to “extralegal” factors (e.g.
race, age, status, etc) of either the victim (s) and/or the offender The findings of
this study suggest mixed findings in support of the hypothesis.
Research Question & Hypothesis
Is there a media bias in the portrayal of homicide victims?
This study examined whether there was a media bias in the portrayal of homi-
cide victims. Our hypothesis was that there would be discernible media bias
in the portrayal of homicide victims due to “extralegal” factors (e.g. race, age,
status, etc.) of either the victim (s) and/or the offender.
Policy Relevance
This study is particularly important as most of the information the public
receives about crime comes from the media and it is critical that the informa-
tion be scrutinized and critiqued. According to the law all victims should be
treated equally. In the media, however, victims are treated very differently.
Media portrayal of crime victims and offenders can be objective or subjec-
tive. Scholars have documented that media coverage of crime victims and
offenders tend to be biased (Callanan, 2012) (Greer, 2007). Media coverage
of crime victims often focus on personal, situational and demographic char-
acteristics, which had nothing to do with their victimization. As such media
coverage affects jury selection and decision-making as well as public senti-
ment (Bing III, 2010).
Danielle is a senior
majoring in criminal
justice. This research
was conducted during
the summer of 2013
with funding from an Adrian Tinsley
Summer Research Grant. Danielle is
grateful to her mentor, Dr. Richard
Wright (Criminal Justice), for his
dedication to this project and his
continued support. Danielle presented
her research at the 2013 American
Society of Criminology Conference
in Atlanta, GA. She also was the
first Bridgewater student to present
research at the National Collegiate
Research Conference at Harvard
University in January 2014. Danielle
will graduate in May and will attend
graduate school at Bridgewater in the
fall.
3. 50 • The undergraduate Review • 2014 BridgEwater State UNIVERSITY
Methods
This research used three different case studies as well as a com-
puterized content analysis to answer the research question
and test the hypothesis. A content analysis method is a way
of evaluating text, newspapers, essays, etc. Computerized con-
tent analysis allows an electronic software package (Concor-
dance®
was used in this research) to assist in the identification
of themes, keywords and patterns articulated by the researcher.
As such computer content analysis allows for the quick and
methodological examination of large sums of text. The data
for the content analysis came from local and national news-
papers and national news broadcast transcripts that were ob-
tained from LexisNexis, ProQuest, and news websites. Local
television news coverage due to was excluded due to the lack
of available transcripts.. Also excluded were radio, and online
only news sources due to time constraint.
Each case study qualifies as a mass shooting according to the
FBI’s definition. All three case studies initially received signifi-
cant media attention. They also had varying racial dyads be-
tween victim and offender. The three case studies chosen were
the Mattapan Massacre (Boston) in 2010, the Tucson, Arizona
shooting in 2011, and the Oak Creek, Wisconsin shooting in
2012.
Literature Review
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) presents national
homicide data through the Uniform Crime Reports (UCR)
and Supplemental Homicide Report (SHR). According to the
2009 and 2010 SHR’s, the majority of murder victims were
male (77.6 percent). African Americans accounted for 50 per-
cent of victims. Whites accounted for 45.2 percent of victims
while 2.4 percent of the victims were of other races (Cooper &
Smith, 2011). African Americans only constitute 13.1 percent
of the U.S. population despite making up a majority of crime
victims (State & County Quick Facts, 2011).
Fear of crime in America remains constant despite the declines
and stagnant crime rates since the 1990’s (Drakulich, 2012).
Drakulich conducted a study in 2012 on racial anxieties to de-
termine whether those who possessed racial stereotypes would
have a higher perception of criminal danger than those who
did not possess racial stereotypes.
Drakulich found that respondents who did not report interact-
ing with neighbors of other races or ethnicities were more likely
to possess racialized crime stereotypes. Those who did interact
with other races and ethnicities were less likely to possess racial
crime stereotypes. For example, Drakulich found that interac-
tions with members of a different race led to a decreased likeli-
hood of stereotyping African Americans and Latinos as gang
and drug involved (Drakulich, 2012).
Stereotypes are not created based on fact. Stereotyping can lead
to false ideas about specific groups. For example, African Amer-
icans are often stereotyped as criminals; this leads people to fear
them due to the false stereotype (Mears et al., 2011). This issue
is important to consider due to the widespread growth of me-
dia. Stereotypes now have the ability to be spread very quickly
and reach many people.
A majority of Americans rely on the mass media for informa-
tion about crime as opposed to obtaining information through
personal experience. It is important, that the media reports
accurate information regarding crime to the public (Jewkes,
2011). News organizations serve the important purpose of in-
forming the public; however, they also serve a conflicting role,
which is to make a profit. In order for news organizations to
make a profit they have to maintain high ratings and newspa-
per sales. This then leads to an emphasis on certain news stories
that appeal to a mass audience known as newsworthy stories
(Callahan, 2012).
Crimes that are considered newsworthy are those that include
drama, a vulnerable victim, and are out of the ordinary (Cal-
lahan, 2012). Bing (2010) argues that the media constructs a
connection between race and crime through social construc-
tionism. According to Bing (2010), African Americans were
twice as likely as whites to be shown under physical restraint by
the police. This is true despite whites being accused of similar
violent crimes.
According to Potter & Kappeler (1998), between 1991 and
1994 crime and victimization rates in the U.S. decreased. De-
spite the decrease in crime, all the major television networks
consistently raised the number of violent crime stories they
reported each year from 1991-1994. Despite the consistent
drop in 1994 the public, when asked about their perception
of crime, 88% answered that they thought it was at an all-
time high. Politicians fueled this false perception of crime by
proposing new laws that would combat the “crime problem”
(Callanan, 2012).
Few crimes are considered as newsworthy as mass murder.
This is because it is shocking, infrequently occurring, and in-
volves multiple victims. Mass murder attracts local, national
and sometimes even international media attention. There are
however, some mass murders that are considered more news-
worthy than others. Past studies have suggested this is because
of certain characteristics. One characteristic is that of a lone
gunmen who shoots strangers in a public setting. Less coverage
is devoted to mass murders involving fire, family members of
victims, and mass murders that were committed in connection
with property offenses (Duwe, 2000).
4. BridgEwater State UNIVERSITY 2014 • The undergraduate Review • 51
Case Studies
The FBI defines “mass murder” as four or more murders oc-
curring during the same incident, with no distinctive time pe-
riod between the murders (Federal Bureau of Investigation ,
2011). These events typically involved a single location, where
the killer murdered a number of victims in an ongoing incident
(Morton, 2008). Mass murders are rare but tragic crimes. Even
in a nation which is becoming increasingly violent, mass kill-
ings demand attention.
This study examined three cases involving mass shootings to
determine if there exists any media bias in homicide cases. The
cases were all chosen because they were mass shootings (ac-
cording to the definition of the FBI). The cases included mass
killings in the Mattapan district of Boston, Tucson, Arizona
and Oak Creek, Wisconsin. These specific case studies were
also chosen because they initially appealed to elicit differing
levels of media attention. The Mattapan case received only lo-
cal media coverage. The Sikh Temple shooting received local
media attention and brief attention in the national media. The
Tucson, Arizona shooting received significant and prolonged
local and national media coverage.
Case Study #1. Mattapan Massacre (2010)
On September 8, 2010 four people were killed and one se-
verely injured on Woolson Street in the Mattapan district of
Boston (Stout, 2012 ). According to Boston Police, three men,
Kimani Washington, Edward Washington and Dwayne Moore
went to 21 year old Simba Martin’s apartment to buy drugs
(Swasey, 2010). Also in the apartment were Martin’s 21 year-
old girlfriend Eyanna Flonory, her 2 year old son Amanihotep
and 22 year old Levaughn Washum- Garrison a friend of Mar-
tin’s (Stout, 2012 ). Edward Washington, Kimani Washington
and Dwayne Moore robbed Martin of the drugs. Those inside
the apartment were ordered to strip naked and marched down
the street. They were then each shot (Stout, 2012 ).
Shortly after the police arrived at the murder scene, Kimani
Washington was found near the alleged getaway car and admit-
ted to being in it (Martin, 2012). Washington would later be
arrested on a weapons charge in Manchester, New Hampshire
on October 2, 2010 and charged in the Mattapan shootings
(Swasey, 2010). Within a few weeks police arrested Dwayne
Moore and the third suspect, Edward Washington (Swasey,
2010).
Kimani Washington admitted being involved in the robbery,
but not the murders. He was given a plea deal in exchange
for his testimony against Edward Washington and Dwayne
Moore. The prosecutor chose to try Dwayne Moore and Ed-
ward Washington together as it was unclear who fired the fatal
shots. The jury acquitted Edward Washington of all charges
and a mistrial was declared for Dwayne Moore (Jones, 2012).
Dwayne Moore’s retrial began on November 1, 2012 (Ballou,
2012). With the prosecution pursuing a different legal strategy,
Moore was convicted of four counts of first- degree murder for
which he will serve a life sentence (Cramer, Mattapan Slay Trial
Back Before Jury, 2012). Kimani Washington was sentenced
on January 25, 2013 after pleading guilty to robbery, carjack-
ing, home invasion, and possession with intent to distribute
drugs (Deehan, 2010). He received 16 years in prison (Cramer,
Kimani Washington Pleads Guilty in Mattapan Attack, 2013).
Case Study #2. Tucson, Arizona Shooting (2011)
On January 8, 2011, Arizona Congresswoman Gabby
Giffords held a “Congress on Your Corner” event outside of a
Safeway Supermarket just north of Tucson, Arizona. Giffords
was the Representative for Arizona’s Eighth District. During
the event, a gunman, Jared Lee Loughner, opened fire on the
crowd outside the supermarket. Six were killed and 14 were
wounded (Lacey & Herszenhorn, 2011). Among the dead was
John M. Roll, 63, a chief judge for the United States District
Court for Arizona. Also killed were Gabriel Zimmerman, 30, a
staff member of Giffords, a nine year old girl, Christina Taylor
Green, and three senior citizens who came out to support Gif-
ford’s event, Dorothy Morris, 76, Dorwan Stoddard, 76, and
Phyllis Schneck, 79 (Lacey & Herszenhorn, 2011).
Jared Lee Loughner was arrested at the scene by police and
taken into custody. Originally Loughner pled not guilty to the
49 charges against him on March 9, 2011. On March 25, 2011
he was diagnosed with schizophrenia and the judge ruled him
incompetent to stand trial (Bendery, 2012). After months of
treatment, Loughner was ruled competent on August 7, 2012
to stand trial based on testimony from various medical person-
nel (Santos, 2012).
Assistant U.S. District Attorney Christina Cabanillas, offered
Loughner a plea deal of life in prison without the possibility
of parole. By accepting this plea, Loughner avoided the death
penalty. He pled guilty on November 8, 2012 and was sen-
tenced to seven life terms and an additional 140 years on fed-
eral charges (Martinez & Lah, 2012).
Case Study #3. Sikh Temple Shooting (2012)
On August 5, 2012 a gunman killed six people and injured
three in Oak Creek, Wisconsin. The shooting happened during
Sunday services at a local SikhTemple (Romell, 2012).The vic-
tims included, Suveg Singh, Sita Singh, Ranjit Singh,Satwant
Sing Kaleka, Paramjit Kaur, and Prakash Sing (Green, 2012).
5. 52 • The undergraduate Review • 2014 BridgEwater State UNIVERSITY
The shooter was identified as Wade Michael Page, a 40- year-
old white male. The first officer to arrive on scene was Brian
Murphy. Upon his arrival the two exchanged gunfire. Page
hit Murphy nine non-fatal times. One shot from Murphy hit
Page, which immobilized him. Page then committed suicide by
shooting himself in the head (Romell, 2012).
The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Joint Terrorism Task
Force, led by Special Agent Teresa Carlson and Oak Creek Po-
lice Chief John Edwards, investigated the shooting as an act of
domestic terrorism because of the tattoos found on Page’s body
(Pearce & Bennet, 2012). The Southern Poverty Law Center
(SLPC) a hate crimes research organization had been watching
Wade Michael Page for over ten years. In contrast with the FBI,
in the SPLC’s final report labeled the shooting an act of domes-
tic terrorism. They also suggested that the attack was motivated
by hate (Elias, 2012).
Findings
Part I- Type & Quantity of News Stories
The following tables analyze both the quantity and type of local
and national media coverage. Each case study is presented in
the first column. The second column in the table is the number
of total stories dedicated to each incident. The final column
represents the predominant area of the media’s focus labeled
“Top Category.” Each article was divided into categories based
on the predominate subject of the article. These categories were
victim, offender, incident, investigation, trial and other.
Table 1. Local Newspaper Coverage
Case Total Coverage Top Category
Mattapan 77 Trial 37 (48.05%)
Tucson 165 Victims 43 (26%)
Sikh Temple 31 Victims 9 (29.03%)
Table 2. Local Television Coverage:
Case Total Coverage Top Category
Mattapan 178 Trial 94 (52.81%)
Tucson 490 Victims 120 (32.34%)
Sikh Temple 316 Victims 112 (35.44%)
As evidenced in Tables 1 and 2 the local media in the Wiscon-
sin Sikh Temple and Tucson shootings focused more of their
coverage on the victims. Boston focused a majority of its cov-
erage on the trials of the Mattapan murder defendants. It is
difficult to interpret these results most notably because there
was no trial in the Sikh Temple Shooting due to Page’s suicide.
What is clear is that the victims in Tucson and Oak Creek war-
ranted more coverage than those in Mattapan. As discussed
in the full report, media will emphasize homicides involving
strangers, minimize the murder of African Americans and will
rationalize inner-city violence. Both Oak Creek and Tucson
were stranger-based shootings. Mattapan involved the murder
of four poor African Americans in the inner city.
An explanation for the differences in coverage between the
Sikh Temple victims, Tucson victims and the Mattapan victims
could also be based on the victim’s backgrounds. The victims
of the Mattapan shootings were described by local media as be-
ing involved with drugs or having previous criminal histories.
The only victim described as “innocent” was Amanihotep, the
two- year- old boy who was shot, (Cramer, Mattapan Slay Trial
Back Before Jury, 2012). In contrast, the Tucson victims were
all white victims. Gabby Giffords received the most coverage
out of all of the victims and this could be directly related to her
status as a congresswoman (Nowicki, 2011).
Unlike the Mattapan Massacre victims, the victims in the Sikh
Temple Shooting and Tucson case did not know their attacker
(Green, 2012). It has been reported that the media are more
likely to cover cases if the victim and offender are strangers
(Potter & Kappeler, 1998). This could explain why the Sikh
Temple Shooting and Tucson were national stories whereas the
Mattapan shooting was not.
Table 3. National Newspaper
Case Total Coverage Top Category
Mattapan 0 0
Tucson 348 Victims 107 (31%)
Sikh Temple 33 Incident12 (33.36%)
Table 4. National Television News
Case Total Coverage Top Category
Mattapan 0 0
Tucson 400 Victims 120 (30%)
Sikh Temple 93 Incident 34 (36.56%)
As evidenced in Tables 3 and 4 the Mattapan case did not
receive any national coverage. This is true despite Mattapan
6. BridgEwater State UNIVERSITY 2014 • The undergraduate Review • 53
qualifying as a mass killing consistent with Tucson and Oak
Creek. The results from the second column in Tables 3 and
4 are consistent with our hypothesis of media bias and victim
worthiness.
The Sikh Temple and the Tucson shootings both received na-
tional coverage however they differed significantly in terms of
quantity of coverage. Tucson received more coverage than the
Sikh Temple. As discussed in the full report, race does affect the
coverage of crime. White victims are favored over minority vic-
tims. The victims in the Sikh Temple shooting were originally
from India and all were immigrants to the United States. This
may have also affected their status as victims.
In Tucson, the media coverage was primarily about the victims.
Although focusing on the victims, the media prioritized some
victims over others. Although Gabby Giffords was not the
only person injured in the shooting the media often referred
to the killing as the “Gabby Giffords Shooting” in many of their
headlines. The Sikh Temple shootings’ top category was the
incident itself. This is inconsistent with my hypothesis because
national media covered this case in a mostly objective manner.
Part II- Intercase Study Analysis: Computerized
Content Analysis:
The results of the computerized content analysis are presented
in the following section. Data for the content analysis came
from local newspapers, national newspapers and national tele-
vision. Table 5 shows the coded keywords searched in the ar-
ticles and the number of times those words appeared in each
case study.
Coverage of the Tucson shooting used more subjective lan-
guage than any of the other case studies. The Tucson shoot-
ing also received more national coverage than Oak Creek and
Mattapan (which received none). Although it is not clear why,
previous research can aide in our interpretation. Typically, high
profile cases involve white victims. High profile cases also tend
to be covered if they are considered stranger-based. Also, cases
are more likely to be covered when the victims are of a higher
status. The Tucson case, more than any of the other case stud-
ies, contained these themes.
One interesting data point can be found in the analysis of table
5. The media used the term “tragedy” nearly 200 times in de-
scribing the Tucson killings. This occurred in nearly 1 out of
every 5 stories (18.6%). More than any other phrase this term
demonstrates media bias and victim worthiness. Despite the
death and destruction occurring in each shooting, the media
clearly portrayed the Tucson killings as “worse.” This demon-
strates positive support for the hypothesis.
In conclusion, the findings yielded positive results in support of
the hypothesis that there would be a media bias in the portrayal
of homicide victims due to extralegal factors of the victim and
or the offender. The limitations of the study included the time
limit allowed for the research (10 weeks). Also, the content
analysis was completed by only one coder thus allowing for
possible misinterpretation. There was also insufficient time to
ground the research in the media and crime literature. The lack
of local television news transcripts also may have eliminated
a sufficient set of data that may or may not have changed the
results.
References
State & County Quick Facts. (2011, July 1). Retrieved 06 18, 2013,
from United States Census Bureau: http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/
states/00000.html
Table 5.
Word Mattapan Tucson Sikh Temple
Shooting Shooting Shooting
Brave 0 3 1
Bravery 0 18 0
Child 4 31 0
Disturbing 0 24 0
Drugs 5 30 0
Evil 0 14 1
Father 1 17 7
Heartbreaking 0 0 0
Hero 0 28 4
Husband 0 81 0
Horrendous 0 0 0
Horrific 0 13 0
Innocent 4 15 1
Monster 0 8 1
Mother 2 48 1
Peaceful 0 12 5
Pure 1 1 0
Strong 0 40 0
Terrorism 0 4 20
Tragedy 1 174 26
Veteran 0 0 3
Wicked 0 2 0
Wife 1 44 3
Worst 1 16 4
Number of Phrases 20/66 623/966 78/151
Stories (30.30%) (64.5%) (51.7%)
7. 54 • The undergraduate Review • 2014 BridgEwater State UNIVERSITY
Ballou, B. (2012, December 17). Guilty Verdict in 4 Mattapan
Slayings. Retrieved July 5, 2013, from Boston Globe: http://www.
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participated-drug-robbery-that-led-mattapan-massacre-sentenced/
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