Media Coverage Of Police Misconduct
Chermak, McGarrell, and Gruenewald (2006) explore the impact media has on perceptions of the police regarding extensive media coverage of police misconduct. News media is the source for citizen’s opinions on the police. Routine crime reports are hotly debated as to whether its portrayal of police is positive or not. For some scholars, the police are presented as being unrealistically effective, whereas others say that the news media only emphasizes the failed attempts by police rather than positive ones. Ultimately the media can further support the legitimacy of police or it can dominantly subject police to critical, public scrutiny. Recent research has discovered several variables that potentially/possibly moderate news media’s influence on
attitudes toward police, some consist of: consumption of some types of mainstream news media, consumption of non-traditional media (ex. political talk shows), and most importantly, race. Race plays a key factor because the media is reliant on race-specific communities, so they can be open to interpretation. Not surprisingly, African Americans have more negative views toward police compared to Whites (ex. Rodney King). Minorities in general, are more likely to believe occurrences of police brutality as reported by the media than Whites. Significant news publicity of police misconduct incidents affect attitudes toward police, especially when they are extensive. The officer I interviewed asserted that the media is biased against the police considering that they only portray a portion of an episode, making the police look bad. She also mentioned that the media often times can be their worst enemy as law enforcement personnel and that it is difficult to not get their support most of the time. The media coverage of the police represents the bad and the ugly, over the good and the pretty because it is more entertaining to watch.
attitudes toward police, some consist of: consumption of some types of mainstream news media, consumption of non-traditional media (ex. political talk shows), and most importantly, race. Race plays a key factor because the media is reliant on race-specific communities, so they can be open to interpretation. Not surprisingly, African Americans have more negative views toward police compared to Whites (ex. Rodney King). Minorities in general, are more likely to believe occurrences of police brutality as reported by the media than Whites. Significant news publicity of police misconduct incidents affect attitudes toward police, especially when they are extensive. The officer I interviewed asserted that the media is biased against the police considering that they only portray a portion of an episode, making the police look bad. She also mentioned that the media often times can be their worst enemy as law enforcement personnel and that it is difficult to not get their support most of the time. The media coverage of the police represents the bad and the ugly, over the good and the pretty because it is more entertaining to watch.