Race, Gender, And The Newsworthiness Of Homicide Incidents
Introduction
It is nearly impossible to escape crime imagery in the news media. Scholars have found that crime is generally a staple of news programming, comprising from 10 to 50 percent of all news stories (Chermak, 1995; Ericson, Baranek, & Chan, 1991; Graber, 1980; Klite, Bardwell, & Salzman, 1997; Maguire, Sandage, & Weatherby, 1999; Yanich, 2005). In addition, not all crime is presented similarly by the news media. In particular, research has consistently shown that crime is distorted in favor of uncommon events (Chermak, 1995; Ericson et al., 1991; Fishman, 1980; Gans, 1979; Tuchman, 1973). This same research has generally found that violent crimes such as homicides, for instance, are overrepresented while minor, more common crimes are ignored or de-emphasized. Consequently, research examining media coverage of crime, particularly homicide, has increased in recent years (Buckler & Travis, 2005; Johnstone, Hawkins, & Michener, 1995; Lundman, 2003; Paulsen, 2003; Peelo, Francis,...