"Do most stations do a good job of offering crime coverage which focuses more on your
safety and apprehending criminals instead of sensationalizing their exploits, or is this
an area where they need to improve?"
This complaint comes more or less equally from almost every segment of the audience. While
almost 40% think it's a problem, half of them feel strongly about it. It's especially
important to women and 25-34s, since they're much less likely than the rest of the
audience to have any specific complaints about local news.
 What Viewers Really Say
about Crime Coverage
Based on this and scores of other
voice-capture surveys, viewers describe "meaningful" crime reporting as coverage
which focuses more on the apprehension of criminals than on the crimes they commit. These
viewers feel that local news "glorifies" criminals, making them into
inappropriate "heroes" or "role models." They also say that repetitive
coverage of the crime itself is negative, doesn't serve any constructive purpose, and can
result in "copycat" crimes. Many believe that it would be better for society if
more emphasis were placed on the punishment than the crime.
Focusing on the apprehension of the perpetrator is a good way of making a turning an
otherwise negative crime story into coverage most viewers see as "positive." It
makes people feel as if something is being done to bring closure to the situation. They
say it also helps the community and the local Police Department, and makes them feel as if
something good is being accomplished. "If there's fugitives out there, we need to
know it. The more that's on TV where we can see faces, the quicker they can apprehend
these people...We want to know the effort is on trying to catch the person...It means [the
TV station] is helping out instead of just doing it for ratings...There's a lot of news,
but not much action...Arrests are positive. We need to see successes, too."
While some believe that the sensational, repetitive coverage of crime can actually make it
harder to catch criminals, it also impinges on a suspect's right to a fair trial.
"They make `em guilty before they're even found guilty. It makes it harder to pick a
fair jury and give `em a fair trial...The TV coverage (of a major crime committed in the
Chicago area) was redundant and peripheral. They didn't stick with the story, and I think
if they had, they probably would've gotten a better or more just verdict." Crime
coverage "tends to overrate the criminal and forget the victim....Rarely do they show
the impact of the crime on the community, or the grief and suffering of the victims."
Other viewer comments concerning crime coverage are as follows:
Focus More on Bringing Suspects Into Custody — "We
need to know that something is being done. We don't need a drama series...Rather than
dwell on what they did, to try and catch them is the most important issue...If they spent
more time catching the criminals instead of talking about it, they might get better
results...I wouldn't want the efforts to take [criminals] into custody to drag on too
long...It'd be a better world if we promoted catching the criminals...The more you
broadcast it, the more you're likely to help catch the person...They can catch a lot of
people that way. It might help if there's more input from the public as to helping with
it, and [criminals] might think before committing a crime if they knew people might report
them or they might be witnessed on a camera."
Don't Make Heroes Out of Criminals — "I think
[news] causes people to commit more crimes because they can get notoriety out of
it...Focusing on what they've done builds up the excitement of the act and causes others
to want to follow along. Whereas if they focus more on them being caught and punished,
that would be a deterrent...There's so many copycat criminals, so may people who will do
anything for notoriety or attention...If they sensationalize something, then someone who's
on the edge will go out and try that...Once they commit the crime, it doesn't matter how
they did it...The more they advertise crime, the more you're going to have followers
trying to do better...When people commit a crime and become TV heroes, it's not right.
They should have to pay for it...I don't think criminals should get any kind of credit or
publicity."
Offer Coverage Which Actually Accomplishes Something —
"It makes more sense to catch a criminal than to sit around and talk about it...It
doesn't do much good just to show the scenes. It just makes people voyeurs."
Don't Exploit the Situation — "They make a big deal
out of it rather than just getting to the basics, saying what it is, and letting it
go...They get too carried away with what the criminal has done, over and over...They
sensationalize the news terribly around here...The negative is terribly emphasized, and
it's not good for society. [Many potential criminals] already don't have a strong enough
foundation to lead them into positive behavior...When they sensationalize it, it
encourages our youth to try to do the same thing to get attention, whereas if they focus
more on catching criminals and seeing them back behind bars, it focuses more on the
consequences of the crime...Media should report the truth, and not what's gonna enhance
their income...They make it seem so glamorous to commit these crimes, that they entice the
younger generation."
More Follow-Up — "A lot of stories on violent crime
don't have any follow-up on the consequences of the act. You never hear about
punishment...More behind what's actually happening, more perspective...I wanna know when
the criminal has been caught...I wanna see what the end is...Rarely do they follow it
through sentencing."
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