Critical Comparison of Criminological Perspectives

Background

There is definitive interaction between crime and media since the public tend to rely on the information gather and shared by the media. The society is influenced by the picture portrayed by the media at large and the way things are communicated to the general population. Similarly, the perception of crime is variable depending on the way it has been portrayed by mass media. A study found that the information on crime shared by media changes the perspective of the society towards the justice system. It means that if the media shows high number of crimes, the society acknowledge it as a failure of the justice system leading to decreased faith on the current government and its laws (Townsend 2017). All these implicate the cultivation theory which states that exposure to information from the media has measurable impact on the perception of the society and social reality of the people. Consequently, the media plays a vital role in framing and construction of crime where the perception of people based on media information leads to victimisation (Kort-Butler and Habecker 2017).

Based on the above background, the purpose of this essay is to provide a critical comparison of the cultivation theory and framing theory to understand the relationship between crime, media and culture in Australian context. In this process, the essay provides a comprehensive understanding the two concepts with reference to contemporary media examples from Australia and explain how both the concepts are relevant to crime, media and culture. Finally, a few implications of these concepts on social construction has been explained followed by an emotional reflection to express a few personal insights on the concepts and their influence.

Definition and Overview of Cultivation and Framing

In simple terms, the way in which the media portrays information and the fact that people tend to rely on the information shared by the media, influences the perception of the society. Basically, the media cultivates a perspective into the society because the television remains the primary storyteller for the society despite the fact that they often share fragmented and unconstructive information (Morgan, Shanahan & Signorielli 2014). In this sense, cultivation is concerned with the broader, more widespread, and long-term effects of repeated exposure to television messaging (Buselle and Bulck 2019). It is based on the idea of Gerbner who saw a culture created due to the interaction of media and human perception. Framing has direct nexus to cultivation since it concerns the varied perception of truth based on media shared information which leads to biasness and victimisation. A recent study found that the society is reluctant to trust factual evidence and rather relies on the information shared by the media because of the negatively framed perspective (Lindgren et al. 2022). Therefore, it can be analysed that people tend to believe the negative statements from the media more because of the uncertain social construction.

Rationale for the Selection in Australian Context

There have been various examples of cultivation and framing by the mass media in Australia which makes the Australian perspective very comprehensive in understanding the role of both these theories on crime, media, and culture. For example, a recent news article showed that labelling the coronavirus as the ‘Chinese virus’ is connected to framing because of the racist biasness portrayed by the media (Bushman 2022).This shows that the Australian media framed the perspective into the Australian society. In this regard, Zhu, Hou and Krever (2023) noted that the framing theory has helped to understand what the Australian people perceive about China because of the influence of the Australian media on social issues of China. Based on news report, the study showed how the Australian press portrayed China’s one-child policy and how it affected the Australian culture. It shows how the Australian media cultivated the Chinese approach into the mind of the Australians.

The above discussion shows the relevance of cultivation and framing in the Australian context when it comes to understanding the relationship between crime, media and culture. The numerous incidents of cultivation and framing by the Australian media and their culture provides a constructive understanding. This is why both these theories have been chosen for analysis in the Australian context.

Application to Criminology: Relation between Crime, Media and Culture

Both cultivation and framing is about the human perspective and how the society at large perceive things. Media portrays about crime which influences the perception of the society and its culture. This is the simple relationship that is concerned here to compare the concepts of cultivation and framing. It has direct coorelation with criminology since the media portrayal is about crime and negative statements. Lecheler and de Vreese (2019) stated that framing happens when news from various other countries shape the views and perspective of a country. It means that the images and implications collected about other countries and people often make people to relate and modity their behaviour. People start to contrast themselves with other people while forming groups. Therefore, it can be said that the members of the group are prone to altering their conduct in order to be recognised as fellow group members rather than as supporters of outsiders. When applied to the media, psychological theory would predict that favourable perceptions of one's own civilisation would be reinforced by bad portrayals of other societies. Similarly, the media portrayal of the Chinese on-child policy made the Australian people also consider such an approach whereas such an approach might not be fruitful for the Australian society considering its low population density.

Comparison of Cultivation and Framing Theory

When it comes to cultivating a persective into the society, it is done over a long period with repeated exposure to media content. From criminal violence to discriminatory television program, everything negative is perceived faster than the positive. This is where crime reporting and its effects on the society can be understood since different types of media framing affect the perception of the viewers in relation to criminal acts. Foreman, Arteaga and Collins (2016, p.8) noted that consumers of mass media are inflicted with information about crime, violence, influence of certain racial groups which create a false perception of the entire race. It leads to stereotyping and other negative social habits based on the news framed. This eventually manifests harmful and discriminatory ideas in the society increasing the rate of hatred and rationalisation. In short, news stories cultivate idea which frames the perception of people towards crime and culture. For example, when a black person commits a crime, the media portrayals put the entire black community in a bad picture. Similarly, when a muslim person engages in terrorist activity, the entire religion is questioned. This is social culture that has been effectuated by the conduct of media based on the information cultivated and framed. Another recent study found that not just traditional media, but also social media platforms have adverse impact on the perception of the society. The study concluded that violent content on social media make people feel insecure and fearful which leads to decreased faith on the police and justice system (Iqbal et al. 2022, p.407). Hence, there is definitive connection between cultivation and framing in relation to crime, media and culture.

From the above discussion and reference to past studies, it can be analysed that there are more similarities between cultivation and framing than differences, particularly when it comes to its relation to crime, media and culture. Both of these concepts have eventual connection to the role of media in cultivating perspectives and framing information. However, both the concepts offer distinct viewpoints on the construction of crime but have similar impact on the society. Regardless of whether a media conduct leads to cultivation or framing, the effect is that the society’s perception towards crime and culture is affected.

Contemporary Media Examples

In addition to that, the concept of crime is also influenced by media portrayals since the statements made by media houses cultivate or instil questionable perceptions. For example, the portrayal of Australian Broadcasting Corporation about the Murray-Darling Basin river system shows how the media can construct crime through unproven allegation due to the media culture and social reliance on media. The media portrayed that usage of excessive water from the river leads to water theft which is a crime (Clifford and White 2021). It means that when national media reports create a controversy, it not only interests the public agencies but also the public because of the powerful outreach of the media and their capacity to frame information in a way that excites the society. Similary, the way the one-child policy of China influenced the Australian society raises important question about the role of the media and the extent of influence it can have on the society. In addition to that, the extent of discrimination and racism inflicted by Australian media is evident from many news reports and past studies as discussed earlier. Most important of them being the labelling of corona virus as the Chinese virus (Bushman 2022).

Such an approach and culture is not only detrimental for international relations but also for the Chinese people living in Australia since they are prone to be looked down upon. This can be regarded as a racial slur which shows the level of biasness that media content can create affecting the cultural perception of media and crime. All these above examples show how media representation of crime and criminal events change the way people perceive them. It also changes the cultural perception since people tend to believe media content to be true rather than actually dissecting into the information.

Implications for Understanding Crime and Culture

Based on the above discussion of crime, media and culture in relation to the Australian context, it can be analysed that Australian media has successfully cultivated different ideas and perspective into the Australian society which eventually had adverse impact on the Australian citizens. The way they view crime and criminal activities is completely dependent on what the media shows and make them believe (Shrum 2017). Similar instance can also been seen in the US where crime portrayal by media affects the perception of people on police (Pollock, Tapia and Sibila 2021). All these produces an uncertain social construction of crime and culture because media portrayals are hardly cross-checked by people and rather rely on them in the form shared by the media. This leads to people being often labelled as criminals and perpetrators which increases the chance of crime rather than having deterrence effect. On the hand, Aleem et al. (2021) suggested that the public attitude towards crime and victimisation is influenced by mass media since they have the capacity to influence the way people think and perceive information. This entire culture is inflicted by media portrayals of crime which predominantly affects social stability and faith on the justice system.

mEmotional Reflection and Conclusion

The incidents and examples from Australia discussed earlier in this essay are perfect examples of how the media cultivates and frame the idea of crime and culture. I feel that the media must ensure that news are not exaggerated and misrepresented because people rely too much on media content and tend to believe whatever the media houses show them. This collectively changes how people perceive crime and how exaggerated information leads to victimisation through criminal labelling. The perspective of cultivation and framing made me realise that the influence of media cannot be understood overnight, rather it takes place overtime through systematic publication of news while playing with people’s emotion. Sensitive content being shown repeatedly, simple wrongdoing being portrayed as serious crime and expressing negative statements influences the society more than anything else. At least this is the scenario in Australia because of the extent of influence Australian media houses have on the Australian people and their perception.

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