ABSTRACT
Criminologist Ray Surette found that crime and justice topics occupy about 25 percent of all newspaper news space. He also found that 13 percent of all national TV News and over 20 percent of local news was devoted to crime reporting. Surette maintains that crime and justice stories are mass marketed and form a substantial portion of material presented within the mass media.1 Studies show that over 30 percent of television programs in the United States are about crime or law enforcement.2 In addition, shows like 60 Minutes, Nightline, and 48 Hours frequently focus on crime. The History chan nel, MSNBC, and numerous other cable channels present lengthy documentaries about organized crime, drug smuggling, and life in U.S. prisons. Judging from the frequency of newspaper and television coverage of violent crime, an observer might think we live in a sea of violence from which there is no escape.
