ABSTRACT
Studies on media representations of crime and security usually focus on two main strains of research: on the one hand, the examination of the newsworthiness of these topics within the journalistic field (frequency of publication, reputation within the profession, career impact, etc.); on the other hand, the analysis of the editorial work (selection criteria, choice of journalistic frames, journalistic writing rules, etc.). According to the literature, these two dimensions would originate from two main logics that constrain the news production process: the circular dissemination of information, as the media both reflect and shape the social representations of a public problem (here, punishment and crime), and the economic competition that links and differentiates the different media within the media field. After recalling the main conclusions drawn from the literature on these questions of the economy of journalism, we discuss the news production logics, the nature and terms of the relationship between reporters and their sources. Finally, we present the main results questioning the relevance of distinguishing “cultural models” or “national models” in terms of journalistic and media systems and their effects on the mediatization of crime and punishment.
