Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the preceding chapters of this book. The book attempts to place crime reporting into its historical and cultural perspective. It offers a selection of highly personal views on media and crime from people whose experience, in many cases, came at a high price. The book closely looks at the media's interaction with criminal justice, beginning with "A Chill Wind Blows", by attorney William Kunstler, who argues that in a judicial climate hostile to defendants' rights the skillful use of the press is about all that remains of a defense attorney's arsenal. American crime is symbolized by the gun, of course, but according to US News & World Report Senior Editor Ted Gest, most reporters wouldn't know a semiautomatic from a salami sandwich. Finally, historian Robert Snyder writes a book review, in which he examines the work of five generations of New York City crime reporters.