ABSTRACT
This chapter presents some closing thoughts on the key concepts discussed in the preceding chapters of this book. The book describes the development of the claims that shaped public perceptions of the serial murder problem, and the means by which claims came to be established as authoritative. It suggests that such an exploration has important implications both for the framing of social problems, and for the study of the mass media. In terms of social problem construction, there are few examples where a federal agency has so decisively acquired ownership of a topic: the all-but-unchallenged right to interpret the issue according to its assumptions and interests. The media came to rely for information and opinion upon on a very small body of accredited experts, in this case the Federal Bureau of Investigation investigators and some of their associates in the academic or law enforcement worlds.
