Special Report

The Crime Beat: Does Quantity Matter?
A content analysis of six U.S. newspapers finds a significant
amount of crime reporting—but raises questions about the
quality of coverage
October	
  	
  2014	
  
Criminal	
  Justice	
  Journalists	
  

	
  	
  

By	
  Debora	
  Wenger	
  and	
  Dr.	
  Rocky	
  Dailey	
  
	
  
Although	
  newspapers	
  have	
  been	
  struggling	
  in	
  recent	
  years	
  to	
  maintain	
  their	
  reporting	
  muscle,	
  crime	
  and	
  
criminal	
  justice	
  content	
  continues	
  to	
  be	
  a	
  staple	
  of	
  local	
  coverage.	
  	
  	
  In	
  2011,	
  a	
  survey	
  by	
  the	
  Pew	
  
Research	
  Center	
  (formerly	
  the	
  Pew	
  Project	
  for	
  Excellence	
  in	
  Journalism)	
  found	
  that	
  crime	
  ranked	
  sixth	
  
among	
  topics	
  covered	
  across	
  media	
  types—below	
  foreign	
  news,	
  government	
  agencies,	
  
campaigns/elections,	
  foreign	
  affairs,	
  and	
  the	
  economy.	
  In	
  the	
  survey	
  sample,	
  36	
  percent	
  of	
  U.S.	
  adults	
  
reported	
  they	
  get	
  most	
  of	
  their	
  news	
  about	
  crime	
  in	
  their	
  communities	
  from	
  newspapers,	
  29	
  percent	
  
from	
  local	
  TV	
  news	
  and	
  12	
  percent	
  from	
  the	
  Internet.	
  
	
  
Moreover,	
  the	
  coverage	
  newspapers	
  produce	
  has	
  a	
  significant	
  impact,	
  says	
  James	
  Alan	
  Fox,	
  a	
  
criminologist	
  at	
  Northeastern	
  University	
  in	
  Boston.	
  	
  “People’s	
  perception	
  of	
  crime	
  in	
  their	
  own	
  
neighborhoods	
  is	
  generally	
  based	
  on	
  their	
  own	
  experiences,”	
  he	
  told	
  us.	
  “But	
  when	
  it	
  comes	
  to	
  
perceptions	
  about	
  crime	
  in	
  the	
  city	
  as	
  a	
  whole	
  or	
  the	
  state	
  or	
  the	
  nation,	
  those	
  perceptions	
  are	
  created	
  
by	
  news	
  coverage.”	
  

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  2	
  
	
  

	
  
	
  
Pew	
  has	
  since	
  stopped	
  its	
  quantitative	
  surveys	
  of	
  news	
  coverage,	
  but	
  an	
  analysis	
  of	
  how	
  newspapers	
  
continue	
  to	
  cover	
  the	
  “crime	
  beat”	
  at	
  a	
  time	
  when	
  the	
  criminal	
  justice	
  system	
  is	
  the	
  subject	
  of	
  intense	
  
national	
  debate	
  remains	
  a	
  critical	
  tool	
  for	
  editors,	
  journalists	
  and	
  policymakers.	
  	
  	
  Criminal	
  Justice	
  
Journalists,	
  with	
  the	
  support	
  of	
  the	
  Center	
  on	
  Media,	
  Crime	
  and	
  Justice	
  at	
  John	
  Jay	
  College	
  of	
  Criminal	
  
Justice	
  and	
  the	
  Harry	
  Frank	
  Guggenheim	
  Foundation,	
  studied	
  a	
  representative	
  sample	
  of	
  daily	
  
newspapers	
  to	
  gauge	
  the	
  quantity	
  and	
  nature	
  of	
  coverage	
  during	
  a	
  one-­‐month	
  period	
  in	
  2014,	
  and	
  
asked	
  editors	
  and	
  journalism	
  educators	
  about	
  their	
  perceptions	
  of	
  the	
  coverage.	
  We	
  also	
  examined	
  the	
  
perspective	
  of	
  law	
  enforcement	
  officers,	
  who	
  made	
  up	
  over	
  a	
  third	
  of	
  the	
  sources	
  used	
  by	
  journalists	
  in	
  
the	
  papers	
  studied,	
  and	
  their	
  relationship	
  with	
  media	
  outlets.	
  While	
  it	
  is	
  a	
  limited	
  study,	
  we	
  hope	
  that	
  it	
  
will	
  spur	
  more	
  intensive	
  and	
  detailed	
  research.	
  	
  	
  
	
  
For	
  the	
  study,	
  six	
  daily	
  newspapers	
  in	
  large	
  and	
  small	
  markets	
  were	
  selected	
  for	
  content	
  analysis	
  
between	
  March	
  1	
  and	
  March	
  31,	
  2014.	
  The	
  newspapers	
  were	
  selected	
  based	
  on	
  the	
  CQ	
  Press	
  2013	
  City	
  
Crime	
  Rankings.	
  Papers	
  covering	
  cities	
  listed	
  as	
  having	
  the	
  highest	
  and	
  the	
  lowest	
  crime	
  rates	
  for	
  each	
  
population	
  category	
  (cities	
  of	
  500,000	
  or	
  more,	
  100,000-­‐499,000	
  and	
  75,000-­‐99,000)	
  were	
  included.	
  	
  	
  
The	
  newspapers	
  examined	
  were	
  Detroit	
  Free	
  Press,	
  El	
  Paso	
  Times,	
  The	
  Indianapolis	
  Star	
  (which	
  covers	
  
Fishers,	
  In.),	
  The	
  Camden	
  (N.J.)	
  Courier-­‐Post,	
  Naperville,	
  (Ill.),	
  Sun	
  and	
  The	
  Flint,	
  (Mi.)	
  Journal.	
  
	
  
We	
  found	
  that	
  the	
  six	
  papers	
  under	
  review	
  averaged	
  about	
  78	
  crime-­‐related	
  stories	
  for	
  the	
  period	
  
studied,	
  with	
  the	
  most	
  stories	
  appearing	
  in	
  The	
  Camden	
  Courier-­‐Post	
  (165)	
  and	
  the	
  fewest	
  in	
  the	
  
Naperville	
  Sun	
  (26).	
  
	
  
NOTE:	
  for	
  individual	
  content	
  analyses	
  of	
  each	
  newspaper	
  studied,	
  please	
  see	
  attached	
  sidebars.	
  
	
  
The	
  crime	
  and	
  justice	
  stories	
  analyzed	
  were	
  overwhelmingly	
  reported	
  as	
  discrete	
  incidents,	
  without	
  
significant	
  context	
  added,	
  and	
  they	
  tended	
  to	
  focus	
  on	
  violent	
  crime	
  versus	
  property	
  crime.	
  	
  In	
  addition,	
  
65	
  percent	
  of	
  the	
  crime	
  and	
  justice	
  stories	
  overall	
  referenced	
  just	
  one	
  source	
  of	
  information.	
  

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  3	
  
	
  
	
  
Yet,	
  enterprise	
  and	
  investigative	
  reporting	
  did	
  play	
  a	
  role	
  in	
  coverage.	
  Several	
  of	
  the	
  newspapers	
  
included	
  in	
  the	
  study	
  produced	
  pieces	
  that	
  involved	
  significant	
  original	
  reporting	
  and	
  multiple	
  sources.	
  	
  	
  	
  
	
  
The	
  Courier-­‐Post	
  is	
  the	
  fifth	
  largest	
  paper	
  in	
  New	
  Jersey.	
  With	
  one	
  full-­‐time	
  reporter	
  dedicated	
  to	
  crime	
  
and	
  public	
  safety	
  and	
  additional	
  help	
  from	
  other	
  staff	
  as	
  needed,	
  the	
  paper	
  and	
  CourierPostOnline.com	
  
serve	
  the	
  counties	
  of	
  Burlington,	
  Camden	
  and	
  Gloucester.	
  	
  The	
  editor	
  says	
  the	
  newspaper	
  tries	
  “to	
  
present	
  the	
  human	
  aspect	
  of	
  crime.”	
  	
  	
  
	
  
“(That	
  involves)	
  how	
  it	
  affects	
  families,	
  individuals	
  and	
  communities,”	
  said	
  Metro	
  editor	
  Phaedra	
  
Trethan.	
  “We	
  cover	
  a	
  tri-­‐county	
  area	
  that	
  is	
  mostly	
  suburban,	
  but	
  also	
  includes	
  Camden,	
  routinely	
  listed	
  
among	
  the	
  nation’s	
  poorest	
  and	
  most	
  violent	
  cities.”	
  
	
  
In	
  fact,	
  with	
  165	
  total	
  stories	
  for	
  the	
  survey	
  period,	
  the	
  Courier-­‐Post	
  had	
  more	
  crime	
  and	
  criminal	
  justice	
  
coverage	
  than	
  any	
  other	
  paper	
  in	
  the	
  study.	
  	
  More	
  than	
  15	
  percent	
  of	
  the	
  stories	
  reported	
  in	
  the	
  
Courier-­‐Post	
  were	
  enterprise	
  or	
  investigative	
  in	
  nature.	
  	
  	
  
	
  
“We	
  try	
  to	
  get	
  beyond	
  the	
  ‘brief’—a	
  just-­‐the-­‐facts	
  recitation	
  of	
  the	
  crime—and	
  into	
  some	
  depth,	
  talking	
  
to	
  victims,	
  their	
  families;	
  reporting	
  on	
  the	
  ripple	
  effects	
  of	
  violence	
  throughout	
  communities	
  and	
  the	
  
long-­‐term,	
  traumatic	
  impact	
  on	
  people,”	
  Trethan	
  said.	
  	
  
	
  
The	
  Camden	
  newspaper’s	
  high	
  story	
  total	
  may	
  have	
  been	
  influenced	
  by	
  the	
  city’s	
  traditionally	
  high	
  
homicide	
  rate	
  and	
  the	
  decision	
  to	
  make	
  the	
  surrounding	
  county	
  responsible	
  for	
  policing	
  the	
  city.	
  
	
  
Michigan	
  journalist	
  and	
  educator	
  Bonnie	
  Bucqueroux	
  says	
  in-­‐depth	
  reporting	
  has	
  been	
  rare	
  in	
  crime	
  and	
  
justice	
  coverage,	
  even	
  when	
  more	
  newsrooms	
  had	
  more	
  resources.	
  	
  
	
  
“We	
  have	
  never	
  done	
  a	
  good	
  job	
  of	
  putting	
  crime	
  in	
  broader	
  context,”	
  said	
  Bucqueroux,	
  who	
  teaches	
  
journalism	
  at	
  Michigan	
  State	
  University	
  and	
  runs	
  a	
  local	
  news	
  website.	
  	
  “What	
  we	
  typically	
  get	
  is	
  the	
  
police	
  version	
  of	
  an	
  event.	
  	
  I	
  think	
  it’s	
  a	
  box	
  that	
  the	
  traditional	
  media	
  have	
  always	
  been	
  in;	
  it’s	
  difficult	
  
and	
  time-­‐consuming	
  to	
  dig	
  out	
  alternative	
  sources.”	
  

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(The	
  other	
  40	
  percent	
  included	
  a	
  wide	
  range	
  of	
  other	
  sources,	
  such	
  as	
  government	
  officials,	
  neighbors,	
  
school	
  principals	
  and	
  business	
  people.)	
  
	
  

Sourcing	
  Stories	
  
	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  
At	
  every	
  publication	
  in	
  the	
  study,	
  law	
  enforcement	
  officers	
  were	
  the	
  most	
  commonly	
  cited	
  sources	
  by	
  a	
  
wide	
  margin	
  [see	
  below],	
  with	
  court	
  representatives,	
  including	
  judges	
  and	
  prosecutors,	
  coming	
  in	
  a	
  
distant	
  second.	
  	
  Fox	
  agrees	
  this	
  heavy	
  reliance	
  on	
  the	
  official	
  point	
  of	
  view	
  is	
  one	
  of	
  long	
  standing.	
  	
  
	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  
	
  “News	
  media	
  tends	
  to	
  take	
  the	
  official	
  side,	
  the	
  prosecution	
  side	
  –	
  this	
  doesn’t	
  surprise	
  me	
  –	
  when	
  a	
  
case	
  emerges	
  in	
  the	
  news,	
  that’s	
  often	
  the	
  only	
  side	
  available	
  to	
  the	
  reporter,”	
  said	
  Fox.	
  
	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  	
  
What	
  may	
  be	
  more	
  surprising	
  is	
  how	
  often	
  stories	
  rely	
  on	
  a	
  single	
  source.	
  	
  At	
  the	
  Camden	
  paper,	
  for	
  
example,	
  84	
  percent	
  of	
  stories	
  had	
  one	
  reported	
  source,	
  as	
  did	
  55	
  percent	
  of	
  those	
  published	
  in	
  The	
  

P a g e 	
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  5	
  
	
  
Indianapolis	
  Star.	
  	
  Eric	
  Dick,	
  breaking	
  news	
  editor	
  at	
  the	
  Star,	
  says	
  the	
  newspaper	
  likes	
  to	
  add	
  more	
  
points	
  of	
  view	
  to	
  stories	
  whenever	
  possible;	
  but	
  for	
  every	
  enterprise	
  story,	
  there	
  are	
  undoubtedly	
  many	
  
more	
  briefs.	
  
	
  
“I	
  think	
  there	
  are	
  three	
  factors	
  involved.	
  One	
  is	
  the	
  amount	
  of	
  crime:	
  information	
  is	
  readily	
  available	
  
that	
  rises	
  to	
  the	
  threshold	
  you	
  need	
  to	
  do	
  a	
  story,	
  but	
  you	
  wouldn’t	
  be	
  able	
  to	
  develop	
  all	
  of	
  them,”	
  Dick	
  
said.	
  	
  	
  
	
  
He	
  also	
  points	
  out	
  that	
  the	
  nature	
  of	
  crime	
  news	
  comes	
  into	
  play.	
  
	
  
“Some	
  stories	
  can	
  be	
  told	
  clearly	
  in	
  a	
  few	
  paragraphs	
  as	
  opposed	
  to	
  city	
  hall	
  coverage,	
  for	
  example.	
  	
  And	
  
the	
  third	
  factor	
  is	
  just	
  the	
  way	
  crime	
  news	
  presents	
  itself,	
  meaning	
  it’s	
  breaking-­‐news-­‐oriented,	
  so	
  
covering	
  it	
  doesn’t	
  always	
  necessarily	
  require	
  the	
  commitment	
  of	
  a	
  lot	
  of	
  background	
  research	
  or	
  deep	
  
sourcing.”	
  
	
  
Bucqueroux	
  says	
  she	
  thinks	
  only	
  sports	
  coverage	
  is	
  comparable:	
  
“Many	
  newspapers	
  cover	
  sports	
  in	
  the	
  same	
  way.	
  	
  You	
  may	
  interview	
  a	
  
spokesperson	
  for	
  the	
  team	
  or	
  an	
  authorized	
  player	
  and	
  then	
  the	
  
perception	
  is	
  you	
  don’t	
  need	
  more	
  than	
  that	
  unless	
  you’re	
  dealing	
  with	
  
an	
  issue	
  in	
  sports,	
  like	
  concussions.”	
  
The	
  results,	
  according	
  to	
  Bucqueroux,	
  are	
  certain	
  cliché,	
  formulaic	
  stories.	
  
“It’s	
  the	
  good	
  guys	
  versus	
  the	
  bad	
  guys,	
  and	
  police	
  are	
  the	
  good	
  guys,”	
  she	
  said.	
  
At	
  the	
  Star,	
  about	
  7	
  percent	
  of	
  the	
  reporting	
  that	
  Dick	
  and	
  his	
  team	
  of	
  six	
  produced	
  during	
  the	
  analysis	
  
period	
  was	
  enterprise	
  and	
  investigative	
  in	
  nature—something	
  he	
  says	
  is	
  important	
  in	
  order	
  to	
  avoid	
  
perpetuating	
  a	
  “culture	
  of	
  fear.”	
  
	
  	
  
	
  “We	
  like	
  to	
  bring	
  more	
  context	
  to	
  our	
  stories,	
  we’re	
  cognizant	
  of	
  the	
  need	
  to	
  not	
  always	
  be	
  doing	
  four	
  
paragraphs	
  and	
  ‘here’s	
  another	
  shooting’	
  stories,”	
  said	
  Dick.	
  
	
  
He	
  points	
  to	
  the	
  Star’s	
  recent	
  coverage	
  of	
  why	
  rape	
  is	
  most	
  commonly	
  prosecuted	
  as	
  a	
  Class	
  B	
  felony	
  in	
  
Indiana,	
  as	
  opposed	
  to	
  a	
  Class	
  A	
  felony,	
  which	
  comes	
  with	
  stiffer	
  penalties,	
  and	
  the	
  Star’s	
  stories	
  that	
  
raised	
  questions	
  about	
  whether	
  juveniles	
  should	
  face	
  more	
  repercussions	
  for	
  gun	
  law	
  violations	
  or	
  its	
  
exploration	
  of	
  whether	
  Indianapolis	
  has	
  enough	
  officers	
  to	
  make	
  community	
  policing	
  work	
  well.	
  
	
  
“I’m	
  particularly	
  proud	
  of	
  those	
  instances	
  when	
  we	
  really	
  can	
  pursue	
  enterprise	
  reporting	
  to	
  the	
  degree	
  
it	
  examines	
  whether	
  the	
  system	
  is	
  working	
  as	
  it	
  should,”	
  Dick	
  said.

P a g e 	
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  6	
  
	
  

Episodic	
  Crime	
  

	
  

	
  
In	
  recent	
  years,	
  critics	
  of	
  crime	
  reporting	
  have	
  blasted	
  news	
  organizations	
  for	
  failing	
  to	
  put	
  crime	
  in	
  
context	
  by	
  treating	
  too	
  many	
  incidents	
  of	
  crime	
  as	
  discrete	
  events	
  with	
  no	
  relation	
  to	
  other	
  crimes	
  or	
  
societal	
  factors.	
  	
  For	
  example,	
  the	
  Dart	
  Center	
  for	
  Journalism	
  &	
  Trauma,	
  summarizing	
  a	
  series	
  of	
  studies,	
  
concluded	
  that	
  coverage	
  of	
  many	
  traumatic	
  events,	
  including	
  those	
  that	
  are	
  crime-­‐related,	
  feature	
  the	
  
events’	
  provocative	
  or	
  sensational	
  aspects,	
  ignoring	
  overarching	
  patterns	
  or	
  risk	
  factors,	
  which	
  could	
  be	
  
valuable	
  for	
  the	
  audience	
  to	
  understand.	
  	
  	
  	
  
	
  
Our	
  study	
  suggests	
  that	
  “episodic”	
  crime	
  reporting	
  is	
  a	
  common	
  practice.	
  
	
  
For	
  the	
  month-­‐long	
  review	
  period,	
  all	
  of	
  the	
  crime	
  and	
  justice	
  stories	
  covered	
  by	
  the	
  Flint	
  Journal,	
  for	
  
example,	
  could	
  be	
  described	
  as	
  episodic	
  rather	
  than	
  contextualized	
  or	
  enterprise.	
  	
  The	
  Detroit	
  Free	
  Press	
  
(75%)	
  and	
  the	
  Indianapolis	
  Star	
  (73%)	
  had	
  the	
  fewest	
  “one-­‐off”	
  stories,	
  but	
  those	
  percentages	
  are	
  still	
  
high.	
  
	
  	
  	
  
	
  Fox	
  says	
  he’s	
  not	
  sure	
  that	
  episodic	
  reporting	
  of	
  crime	
  has	
  much	
  impact	
  on	
  the	
  public.	
  

P a g e 	
  |	
  7	
  
	
  
	
  
“Unless	
  they’re	
  really	
  big	
  stories	
  that	
  are	
  covered	
  repeatedly,	
  most	
  people	
  will	
  read	
  about	
  what	
  
happened	
  and	
  then	
  forget	
  about	
  it,	
  especially	
  when	
  there	
  are	
  so	
  many.	
  	
  They’ll	
  shake	
  their	
  heads	
  and	
  
not	
  remember	
  the	
  case,”	
  Fox	
  said.	
  
	
  	
  
Still,	
  Fox	
  says	
  there	
  are	
  times	
  when	
  the	
  episodic	
  approach	
  is	
  problematic:	
  
	
  
“For	
  the	
  most	
  important	
  stories,	
  journalists	
  should	
  try	
  to	
  look	
  at	
  not	
  just	
  
one	
  crime	
  but	
  at	
  a	
  pattern	
  of	
  crime;	
  I	
  wish	
  there	
  were	
  more	
  of	
  that.”	
  
	
  
During	
  the	
  period	
  studied,	
  there	
  appeared	
  to	
  be	
  relatively	
  few	
  high-­‐profile	
  stories	
  driving	
  "extra"	
  
coverage.	
  	
  However,	
  there	
  are	
  notable	
  exceptions.	
  	
  Two	
  examples:	
  the	
  El	
  Paso	
  Times	
  analysis	
  of	
  the	
  
impact	
  of	
  a	
  drug	
  cartel	
  leader’s	
  capture	
  on	
  the	
  local	
  trafficking	
  world;	
  and	
  	
  the	
  Camden	
  Courier-­‐Post’s	
  
look	
  at	
  efforts	
  the	
  local	
  campus	
  of	
  Rutgers	
  University	
  	
  is	
  making	
  to	
  battle	
  sexual	
  assault.	
  	
  These	
  illustrate	
  
an	
  ongoing	
  commitment	
  by	
  the	
  newspapers	
  to	
  cover	
  stories	
  that	
  have	
  a	
  broad	
  and	
  significant	
  impact	
  on	
  
the	
  communities	
  in	
  their	
  circulation	
  area.	
  	
  	
  	
  
	
  	
  
	
  

Courts	
  &	
  Corrections	
  
	
  
Another	
  criticism	
  leveled	
  at	
  the	
  news	
  media	
  is	
  a	
  lack	
  of	
  reporting	
  on	
  issues	
  related	
  to	
  the	
  court	
  system	
  
and	
  corrections.	
  	
  For	
  example,	
  it’s	
  not	
  unusual	
  for	
  an	
  arrest	
  to	
  be	
  reported,	
  but	
  the	
  subsequent	
  criminal	
  
proceedings	
  are	
  often	
  ignored,	
  and	
  it’s	
  relatively	
  rare	
  to	
  see	
  any	
  sort	
  of	
  systemic	
  evaluation	
  of	
  the	
  
criminal	
  justice	
  process.	
  	
  
	
  
In	
  this	
  study,	
  court	
  coverage	
  fared	
  much	
  better	
  than	
  corrections.	
  	
  In	
  five	
  of	
  the	
  six	
  papers	
  analyzed,	
  
more	
  than	
  30	
  percent	
  of	
  the	
  stories	
  dealt	
  with	
  some	
  aspect	
  of	
  the	
  court	
  system.	
  The	
  Camden	
  Courier-­‐
Post	
  featured	
  court	
  coverage	
  in	
  21	
  percent	
  of	
  its	
  stories.	
  
	
  
However,	
  corrections	
  topics	
  such	
  as	
  prisons,	
  parole	
  and	
  probation	
  were	
  much	
  less	
  likely	
  to	
  get	
  coverage,	
  
with	
  the	
  exception	
  of	
  the	
  Detroit	
  Free	
  Press,	
  which	
  devoted	
  just	
  under	
  11	
  percent	
  of	
  its	
  crime	
  and	
  justice	
  
coverage	
  during	
  	
  the	
  month	
  to	
  corrections-­‐related	
  issues.	
  For	
  example,	
  the	
  paper	
  explored	
  Michigan’s	
  
early	
  release	
  program	
  after	
  an	
  84-­‐year-­‐old	
  grandmother	
  was	
  murdered	
  by	
  a	
  previously	
  convicted	
  killer	
  
who	
  was	
  out	
  on	
  parole.	
  	
  Another	
  story	
  detailed	
  how	
  failure	
  to	
  reset	
  motion	
  sensors	
  within	
  a	
  state	
  
correctional	
  facility	
  aided	
  a	
  quadruple	
  murderer’s	
  escape.	
  	
  Reporters	
  also	
  explored	
  the	
  issue	
  of	
  
resentencing	
  for	
  hundreds	
  of	
  inmates	
  serving	
  mandatory	
  life	
  terms	
  for	
  murders	
  committed	
  while	
  they	
  
were	
  juveniles.	
  
	
  
Bucqueroux	
  says	
  a	
  focus	
  on	
  corrections	
  is	
  in	
  keeping	
  with	
  what	
  she	
  sees	
  as	
  the	
  paper’s	
  approach	
  to	
  
coverage.	
  
	
  
“The	
  Detroit	
  Free	
  Press	
  always	
  took	
  more	
  seriously	
  the	
  full	
  breadth	
  of	
  
criminal	
  justice	
  issues,	
  and	
  there	
  are	
  so	
  many	
  challenges	
  to	
  covering	
  
crime	
  in	
  Detroit.	
  Detroit	
  has	
  a	
  higher	
  homicide	
  rate	
  than	
  Chicago;	
  it	
  is	
  a	
  
violent	
  city	
  with	
  a	
  lot	
  of	
  crime,	
  but	
  the	
  paper	
  recognizes	
  it	
  is	
  a	
  
complicated	
  tableau	
  of	
  which	
  crime	
  is	
  a	
  part.”	
  

P a g e 	
  |	
  8	
  
	
  

	
  

Making	
  the	
  Front	
  Page	
  
Crime	
  and	
  criminal	
  justice	
  stories	
  are	
  routinely	
  cited	
  as	
  high	
  interest	
  content	
  in	
  readership	
  surveys,	
  and	
  
Dick	
  says	
  the	
  quantitative	
  data	
  the	
  Star	
  gets	
  from	
  its	
  website	
  confirms	
  that	
  finding.	
  	
  For	
  example,	
  he	
  
points	
  to	
  a	
  recent	
  home	
  invasion	
  story	
  involving	
  the	
  rape	
  of	
  two	
  women,	
  which	
  he	
  says	
  caused	
  a	
  spike	
  in	
  
Web	
  traffic.	
  
That	
  audience	
  interest	
  leads	
  newspapers	
  to	
  give	
  crime	
  and	
  justice	
  stories	
  pride	
  of	
  place.	
  At	
  the	
  El	
  Paso	
  
Times,	
  crime	
  is	
  a	
  regular	
  feature	
  of	
  the	
  front	
  page	
  and	
  the	
  metro	
  front,	
  with	
  more	
  than	
  a	
  third	
  of	
  the	
  
stories	
  appearing	
  in	
  one	
  of	
  those	
  two	
  prominent	
  positions	
  within	
  the	
  paper.	
  	
  At	
  the	
  Courier-­‐Post,	
  10	
  
percent	
  of	
  the	
  crime	
  and	
  justice	
  stories	
  hit	
  the	
  front	
  page.	
  	
  Threthan	
  says	
  that	
  placement	
  within	
  the	
  
newspaper	
  conveys	
  the	
  seriousness	
  of	
  the	
  crime;	
  if	
  it’s	
  on	
  the	
  front	
  page,	
  that	
  tells	
  readers	
  that	
  the	
  
crime	
  is	
  of	
  particular	
  consequence.	
  
Dan	
  Cassidy,	
  the	
  editor	
  for	
  the	
  Naperville	
  Sun,	
  agrees.	
  	
  He	
  says	
  that	
  less	
  serious	
  crimes	
  are	
  generally	
  
reported	
  deeper	
  in	
  the	
  paper.	
  
Alternatively,	
  the	
  Detroit	
  Free	
  Press,	
  which	
  along	
  with	
  Camden	
  often	
  gets	
  a	
  “most	
  dangerous	
  city	
  for	
  its	
  
size”	
  label,	
  featured	
  less	
  than	
  1	
  percent	
  of	
  its	
  crime	
  stories	
  on	
  A1.	
  	
  	
  
Bucqueroux	
  says	
  this	
  can	
  be	
  attributed	
  to	
  a	
  sort	
  of	
  “hierarchy	
  of	
  crime.”	
  
“In	
  some	
  cities,	
  getting	
  murdered	
  isn’t	
  enough	
  to	
  get	
  your	
  name	
  
in	
  the	
  paper.	
  	
  In	
  cities	
  like	
  Detroit,	
  the	
  sheer	
  amount	
  of	
  crime	
  to	
  
be	
  covered	
  is	
  difficult	
  to	
  manage.	
  	
  It	
  often	
  boils	
  down	
  to	
  a	
  
matter	
  of	
  frequency	
  and	
  severity.”	
  	
  

Sources	
  Say…Law	
  Enforcement	
  Comments	
  on	
  Crime	
  Coverage	
  
	
  
Law	
  enforcement	
  officers	
  made	
  up	
  33	
  percent	
  of	
  the	
  sources	
  in	
  the	
  crime	
  and	
  justice	
  reporting	
  analyzed	
  
for	
  this	
  project,	
  and	
  many	
  in	
  law	
  enforcement	
  recognize	
  the	
  symbiotic	
  relationship	
  they	
  have	
  with	
  the	
  
media.	
  We	
  interviewed	
  police	
  agency	
  spokespersons	
  as	
  part	
  of	
  the	
  study.	
  

P a g e 	
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  9	
  
	
  
	
  
	
  “We	
  value	
  all	
  of	
  our	
  news	
  partners,”	
  said	
  Lt.	
  Christopher	
  Bailey,	
  spokesperson	
  for	
  the	
  Indianapolis	
  
Metropolitan	
  Police	
  Department.	
  “They	
  play	
  an	
  important	
  role	
  is	
  crime	
  prevention	
  as	
  well	
  as	
  keeping	
  
the	
  citizens	
  informed	
  on	
  public	
  safety	
  issues.”	
  	
  
	
  
Yet,	
  there	
  can	
  be	
  tension	
  between	
  law	
  officers	
  and	
  the	
  media.	
  	
  Bill	
  Davis,	
  the	
  public	
  information	
  officer	
  
for	
  the	
  Naperville	
  (Illinois)	
  Police	
  Department,	
  says	
  relationships	
  can	
  be	
  strained	
  when	
  a	
  major	
  case	
  is	
  
involved	
  and	
  limited	
  information	
  is	
  being	
  released	
  to	
  protect	
  the	
  investigation.	
  He	
  said:	
  
	
  
“Much	
  information	
  is	
  channeled	
  through	
  our	
  state’s	
  attorney’s	
  
office	
  to	
  ensure	
  that	
  one	
  message	
  is	
  being	
  released	
  and	
  prevent	
  
conflicting	
  information	
  that	
  may	
  hinder	
  the	
  prosecution	
  in	
  
future	
  court	
  proceedings.	
  This	
  will	
  often	
  frustrate	
  reporters	
  
competing	
  for	
  more	
  information.	
  We	
  always	
  strive	
  to	
  have	
  a	
  
consistent	
  message	
  with	
  all	
  media	
  outlets	
  to	
  ensure	
  that	
  no	
  one	
  
is	
  getting	
  more	
  information	
  than	
  the	
  other.’	
  
	
  
Relationships	
  can	
  become	
  more	
  strained	
  when	
  local	
  law	
  enforcement	
  agencies	
  are	
  unhappy	
  with	
  
coverage	
  decisions	
  made	
  by	
  a	
  news	
  organization	
  or	
  an	
  individual	
  reporter.	
  	
  It’s	
  not	
  unusual	
  for	
  agencies	
  
to	
  systematically	
  monitor	
  news	
  media	
  coverage	
  involving	
  their	
  departments.	
  	
  Davis	
  says	
  he	
  tracks	
  stories	
  
in	
  the	
  local	
  media	
  and	
  briefs	
  the	
  police	
  chief	
  if	
  he	
  feels	
  it’s	
  warranted.	
  	
  	
  	
  
	
  
Bucqueroux	
  says	
  the	
  adversarial	
  role	
  journalists	
  sometimes	
  have	
  to	
  play	
  with	
  police	
  and	
  other	
  
authorities	
  can	
  be	
  challenging.	
  
	
  
“Reporters	
  are	
  always	
  at	
  the	
  mercy	
  of	
  access	
  to	
  official	
  sources,”	
  said	
  Bucqueroux.	
  	
  “For	
  a	
  police	
  
reporter	
  it’s	
  tough.	
  	
  If	
  you	
  challenge	
  the	
  orthodoxy,	
  you	
  could	
  have	
  access	
  denied.	
  It’s	
  a	
  real	
  Catch-­‐22.”	
  
	
  
However,	
  Bailey	
  says	
  he	
  appreciates	
  it	
  when	
  the	
  news	
  media	
  does	
  crime	
  reporting	
  well.	
  
	
  
“The	
  Star	
  does	
  an	
  excellent	
  job	
  of	
  fact-­‐checking	
  each	
  of	
  their	
  stories.	
  	
  It	
  seems	
  like	
  they	
  have	
  less	
  of	
  a	
  
desire	
  to	
  be	
  first	
  and	
  are	
  more	
  focused	
  on	
  being	
  right.	
  	
  They	
  do	
  tell	
  both	
  sides	
  of	
  every	
  story	
  and	
  they	
  
also	
  include	
  experts	
  from	
  multiple	
  disciplines	
  in	
  most	
  of	
  their	
  stories.”	
  
	
  

THE	
  TAKEAWAY:	
  Quantity	
  vs	
  Content	
  
While	
  this	
  study	
  has	
  its	
  limitations,	
  given	
  that	
  it	
  involved	
  newspapers	
  across	
  a	
  wide	
  range	
  of	
  market	
  
sizes	
  and	
  at	
  both	
  ends	
  of	
  the	
  crime	
  rate	
  spectrum,	
  it	
  appears	
  that,	
  despite	
  the	
  cutbacks	
  on	
  staff	
  and	
  
resources,	
  crime	
  coverage	
  is	
  alive	
  and	
  well	
  in	
  U.S.	
  newspapers.	
  	
  	
  
At	
  all	
  the	
  papers	
  in	
  the	
  survey,	
  there	
  were	
  few	
  days	
  without	
  a	
  crime	
  story,	
  and	
  a	
  significant	
  percentage	
  
of	
  the	
  stories	
  covered	
  ended	
  up	
  on	
  the	
  front	
  pages.	
  	
  
At	
  the	
  same	
  time,	
  Bucqueroux	
  is	
  not	
  sure	
  that	
  the	
  abundance	
  of	
  crime	
  reporting	
  is	
  directly	
  related	
  to	
  its	
  
value.	
  	
  
As	
  she	
  put	
  it:	
  

P a g e 	
  |	
  10	
  
	
  
“It’s	
  easy	
  and	
  cheap	
  to	
  cover	
  and	
  readers	
  like	
  it.	
  	
  All	
  you	
  have	
  to	
  
do	
  is	
  listen	
  to	
  the	
  scanner	
  or	
  pick	
  up	
  the	
  police	
  blotter.	
  I	
  sound	
  so	
  
cynical,	
  but	
  I	
  was	
  coordinator	
  of	
  the	
  Victims	
  in	
  Media	
  Program	
  
and	
  associate	
  director	
  for	
  the	
  National	
  Center	
  for	
  Community	
  
Policing.	
  	
  The	
  kind	
  of	
  crime	
  that	
  comes	
  to	
  the	
  media’s	
  attention	
  
and	
  what	
  makes	
  headlines	
  is	
  just	
  a	
  small	
  fraction,	
  and	
  an	
  
unrealistic	
  representation,	
  of	
  what	
  actually	
  occurs.	
  	
  Domestic	
  
violence	
  springs	
  up	
  every	
  day,	
  for	
  example,	
  but	
  it’s	
  seldom	
  
reported	
  on.”	
   	
  
Dick	
  says	
  coverage	
  approaches	
  are	
  already	
  changing.	
  For	
  example,	
  he	
  says	
  the	
  Star	
  is	
  more	
  digital	
  than	
  
print-­‐focused	
  at	
  this	
  point,	
  and	
  in	
  the	
  future,	
  he	
  anticipates	
  communication	
  technology	
  is	
  going	
  to	
  have	
  
significant	
  impact	
  on	
  what	
  it	
  means	
  to	
  report	
  on	
  crime	
  and	
  criminal	
  justice.	
  
He	
  said:	
  	
  
“I	
  think	
  with	
  breaking	
  crime	
  news,	
  we’ll	
  be	
  able	
  to	
  be	
  more	
  
immediate	
  and	
  live	
  in	
  words	
  and	
  pictures	
  and	
  video,	
  so	
  I	
  think	
  
that	
  crime	
  problems	
  will	
  resonate	
  with	
  folks	
  more	
  as	
  they	
  see	
  
things	
  unfold	
  in	
  real	
  time.	
  	
  It	
  isn’t	
  just	
  words	
  on	
  paper,	
  it’s	
  live	
  
video	
  of	
  something	
  going	
  on	
  two	
  blocks	
  from	
  where	
  you	
  live.”	
  	
  
In	
  addition,	
  he	
  anticipates	
  interactive	
  multimedia	
  offering	
  a	
  real	
  boon	
  to	
  coverage.	
  
“We	
  will	
  be	
  developing	
  ways	
  to	
  inform	
  people	
  that	
  take	
  advantage	
  of	
  multimedia	
  and	
  interactive	
  
graphics	
  to	
  help	
  them	
  understand	
  stories	
  and	
  to	
  engage	
  them	
  to	
  a	
  degree	
  that	
  perhaps	
  we	
  traditionally	
  
have	
  not.”	
  
Already	
  some	
  news	
  organizations,	
  like	
  the	
  Los	
  Angeles	
  Times,	
  are	
  experimenting	
  with	
  technological	
  
solutions	
  to	
  crime	
  coverage.	
  	
  The	
  paper’s	
  The	
  Homicide	
  Report	
  site	
  promises	
  “a	
  story	
  for	
  every	
  victim”	
  
and	
  uses	
  an	
  algorithm	
  to	
  plug	
  in	
  data	
  from	
  official	
  sources	
  to	
  generate	
  a	
  brief	
  report	
  on	
  every	
  homicide	
  
in	
  the	
  coverage	
  area.	
  	
  This	
  approach	
  ostensibly	
  frees	
  up	
  the	
  organization’s	
  reporters	
  to	
  do	
  a	
  better	
  job	
  of	
  
covering	
  stories	
  that	
  need	
  more	
  development,	
  more	
  often.	
  
What	
  this	
  study	
  indicates	
  is	
  that	
  crime	
  and	
  justice	
  reporting	
  remains	
  integral	
  to	
  the	
  work	
  of	
  daily	
  
newspapers.	
  	
  While	
  it	
  is	
  impossible	
  to	
  say	
  with	
  certainty	
  whether	
  the	
  job	
  and	
  resource	
  losses	
  in	
  the	
  
industry	
  are	
  thinning	
  out	
  that	
  coverage,	
  it’s	
  evident	
  that	
  on	
  many,	
  many	
  occasions,	
  the	
  stories	
  reported	
  
include	
  only	
  the	
  “official”	
  view	
  of	
  the	
  crime	
  or	
  court	
  case,	
  for	
  example,	
  with	
  little	
  to	
  no	
  broader	
  
perspective	
  or	
  context	
  indicating	
  why	
  the	
  stories	
  matter	
  to	
  the	
  public.	
  
Future	
  research	
  may	
  be	
  able	
  to	
  quantify	
  whether	
  there	
  is	
  more	
  or	
  less	
  crime	
  coverage	
  occurring	
  in	
  
today’s	
  daily	
  metropolitan	
  newspapers	
  than	
  in	
  the	
  past;	
  and	
  an	
  expanded	
  content	
  analysis	
  could	
  provide	
  
insight	
  into	
  whether	
  crime	
  is	
  getting	
  more	
  or	
  less	
  emphasis	
  than	
  other	
  topics	
  reported.	
  	
  Given	
  the	
  fact	
  
that	
  Pew	
  has	
  determined	
  that	
  66	
  percent	
  of	
  U.S.	
  adults	
  say	
  they	
  follow	
  crime	
  news,	
  with	
  only	
  weather,	
  
breaking	
  news	
  and	
  politics	
  garnering	
  more	
  interest,	
  it	
  is	
  imperative	
  that	
  the	
  audience	
  gets	
  the	
  most	
  
contextualized	
  and	
  well-­‐sourced	
  coverage	
  possible.	
  
	
  

P a g e 	
  |	
  11	
  
	
  
Debora	
  Wenger	
  is	
  Director	
  of	
  Undergraduate	
  Journalism	
  at	
  the	
  University	
  of	
  Mississippi.	
  	
  She	
  worked	
  in	
  
local	
  television	
  and	
  newspapers	
  for	
  two	
  decades	
  and	
  has	
  served	
  on	
  the	
  board	
  of	
  Criminal	
  Justice	
  
Journalists.	
  	
  Dr.	
  Rocky	
  Dailey	
  is	
  Assistant	
  Professor	
  at	
  South	
  Dakota	
  State	
  University.	
  He	
  worked	
  in	
  local	
  
television	
  and	
  newspapers	
  as	
  a	
  visual	
  journalist	
  and	
  online	
  reporter	
  over	
  the	
  course	
  of	
  17	
  years	
  and	
  
currently	
  teaches	
  in	
  the	
  graduate	
  and	
  honors	
  programs	
  in	
  journalism	
  and	
  mass	
  communication.	
  
	
  
	
  

The Center on Media, Crime and Justice gratefully acknowledges the support of
the Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation for this study.