Louise Critical Research 08

to do

2008-05-06T09:51:00.001-07:00

find example of news/moral panic stuff
look on metropolitan police site for statements about scanning/stop and search
look at official statistics site again and gather some examples

ASBO kids- media moral panic?

2008-05-06T08:37:00.000-07:00

Statistics and 'Why Kids Kill'

2008-05-02T06:15:00.000-07:00

The documentary on channel 4, Why Kids Kill, was broadcast on 8/2/08. It was very usefull as it raised a lot of questions, though there are some flaws that i must bear in mind. In particular, i have to bear in mind that it is coming from the perspective of the reporter, or channel four. I therfore must be critical when watching it. It uses a lot of statistics in order to back up its points, however these are a mixture of official statistics interspersed with dispaches own research stats. This appears to make their research more credible. I would be interested in writing to the researcher in order to find out more about the research they carried out. This may help me with my own primary research.

The statisics given in this section of the program are:

In 2006-07 there were 15 homocides and 8344 violent crimes (met police)
1 in 4 of violent crimes in Lambeth were commited by teengers (london borough of Lambeth crime and disorder audit 2004)
1 in 10 youths aged 11-15 has carried a knife (2004 survey of 11000 school children for government office for london)
Knives were used in 2 out of 3 of teenage killings in the uk in 2007, (dispatches own research)
1 in 5 teenage killings in UK involved guns (dispatches own research)
1 in 17 london youths 11-15 has fired a hand gun (2004 survey of 31000 school children for government office for london)
1 in 4 london gun crimes commited by a youth ages 17 or under in 2007 (metropolitan police)
A MAC-10 submachine gun is 'believed' to have been used by teenagers in 4 london killings in the past 14 months (press and police reports)
3 out of 5 teenage killings in the UK in 2007are believed to be gang related (dispaches own research)
Youth gang members are 2 or 3 times more likely to be victims and perpertraitors of violent crime (average figures from current academic research)
1 in 10 london youths ages 11-15 belong to a gang with it's own territory (2004 survey of 11000 school children for government office for london)
8 years ago there were aprox 5 gangs in Lambeth, now there are aproximately 30
It is thought that each large housing estate in Brixton has its own gang
Robbery is the most common trigger for serious violence in 56% of cased (dispaches own research)
Lambeth has more robberies thatn any other london borough
3 out of 5 teenage killings took place in 20% of the most deprived areas (dispaches own research)

I will conclude this later, i need food now :-)

Media Magazine - how to make sense of audience theories

2008-04-29T02:08:00.000-07:00

These notes are taken from an article published in Media Magazine, 17/12/03, pages 52-55

The approach you take to audience theory, and therfore your opinions and conclusions, are dependant on who you are, what you are investigating, and why you are researching.

Audience research tries to find evidence to support and argument, while audience theory simply describes different ways of thinking about audiences.
When carrying out research, it is important to bear in mind and assumptions you have made as a researcher, for example, you may have assumed the effects theory, when trying to find out the reactions to a particular program by different members of a group. In this example, you would be assuming that the program has a different effect on each person.
Assuming an audience theory is not a problem, but it is important to acknowledge this and identify the resulting downfalls or implications for your research.

Effects theories.

Effects theories are not purely about sex, violence and the issues seen during the censorship debate. There are other less publicised theories, below are some examples
Right wing - Popular culture, programmes such as Big brother, Trisha, have a negative effect on peoples psychological and mental well-being, as they seek to dumb-down television.
Left wing - The media is controlled by those in power, the texts within it, therfore seek to keep the power difference, by placing importance on people higher up in the class system, eg. the prime minister, the royals, where as normal people are given less emphasis. This theory says that the effect of this is to reinforce the powerful image of these people, and keep the powerless in their place. I thought this was particularly relevant to my work, as i could investigate the idea that coverage of youth crime, and its connections with single parents, and working class families seeks to reinforce their position in the class system, by making them appear deviant and out of controll to the general public. This Theory also links in with my reading on moral panics, as it sees the press, and the media as having the power to affect public perception, and potentially cause panic, or concern about the subject.

I havent completed the article yet, there is more to come later on.

Audience theory

2008-04-28T07:21:00.000-07:00

Below i have summarised what i have read about different audiences theory. While they are not all relevant to my project, it is important to know about all of them so i can comment on why i have chosen to focus on certain ones.

The Hypodermic needle model

People are directly affected by the media they consume
They are passive
The producers of texts are very powerful
Focuses on negative effects and not positive
Focuses on women and children, the vulnerable
Doesn't take into account active viewing and the different ways people use and enjoy the media.

Cultivation theory

The more an audience consumes parts of the media, the more they develop certain kinds of views about the world. These, many are concerned will be false views.
An example is, coverage of crime in Crimewatch feeds the perception that crime is increasing
Acknowledges that people can obtain some views of the world from television
Notes that the media is an important feature of social lives.
The influence of these is not measured against the influence of the wider world
There is more crime in the world for reasons other than the media

Desensitisation

Exposure to too much fictional violence, desensitises people to real life violence.
Draws attention to the fact that there is a lot of on-screen violence
Asks the question of how much exposure to on-screen negative behaviour people and children should have
It is very difficult to prove long-term effects
Can one stimulus cause such a huge problem?

Modelling or copycatting

Kids/people will copy behaviour or actions they see on screen/in the media
Plays on the insecurities of parents
Leads to limiting children's viewing of television/consumption of the media.
Short-term effects are measurable, but long-term ones are not so easy to monitor

Uses and Gratification theory

People 'read' the media differently according to their personality, upbringing and their position in society.
The media will affect people if it: confirms or enhances their role or image
It will not affect their beliefs that have accumulated from life experience
The audience is thought to be thoughtful, intelligent and able to distinguish between fact and fiction.
Explores the ways in which the audience use the media
Life experience is more important and relevant than media experience
Media is considered as a source of pleasure and therefore a good thing
It is considered that audience power arguments at made at the expense of the questions of media power or the power of certain texts
Some theorists have claimed that the media has no influence of effects, which is a little bit silly don't ya think?

Summary

I have come across different areas of each of these theories throughout my research, however some are more relevant than others. I think that the Cultivation theory and perhaps desensitisation or copycat theory are most relevant as i have raised questions over the reasons for gang behaviour, and the potential influences of male role models in the media, e.g. 50 Cent. The uses and gratifications theory will also crop up as a result of my questionnaire, as it will determine whether people mix their ideas of fact and fiction.

Moral Panics

2008-04-22T03:42:00.000-07:00

What is a moral panic?

A moral panic is an unjustified fear of somthing which tends to find expression on a wide scale in the public arena; Blaming an object or activity for wider social evils/ills.

Typically they feature:

Anxieties about the young and working class 'getting out of hand'

fear of new technologies

fear of the modern world and nostalgia for the 'golden age' in the past

assumption of copycatting

sex and violence: young people finding out about the adult world

Some well known moral panics from the past

Childs Play and video nasties

Mods and Rockers

Internet porn

Effects on society

These moral panics cause a big reaction in society.

Action Plan

2008-04-22T03:23:00.000-07:00

Having wasted the easter holidays i have finally decided to do some work. I seem to have half done some of the following jobs but haven't finished them so in order to see some development i plan to complete them by next wednesday.

Summarise sociological theory on blog - haralambos
Look on amazon for BFI book
Read up on moral panics
Re-view kidulthood and select a clip for focus group
Re-view why kids kill and ross kemp and take notes
Pick a news broadcast focussing on youth/gang crime
Collect newspaper clippings
Write questionnaire
Prepare follow-up interviews

Meeting with Mrs T 17/3 LATEST action plan

2008-03-17T07:58:00.000-07:00

We discussed latest title which should now be - "How is public perception affected by the media's gang label?"

The new action plan is
1. Still wait for Media and society and other secondary books
2. Choose which specific medium/medias to focus on
3. find examples/ case studies to focus on from the medias
4. watch/analyse/read those case studies/texts ready to begin formulating qs for audience

;-)

Books

2008-03-10T02:26:00.000-07:00

One of the Guys: Girls, Gangs, and Gender by Jody Miller

Female Gangs in America: Essays on Girls, Gangs and Gender by Meda Chesney-Lind (Editor), John M. Hagedorn (Editor)

Meeting with Ms Thrasher

2008-03-10T02:08:00.000-07:00

I met with Ms Thrasher last week:

I need to define the direction of my research more specifically
I need to get a copy of Why Kids Kill from 4OD and Ross Kemp on Gangs from sky1
Identify audience

Some more interesting videos

2008-03-05T02:46:00.000-08:00

Ross Kemp on Gangs: talking to south London gang

2008-03-05T02:35:00.000-08:00

Loulou is a sexy biiitch

This is the episode of Ross Kemp on gangs in a few parts:

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3
I can't find part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Youtube!

2008-03-04T04:26:00.000-08:00

I've been looking at youtube over the past few days to try and find some documentaries, and just to get some general background knowledge around the subject of gangs, youth crime etc. I've found that theres a lot of people out there doing the same thing.

One particular video i found on there was a one of a guy just opening the question of why is the situation like it is? why is there so much crime out there, and why are young people resorting to such extremities?

The video itself was not very interesting, but the comments he recieved might be of use, and this type of primary research method may be usefull to me, as it may allow me to reach people who i may otherwise not be able to.

[Click Here] to view the site.

Meeting with Ms Dym

2008-03-04T03:49:00.000-08:00

Thoughts:

Look into girls involved in crime
Define question/come up with a research question
Look for some books
Look for some media theory online
Read up on sociology studies/perspectives.

Why Kids Kill

2008-03-04T03:14:00.000-08:00

This is a shortened clip taken from the documentary 'Why Kids Kill' from Channel 4's Dispatches.
It focuses predominantly on South London's gangs and the reasons why they get involved in them, and the types of crime they are involved in.

The main reasons mentioned are:

Poverty
Boredom
Territory - they want to have something to call their own

Types of crime mentioned:

Knife
Gun
Robbery

Channel 4 documentaries

2008-03-04T01:40:00.002-08:00

Looking On the channel 4 website yesterday, i came across a series of short documentaries related to revenge killings and gang violence. They focus on different gang members or ex-members, and how they feel about the situations they find themselves in. These were made by one of the boys involved, AJ Nakasila and focusses on people directly involved. Although it is hosted by the channel 4 website, it is not reported on by the institution specifically, though it is endorsing and supporting the message AJ is putting accross.

[Click here] to see the documentaries.

my thoughts :-)

2008-03-03T09:09:00.000-08:00

Having begun to look for reports and stories on gangs in newpaper archives it's apparant that this topic is very popular in the news. I think it would be particularly worth finding out more about local gangs:

how many there are,
who are they,
what are they called
specific types of crime they are involved in
etc

Another problem i have found is that the term 'gang' is used very loosely to describe any group of men or boys who are up to no good. It seems therfore that i need to define what exactly i mean by gangs and also the type of crime I am focussing on. On the right, i have published a list of links, at the moment they are mostly from the Times website, and cover a range of types of crime, and a range of meanings given to the term gang. While one shows a 'terror gang' another article just refers to a 'gang of 3 men' who attacked someone.

Other stuff
I have tried looking on the website for official statistics however this is proving to be difficult as the main focus is on robbery or other crime and is not specifically focussed on gangs. I may try contacting someone, or speaking to a police officer to get some more information.
I also think it would be usefull to watch the documentaries:

Ross Kemp on gangs
Why Kids Kill

I have watched these before. They focus on the resons and motivations behind why kids and adults get involved in gangs.

Crime stats

2008-02-14T03:53:00.000-08:00

In 2004, over four in ten juveniles in England and Wales re-offended within one year of their original conviction. (Page 123)

http://www.statistics.gov.uk/cci/nugget.asp?id=1755

http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/crimeew0607.html

Detailed Proposal

2008-02-13T02:35:00.000-08:00

1. Topic Area

Crime and the media

2. Proposed title, question, hypothesis

Perception of youth crime in the media

3. Teacher approval granted, in principal?

yes

4. Principle texts (if text based study)

5. Reason for choice

Interest in topic area, some knowledge of crime from a sociological perspective, lends itself well to primary research, lots written about crime, acessible through press, film, news etc,

6. Academic context for this study (similar research, relevant theory, named theorists)

to follow

7. Institutional context for this study (industry focus, other texts for comparison, named practitioners, relevant theory, issues, questions)

News/documentary/the press

to follow

8. Identify the audience context for this study (audience profile, access to audience, potential sample)

Potential audience groups that i could consult include:

the elderly
parents
youth
gang members
victims of youth crime
police officers

9. How will the 4 key concepts be relevant to your study (audience, institution, forms and conventions, representation)?

The four topics are completely interconnected...

Audience groups/general public are involved in 'creating' the stories and consuming the news stories
The different institutions choose how to present this in their coverage of the topic within the news and newspapers
This coverage creates a certain representation of crime and youth which is consumed by the audience

10 Potential research sources (secondary): secondary academic books and websites, secondary industry books and websites, secondary popular criticism. Please identify specific examples you have come across.

To follow

11. Potential research sources (primary): audience reception research, your own content/textual analysis etc

analysis of a news bulletin or documentary
questionnaires about general perceptions of groups and peoples consumption of the media and news
follow up interviews with different audience groups about how their news consumption contributes to their perceptions
perhaps see if there are any correlations between media consumption and attitudes to groups or crime
discussion with gang members or victims of crime about their experiences, motivations, feelings about their representation and whether it is accurate.

12. Modifications agreed with your lead teacher

13. Potential limits/obstacles/problems?

accessing people could be a problem, however i don't think it will be too difficult to find people as it isn't a very niche topic and affects almost everyone.

14. Teacher concerns

15. Teacher approval

Action plan

2008-02-13T02:28:00.001-08:00

Following consulation with Ms B, i have a list of things to do over the next few days:

ask librarian about press clippings
collect some footage of happy slapping from youtube
record some news bulletins surrounding youth crime
think about different audience groups that could be consulted
look at online archives
specify either an audience group or type of crime

Initial Proposal

2008-02-13T02:12:00.000-08:00

When preparing an initial proposal, please answer the following questions:

1. Which topic area is this proposal for?

Crime and the media

2. What is the suggested focus?

Gang Culture and youth crime. I'd like to find out how they are represented and portrayed in the media, with a particular emphasis on how different audience groups view youth as a group, as a result of the media coverage.

3. Do you have an idea for a question/problematic?

not yet, :-)

4. Why would you choose this?

I'm studying crime and deviance in sociology at the moment, and i'm finding the topic really interesting. I think the knowledge i have from this will help me get a more rounded picture and will give me a head start. I also think this topic will lend itself well to doing a range of primary research methods, such as interviews, questionnaires, as well as allowing me to investigate a wide range of audiences. This will be usefull particularly as it can be difficult to find willing participants for interviews and questionnaires.

5. Do you have any concerns or are there any limitations to this proposal?

I'm not sure at the moment how to fins a specific title for my research, but i think that as i look more into it and perhaps talk to different people, i will find a particular area to research/

6. Can you rate it on a sliding scale 1- 5 (5 being great proposal, 0 being lousy proposal)

4

Initial plans and thoughts

2008-02-09T07:04:00.000-08:00

Crime and the media

Mediums

Film
TV
The press
News
radio

Types of crime

Gun and Knife
Drugs
Sexual assault
Underage sex
Theft
Jerome
Corruption
Fraud
Murder
Suiscide
Paedophilia
Youth

Controversies

Madeleine McCann
ASBO kids
Gang culture
Gun and Knife
Murder in film and effects debate
Moral Panics

Theories

Hypodermic needle effect
Effects debate
Perception of reality

first post whoo

2008-02-05T02:38:00.000-08:00

Hello,

this is me posting my first post whoo

excited!