Question 1

The media could improve the portrayal of crime and justice by providing comprehensive, contextual cover, as is done for ________________.

Accepted Answer

Providing comprehensive, contextual coverage of crime and justice as is done for sporting events would help in avoiding sensationalizing crime news and presenting a balanced and accurate view of the justice system. It would also reduce the fear and anxiety caused by sensationalized news, which often exaggerates the extent and severity of crime.

Question 2

When a correlation is looked for between media attention on a social issue and public concern, what kind of relationship is found?

Accepted Answer

B

Question 3

Research indicates that media effects ______________________.

Accepted Answer

Research indicates that media effects appear to increase with exposure, are more significant the less direct experience people have with an issue, and are more significant for newer, concrete issues than for older abstract ones.

Question 4

More than one hundred years ago, the media's ecological image of crime was populated by which of the following images?

Accepted Answer

The media's ecological image of crime more than a hundred years ago often used the metaphor of wolves, sheep, and sheepdogs to describe criminals, victims, and protectors, respectively.

Question 5

By depicting a predatory violent social environment, the media show the public that due process considerations hamper the police.

Accepted Answer

The media often portrays a narrative where legal procedures are seen as obstacles to effective policing, suggesting that due process can hinder law enforcement efforts in a crime-ridden society.

Question 6

Which of the following conceptual frameworks, which helps us understand the criminal justice system and mass media's effects on the system, can be defined as: seeing the criminal justice system as an obstacle course in which the government must prove an accused person's guilt while conforming to strict procedural rules?

Accepted Answer

The due process model emphasizes the importance of protecting the legal rights of individuals, including those who are accused of crimes. It sees the criminal justice system as an obstacle course in which the government must prove an accused person's guilt while conforming to strict procedural rules. This model is often contrasted with the crime control model, which places an emphasis on efficiency and speed in the criminal justice system. Neither the retribution nor community justice models specifically address the procedural aspects of the criminal justice system.

Question 7

Today's media-constructed crime-and-justice ecology is populated with what type of offenders, victims, and heroes?

Accepted Answer

The media often portrays crime-and-justice scenarios with "ideal" offenders, victims, and heroes, fitting into stereotypical narratives that are easily understood by the audience.

Question 8

Which of the following conceptual frameworks, which helps us understand the criminal justice system and mass media's effects on the system, can be defined as: perceiving the criminal justice system as an assembly line along which defendants should be processed as quickly and as efficiently as possible?

Accepted Answer

The crime control model emphasizes efficiency and speed, treating the criminal justice system as an assembly line that processes cases quickly and harshly to deter future crime. This model prioritizes public safety over individual rights and liberties.

Question 9

The good versus evil perspective on crime and justice is reflected in the common media crime fighter who primarily motivated by upholding the law, rather than individual retribution.

Accepted Answer

The answer of The good versus evil perspective on crime...

Question 10

The media-criminal justice policy model that predicts that the media's coverage of an external event and the event may both influence criminal justice policy is called _______________________.

Accepted Answer

The Simultaneous media influence external event model suggests that media coverage and external events can concurrently affect criminal justice policy, indicating an interactive relationship between media narratives and real-world occurrences that can shape policy decisions.

Question 11

News stories rarely place criminal justice information in the contexts of history, sociology, or politics by highlighting trends, persistent problems, or other systematic phenomena, which is known as a ____________________.

Accepted Answer

Thematic format emphasizes the larger societal forces that contribute to criminal justice issues and helps provide a deeper understanding of the complexities and interconnectedness of these issues.

Question 12

The belief that a divine higher power will intervene, and reveal and punish the guilty while protecting the innocent is known as which of the following?

Accepted Answer

The belief that a divine higher power will intervene, and reveal and punish the guilty while protecting the innocent is known as immanent justice. Immanent means inherent, inborn, or essential, and this concept suggests that justice is an inherent quality of the universe that will inevitably be served by a divine power. Distributive justice refers to the equitable distribution of resources, while procedural justice relates to the fairness and transparency of the legal process. Retributive justice focuses on punishment for wrongdoing, but does not necessarily involve a belief in divine intervention.

Question 13

Media effects on the criminal justice system are always perceived as bad.

Accepted Answer

Media effects on the criminal justice system can have both positive and negative impacts. The media can bring attention to cases that may have otherwise been overlooked, and can also highlight issues within the system itself. However, media attention can also sensationalize and distort facts, jeopardize fair trials, and perpetuate negative stereotypes.

Question 14

The most relevant crime-and-justice attitude that has been linked to the media is fear of criminal victimization. Fear-of-crime levels are socially important because _______________.

Accepted Answer

High levels of fear of crime can lead to increased support for punitive criminal justice policies, such as harsher sentencing and more police presence, which can have significant impacts on society.

Question 15

The relationship between the media, policies, and theory can be modeled in a four-step process. Choose which of the following depicts the steps of the process in the correct order.

Accepted Answer

The correct sequence starts with the media's portrayal of crime and justice, which influences the social construction of reality. This, in turn, affects social attitudes, perceptions, and behavior, ultimately impacting criminal justice policy.

Question 16

The media's construction of the criminal justice system appears to lead the public to evaluate the overall system as fair.

Accepted Answer

Research indicates that media portrayals of the criminal justice system often emphasize sensationalism, crime, and punishment, which can skew public perception and lead to a more critical view of the system's fairness and effectiveness.

Question 17

It is theorized that media are homogenizing society, influencing heavy television consumers. The hypothesis that the media affect some viewers more than others regardless of exposure level is called ___________________.

Accepted Answer

Mainstreaming is the hypothesis that suggests media, particularly television, homogenize the viewpoints of heavy viewers, making their perceptions more consistent with the world as portrayed in the media, regardless of their prior beliefs or information levels.

Question 18

In addition to the media's focus on individual factors as the cause of crime, the portrait typically includes social and structural conflicts, such as racism, sexism, and economic inequality.

Accepted Answer

The answer of In addition to the media's focus on...

Question 19

Unexpected effects arise from the novel manner in which the media related to criminal justice policy. One such effect refers to the tendency for officials to treat defendants in unpublicized cases harshly if the press has been demanding such treatment for defendants in publicized cases. This is called the ________________.

Accepted Answer

The described phenomenon is known as the echo effect, where officials respond to media demands for harsh treatment of high-profile cases by applying this same treatment to unrelated, unpublicized cases. This creates an "echo" in the criminal justice system where media demands influence the treatment of defendants beyond the scope of the original publicized case.

Question 20

If DUI prosecutions increase due to an investigatory media series suggesting that lenient treatment for DUI offenders is common, this is an example of a media-related change ____________________.

Accepted Answer

The answer of If DUI prosecutions increase due to an...

Quiz 9: The Media and Criminal Justice Policy