Framing victims of crime: A print media analysis investigating the portral of victims of crime

Mainstream media play a significant role in shaping public attitudes and beliefs about the social world. Reality for most of society is created by the production process of a news organisation and thus is created under the structural determinants of that framework. This study summarises a longer piece of research examining the representation of victims of crime within print media. Adopting a framing analysis approach this research investigates how the media portray victims of crime.The Findings indicate that the media can portray a person through a version of reality that the journalist has created by appealing to the consensual values of their audience. They can stigmatise some victims while glorifying others depending on the frame they choose to use.