Entertaining Crime: Television Reality Programs (Social Institutions and Social Change) Book

Since the late 1980s programs like Cops, America's Most ! Wanted, Unsolved Mysteries, and Real Stories of the Highway Patrol have become a staple on television. These "reality crime" shows represent both a new genre of entertainment and a new kind of crime news. Why do such programs exist, and why are they international in scope? What effect do they have on audiences? What larger cultural meaning do they have? What do they indicate about crime and justice in the late twentieth century? Entertaining Crime is unique because it is the first volume to focus on television reality crime programming. Presenting eleven original studies by social scientists, this volume includes empirical research on audience reception or effects of reality programs; on the content of reality shows in terms of race and gender; and on the characteristics of the audience inclined to watch such programs. The contributors address a variety of topics, drawing upon different perspectives and using different methods of analysis. The volume includes. studies of reality programs in the U.S., Britain, France, and, Holland. Entertaining Crime is a useful primary or supplemental text in undergraduate and graduate courses that address the relationship between crime and the media. The volume contributes to the discussion of other issues relating to crime and the media, such as gender, race/ethnicity, and fear of crime.Read More