Media representations of criminal justice

This chapter explores media constructions of criminal justice. Although the discussion is broad in scope, a recurring theme throughout the chapter concerns the biases – especially racial biases – that permeate media discourses concerning crime and justice. In other words, while the chapter provides an overview of the relationship between media representations and public misconceptions about criminal justice in general, the differential treatment of black and Asian people provides a unifying theme within a broader argument that the media taps into psycho-social fears about ‘others’ and is one of the primary sites of social inclusion and exclusion.