Abstract
This study analyzes citizen representations in a corpus of 300 Dutch newspaper narratives published between 1860 and 2009. Results show that citizen perspectives are more frequently represented than authority perspectives, although the perspectives of authorities have become somewhat more frequent over time. In-depth analyses of the citizen perspectives show that citizens may fulfil multiple roles in the crime narratives, leading up to a functional typology of citizens as (1) story characters experiencing the news events, (2) news sources providing inside information about the events, and (3) vox pops expressing opinions and evaluations of the events. The variety of citizen perspectives included in crime news narratives and the multitude of roles they fulfill may help audience members to become informed as well as engaged and to explore their personal emotions, which may ultimately reinforce moral, cultural and societal values.
Highlights
IntroductionHave recently been confirmed for television news (Cushion, 2018; Kleemans et al, 2017)
The role of citizens in journalism has traditionally been a marginal one
The first two research questions of this study concerned the representation of citizen perspectives in crime news narratives and possible historical developments in this representation
Summary
Have recently been confirmed for television news (Cushion, 2018; Kleemans et al, 2017). These preferences result in news coverage that is dominated by the voices of people in possession of power and authority, who have easier access to the media and have more authority to attract media attention than non-elite sources. Criminal acts belong to this category of unexpected events and, news stories about such acts typically include representations of ordinary citizens sharing their first-hand and on-site experiences (Van Krieken et al, 2015b)
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