THE MEDIA INFLUENCE ON PUBLIC ATTITUDES ABOUT PUNITIVENESS

Abstract

Public attitudes about punitiveness have a significant impact on penal policy in the societies. Punitive penal policy and increased imprisonment of offenders are often seen as a reflection of the public support for harsh punishment. (Cullen et all, 2000). Criminological research often links the attitudes toward punishment with the socio-demographic characteristics of the public (gender, age, race, ethnicity, political ideology, education, income, religion), their possible direct or indirect victimization, the fear of crime, their perceptions about crime and the effectiveness of the criminal justice system. In addition to these factors, in the last two decades the attitudes have also been linked with the increasing presence and use of the media The empirical research analyzes the issue of the connection between the media consumption and shaping public attitudes toward punishment, especially for certain crimes. Hence, the subject of this paper is the impact of media consumption on the public attitudes about punishment, with the purpose to determine to what extent and in what direction is that influence. The impact of different types of media and different types of media content or programs on public attitudes about punitiveness will be analyzed. In general, the research shows that different types of media and news, such as watching television news (local and national) and crime-related programs, have influence on the attitudes about punishment (Intravia, 2019). However, the direct impact cannot be fully and clearly determined, because the research uses a different methodology in terms of the media consumption and media content. In addition to traditional media, from research perspective, special attention is given to the connection between the use of social media and their impact on punitiveness. The importance of analyzing their impact on public attitudes is primarily due to the increasing number of individuals who use social media, which are a major source of crime-related news and often providing access to news or information shared by others. These features related to social media (especially social networks) allow individuals to virtually participate in issues related to crime and punishment, which in turn can change someone's opinion and position on the topic of discussion. (Anderson & all, 2014).