Reporting crime by the media

Abstract

This dissertation explores the way journalist in the Maltese Criminal Court report crime. By means of a questionnaire administered to journalists working in the court the author assessed the way the reporters did their work. Chibnall's (1977) professional imperatives; Immediacy, Dramatization, Personalization, Simplification, Titillation, Conventionalism. Structured Access and Novelty were taken as variables to assess the type of reports that were constructed by journalists. These imperatives were found to be used by Maltese journalists. However, when compared to their foreign counterparts it was concluded that they used them with caution All participants in the questionnaire opted to report the facts, but they would not do so if this would damage the victim. They also reported that they do not go out of their way to be successful. An important finding is that between reporters and the official police information sources there are some problems in communication. Journalists prefer to rely on police officers with who they have a good relationship to be given info1mation rather than to go to the official source. This is due to the lack of trust that exists between the two. Although reporters used different routes to gain information they never used a parasitic approach in their duties.