Evaluation Jane Ellen Stevens’ Article

Today’s media mainly focuses on violent stories that capture the viewer’s attention. So how are we, as viewers, affected by these stories? In her article, “The Violence Reporting Project: A New Approach to Covering Crime”, Jane Ellen Stevens focuses on the effects the media have on the viewers and the people within a community. I agree with Stevens when she states that the media fails to provide viewers with information on community violence and violence prevention. Without the knowledge of the violence that is going on in our neighborhoods, we are led to not being able to distinguish the difference between what is real and fantastic crime. In essence, we have a false perception on the reputation of our communities. Also, not knowing about violence prevention increases the number of crimes occurring in neighborhoods. Journalists report crimes from a law enforcement and criminal standpoint. They do not inform the public about statistics and facts. As a result, our agency is being mitigated that our knowledge is being taken away from us and that we, as viewers, are not properly informed about violent incidents that occur in our communities. By not knowing what is going on in our communities, we are slowly losing our agency to act upon preventing violence and crimes. The lack of agency is so problematic because humans are slowly losing their ability to perform certain actions to keep ourselves and our neighborhood safe.

The media grabs the viewers’ attention by covering the most horrible and shocking crime stories. As a result, viewers become too emotionally involved with the victims of the stories that many viewers do not realize that our agency is being weakened. Without sufficient evidence about crimes, we are unable to find solutions to violence prevention or help cure violence epidemiology. The crime incidents that the media covers are rare. Most stories often involve violent incidents in which only one person is involved or when famous people are involved. Airing these stories leads people to believe that violent crimes are rare. In fact, most crime stories the media covers are not stories that take place within our community. In Stevens’ article, journalists state that they “report the unusual” (113). Reporting crimes that are unusual leads us to a state of confusion. The viewers are unable to recognize what crimes are real. As a result, many crimes can not be prevented. If the media reports the unusual, how is one able to distinguish a crime in action? Violence is fixable. However, communities are far from finding a solution because people are unable to take action. Stevens states that “we don’t offer readers and viewers enough of the kind of information they need to work toward preventing violent incidents that are causing them and their community the greatest harm” (113). This statement is true because the media only reports on stories that keep the audience interested. If the viewers do not know about violence prevention, then the status of our communities will only worsen in years to come. Many communities do not have violent prevention groups because people are unable to attain information and solutions from the media. As a result, crime statistics are rising in communities. The media not only takes away our agency, but they also are slowly taking away our awareness of crimes. Violence awareness is an important factor.

The media can report on a single crime incident for hours at a time. The viewers are not given enough information. The media disregards giving the viewers statistics of crimes in general. Stevens states that “the media gives much less attention and space to common violent incidents, those that involve people who are not famous, or those in which only one person is killed or injured by an acquaintance or relative” (113). Stevens’ statement is accurate because many people are unable to foresee common crime incidents because the media only reports the unusual. Many victims have been attacked by someone they know, but we are unaware of that fact because we are not told by the media. If the media does not report about common violence incidents, then our knowledge is most at stake. We are led to believe that crime incidents are unlikely to happen to us. As a result, we can not prepare ourselves to these certain circumstances. Also, we may be able to prevent crimes from happening but the media does not inform us on ways to accomplish violence prevention. Stevens states that “violent incidents are thus treated, and regarded by readers, as isolated, random events instead of predictable and preventable problems” (112). This statement is true because the people are not informed on what is going on in their neighborhoods and as a result we can not take appropriate actions to make sure that another crime does not happen. Our agency to help others is being taken away from us. Giving us appropriate