A Politician, Criminologist, and Police Officer Walk Into A Newsroom: Regional Differences in Claims-Makers Within Immigration and Crime Articles

• In Event: Crime Policy and the Media

Abstract

Local media both reflect and shape public opinion on a wide range of social issues, including immigration and crime. However, news outlets vary considerably in their coverage of the immigration-crime link: some news outlets provide more immigrant-friendly coverage, while others describe immigration as criminogenic or a crime itself. The goal of the current study is to examine the sources – or claims-makers – upon which local media draw in discussing immigration and crime issues. Using ethnographic content analysis of all available news articles from local newspapers discussing the immigration-crime nexus, we analyze how different types of claims-makers (e.g., politicians, academics, law enforcement officers, etc.) use various framing strategies. In particular, we focus on differences across community contexts. Our findings bear on how the news media contributes to the disconnect between public opinion and academic research on immigration and crime, as well as the role of public sociology in political debates surrounding pressing social issues.

Authors

• Cody Tuttle, University of Arkansas

• Casey Harris, University of Arkansas