The first part of the module will examine the media representation of offending behaviour while the second part of the module focuses on the media representations of victimisation and survivors. The module will examine:

- Media power
- Gendered media representation of offending behaviour
-Street crime & social injustice
- Corporate crime & harm
- Green crime & harm
- Serial murder & commodification
- Victim-offender overlap
- Hierarchy of victimhood
- ‘Ideal’ victim & news values
- Street crime & victimisation
- Victims of white collar/corporate crime

The module assessment consists of two parts:

1. You will produce a narrated presentation (using PowerPoint or a similar tool) or podcast (recorded audio file) on any media representation of offending behaviour that has been mentioned within lectures and seminars, while providing reflections on the nature of media representation and its potential impact on public perception.

2. You will produce a victim-focused essay. The essay should focus on one key case that illustrates media and official representations of victims/survivors of crimes or harms.

Scheduled learning and teaching sessions will include lectures, workshop activities, discussions, groupwork, and drop-in support sessions prior to assessments. Formative work and case examples will assist students to complete assessments.
In addition to traditional classroom-based teaching, the module supports learning through the use of innovative learning methods including TV dramatisations and news reports (radio, TV, newspaper, social media) and interactive IT based platforms such as Padlet. Formative assessment will include analysing similar case studies within classes and producing mini-live ‘podcasts’ to the class for tutor and peer feedback. You may submit a proportion of your summative essay feedback prior to submission as well.

1. Apply a range of academic debates and theoretical perspectives on the complex interlinks between media, crime, criminal justice and culture.

Knowledge & Understanding; Application & Problem solving

2. Critically examine the media representation of crime, its influence on public perceptions of offending behaviour.

Critical Reasoning & Collaboration

3. Critically analyse media portrayals of victimisation, considering power, gender and social justice dimensions using theoretical concepts.

Application & Problem solving

4. Critically assess how digital media platforms construct and circulate representations of offending behaviour.

Digital Literacy

- Digital software for podcast/ presentation creation
- Padlet
- Box of Broadcasts

Greer, C. (2019) Crime and media: A reader. Routledge.

Hoondert, M., Mutsaers, P. and Arfman, W. (ed.) (2019) Cultural Practices of Victimhood. 1st edn. Routledge.

McNeil, T. (2025) Public Opinion on Crime: Message Framing and Deliberative Democracy for a Progressive Consensus. 1st edn. Routledge.

Neubauer, T. (2023) The Mediatization of the O.J. Simpson Case: From Reality Television to Filmic Adaptation. Bielefeld.

Rice, R.E. and Walther, J.B. (2025) Social Processes of Online Hate. Taylor & Francis.

Do you want to find out how the media frame crime and victimisation, and what the impacts of this are? This module will allow you to interrogate and analyse the complex interrelationships between the media representation of crime, victimisation and society. The aim is to facilitate critical thinking about the importance of media representation and its influence on the public perception of crime, people who commit such acts and survivors. You will be able to integrate academic theories, concepts and contemporary debates related to crime, media, and criminal justice while obtaining the necessary knowledge and skills to present these findings in a well- informed manner both verbally and in written form.