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- Title
What Newspapers Tell Us (And Don't Tell Us) About Rape.
- Authors
Heath, Linda; Gordon, Margaret T.; LeBailly, Robert
- Abstract
The article presents information on a research which examines the media portrayal of rape in three cities to determine if the media portrayal of rape confirms, refutes or is non-committal in regard to the common myths and stereotypes about rape. Additionally, the authors examine the degree to which newspapers provide "silver linings" for their articles about rape. The media, though not giving actual rates for rape, do give an indication of the relative frequency of rape. While the ratio of rape to murder in the Uniform Crime Reports is 3:1, the ratio presented by the newspapers the authors examined was 1:11. This differential reporting of rapes exacerbates the possibility that the media will distort its presentation of rape to present accounts which will capture the reader's interest. This contention is supported by the ratio of attempted to completed rapes reported by the press. The age distribution of the media reports is skewed toward the higher ages. While women aged 15 to 19 have a three times higher rate of rape than the average woman, their rapes are often either hidden by the family or declared unfounded.
- Subjects
RAPE in mass media; RAPE victims; REPORTERS &; reporting; SEX crimes in the press; OFFENSES against the person; NEWSPAPERS
- Publication
Newspaper Research Journal, 1981, Vol 2, Issue 4, p48
- ISSN
0739-5329
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1177/073953298100200407