Those true crime television shows, such as "48 Hours Mystery," "Dateline," "Primetime Crime,"

[raccoon]

did you ever notice that they always cover a well-to-do, if not wealthy, victim and/or murderer?

I've never seen a story about a family who lived in a duplex or trailer park.

Imagine that.

[EST]

1. I've seen them do all sorts of economically diverse victim status

stories, ranging from hookers and other common strata to poverty stricken members of large families, living in a run down tenement. I don't think it's fertile ground to suggest they are neglecting coverage to manage outcomes.

[raccoon]

2. I do remember one about a hooker. But seems to me the majority of the time,

it's a well-to-do family.

Maybe we aren't watching the same shows. I don't have cable.

[mondo joe]

4. Could be the well to do are the only ones who can afford a lengthy defense.

Of the shows you mentioned, I only ever watch 48 Hours and not often at that. But it seems to me they look at cases where there were really arguments on both sides. You need to be able to afford a defense to get that.

[raccoon]

5. Excellent point. nt

[mondo joe]

7. "My public defender plead not guilty and they threw me in jail" doesn't make

nearly as good an hour of entertainment as someone with a multitude of forensic evidence and a team of attorneys.

[porphyrian]

3. They are propaganda, not news. - n/t

[AverageJoe]

6. Crime shows create a "mean world" mentality in viewers

An abundance of empirical research shows that people who regularly watch crime shows develop a sense that the world is more dangerous than it truly is. This leads to a fearful populous, more easily led by demagoguery. This is the reason I believe these shows are dangerous. For my money, the most dangerous thing on TV isn't Faux News; it's Law and Order. I know that many people who read this post are Law and Order fans. You're probably sitting there saying that it may be that some people are negatively affected by Law and Order and its ilk, but you, personally, are not. This is a common misconception called the third person effect.

[treestar]

9. Before terra, terra, terra, this was the primary way of getting

the populace to want more restrictions and more violations of the Bill of Rights.

Law and Order leads people into the dangerous idea the legal system can be a god and get it all right. Since the viewer on any police/crime/detective show is omniscient, they "know" who is guilty. It leads them to unconsciously see the real system as more certain than it is - one ends up having to remind people that on those shows the viewer is "God" and knows what happened and knows the defendant was guilty, whereas on a real jury, they only have the evidence, not an omniscient knowledge.

[raccoon]

10. Never seen "Law and Order." I thought it was a drama; am I right?

"You're probably sitting there saying that it may be that some people are negatively affected by Law and Order and its ilk, but you, personally, are not. This is a common misconception called the third person effect."

That's what lots of people say about commercials too. Never heard the phrase, "third person effect" but it's good to know.

In the shows I watch, most of the time it's somebody murdering a spouse. Since I'm single, I don't have to worry about that. :silly:

But I believe it's true what you say, "people who regularly watch crime shows develop a sense that the world is more dangerous than it truly is. "

[treestar]

8. You can find some

on Court TV, there is Forensic Files and Body of Evidence. They may have just the most interesting cases to forensic investigators, so as police work, they involve all strata. I've seen a few where the victims were prostitutes or homeless or poor, and many where they were middle class. If the show is focused on the methods (forensics, profiling) rather than the people, you can find them.