Journalism and Crime [Hardcover]

Through a critical, transdisciplinary approach, Journalism and Crime offers a chronological interrogation of crime journalism from its first origins in 16^th century print, to a transatlantic phenomenon in the 19^th century, and through to the complex networked digital spheres of the current day.

Although crime reporting is one of the foundational discourses of journalism, it has received less critical attention than many other areas of news. And much of what it has received has focused on its most unsavoury characteristics. Bethany Usher argues convincingly that if we are to understand the nature of crime journalism  and indeed attempt to improve it  we need to understand the relationship between journalism and crime from their origins to the present day. To this end she has produced a ground-breaking work which takes a critical transdisciplinary approach to the subject. Combining theoretical frameworks from a wide range of disciplines, the result is a book which goes well beyond journalism studies and into history, sociology and political analysis. It also succeeds admirably in its aim of being a call to arms.