Females and children are seen as ideal victims when studying criminology as they are perceived to be more likely victims of crime, such as rape and kidnapping and also targeted for theft. Young girls are seen as weak, vulnerable, innocent and are susceptible to being harmed by 'bigger, older and bad' people. It could be because of this view that makes the stories of children who are reported as missing or murdered 'newsworthy' - it grabs the media’s attention and most of the cases are closely followed and reported by the media.
According to Jewkes (2004) there are 12 values of 'newsworthiness', which can be found in the more popular stories. Modified by Jewkes (2004), these elements of 'newsworthiness' is what gives the story relatively more media coverage and public interest.
Using the examples of Madeleine McCann and Kiesha Abraham I will briefly summarise how the media portrayed these cases and what makes the story ‘newsworthy’.
According to Jewkes (2004) there are 12 values of 'newsworthiness', which can be found in the more popular stories. Modified by Jewkes (2004), these elements of 'newsworthiness' is what gives the story relatively more media coverage and public interest.
Using the examples of Madeleine McCann and Kiesha Abraham I will briefly summarise how the media portrayed these cases and what makes the story ‘newsworthy’.
Madeleine McCann – disappeared 3rd May, 2007
Even though the case of Madeleine McCann is far away (geographically and even time-wise) the latest development in the story was viewed in the news just over a week ago both on TV news and in print media. This mysterious disappearance of the 4 year old girl (who would be 11 now) has been in the media spotlight for approximately 4 years. Not only that, but there are many websites and books dedicated to the case of the missing girl including a book which was written by the mother, detailing her ordeal. The news chose to broadcast videos and photos of Madeleine playing like an ordinary girl. This highlights the innocence of the child and also utilises the importance of visual for a newsworthy story.
Kiesha Abraham – reported missing 1st August, 2010
The story of the missing 6 year old from her Mt Druitt home in NSW received a large amount of media coverage, especially on the news with the developing story being reported every day for over a week and regular updates up until her body was found earlier (April, 2011). The media focused on the feelings of grief and shock felt by the community from the day of the disappearance til the arrest of the mother and stepfather of the little girl. Not only does this story evoke strong emotions and reactions, the proximity of the case, involvement of a child and the threshold which this story has are main values of newsworthiness seen in this story.
*The arrest of her mother and step-father and the discovery of her body created more headlines in the month of April.
*The arrest of her mother and step-father and the discovery of her body created more headlines in the month of April.
Extra reading
Jewkes, Y. (2004). Media and Crime. (1st ed) London: Sage Publications.
Good post. It's amazing how both these stories still make the news!
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