Conclusions: Exercises in Critiquing Violent Crime in the Media

This final chapter concludes the central themes that have emerged throughout this book. These include media ‘trials’ and the commodification of victims; crime transportation, tourism and digital harms; nostalgic aesthetics and gothic criminals and the media’s role in education, awareness raising and victim-survivor activism. As well as reframing authors’ work around these central themes and highlighting where discussions align, this chapter also includes recommendations for future research, including closer collaboration between media professionals and researchers/experts working in the criminal justice system and support services. This chapter also includes a series of exercises, or ‘critique tasks’ that aim to help readers apply the research contained within this book to their own work on media and violent crime.