TY - JOUR
T1 - Depictions of correctional officers in newspaper media
T2 - an ethnographic content analysis
AU - Vickovic, Samuel G.
AU - Griffin, Marie
AU - Fradella, Henry F.
PY - 2013/12/1
Y1 - 2013/12/1
N2 - The public relies on the media for most of its information about the criminal justice system. Unfortunately, media depictions of justice actors are not always accurate which, in turn, can lead to distorted images about the system and its operations. Using ethnographic content analysis to analyze 489 articles from major newspapers across the United States, this study seeks to discern how correctional officers and the jobs that they perform are portrayed in print media. The results suggest that correctional officers are overwhelmingly portrayed negatively, with 79.6% of the articles in the research sample presenting one of six distinct negative themes. A typology of these themes is explored in detail, along with its implications for societal support for corrections and correctional officers, especially with regard to the media's potential contributions to officers' job stress, burnout, and job dissatisfaction.
AB - The public relies on the media for most of its information about the criminal justice system. Unfortunately, media depictions of justice actors are not always accurate which, in turn, can lead to distorted images about the system and its operations. Using ethnographic content analysis to analyze 489 articles from major newspapers across the United States, this study seeks to discern how correctional officers and the jobs that they perform are portrayed in print media. The results suggest that correctional officers are overwhelmingly portrayed negatively, with 79.6% of the articles in the research sample presenting one of six distinct negative themes. A typology of these themes is explored in detail, along with its implications for societal support for corrections and correctional officers, especially with regard to the media's potential contributions to officers' job stress, burnout, and job dissatisfaction.
KW - agenda setting
KW - correctional officers
KW - job stress
KW - media depictions
KW - news media
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84887076900&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84887076900&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/1478601X.2013.823423
DO - 10.1080/1478601X.2013.823423
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84887076900
SN - 1478-601X
VL - 26
SP - 455
EP - 477
JO - Criminal Justice Studies
JF - Criminal Justice Studies
IS - 4
ER -