Original scientific paper
CASE STUDY - THE CRIME COMMITTED BY GENERAL IVAN KORADE
Krunoslav Borovec
; Ministry of Interior, Republic Croatia
Abstract
The present paper presents a case study of the crime committed by Ivan Korade. Content analysis was mainly used as a research method and followed by analysis of media discourse. In the introductory part of the work the media presentation of crime and the impact of the media on the fear of crime were discussed. By analyzing a total of 62 articles published in the daily and weekly newspapers from March 27 until April 8 2008, which reported of multiple murders committed by Ivan Korade, the aim of this paper was to establish the portrayal of crime, cause of crime according to the attitude of the media, and to define the role of the police through a content and discursive analysis. In addition, the analysis also abstracted the main categories of the media sources and their competences, as well as other socio-criminological problems which occur along with violent crimes and multiple murders.
The analysis resulted in a matrix, which in logical relationship depicts the above mentioned categories: massacre, slaughter and bloodshed as the main portrayal of crime; psychological problems, alcoholism, aggression, inadequate and untimely social reaction as the main cause and the fear of crime, lack of confidence in the criminal justice system, and large financial costs as a result of crime. Characteristic phases through which the print media deal with the subject of crime have been obtained through this analysis and they include the following: stating facts as the first phase and the reconstruction of the crime as the second phase with its sub phases including sketch-reconstruction, the reconstruction of the media and official reconstruction of events. The main categories of collocutors whom media use as information sources include expert collocutors, collocutors close to victims and collocutors close to a perpetrator, whereas the police are portrayed through their three basic roles: through inquiry and investigative activities, original police operations and the protective role of the police.
Keywords
media discourse analysis; criminality as reported by the media; typology of media presentation of crime; fear of crime; sources of the media
Hrčak ID:
98952
URI
Publication date:
18.3.2013.
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