a Case Study of Local TV in Amazonas, Brazil

A Bloody Weekend in

Manaus

Rachel R Mourao, M.A. Candidate, Latin American Studies

Introduction

It’s “just” TV

SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION OF CRIME “How we define the cultural production of crime as a ‘social problem’ and how

we regard victims, offenders, and agents of crime control, emerges out of the social interactions between ordinary people, journalists, and sources of information within the structural and political-economic contexts of active processes of news construction and crime management” (Barak, 1994)

FEAR OF CRIMEIndividuals who frequently watch television are more likely to feel a greater

threat from crime, believe that crime is more prevalent than statistics indicate, and take more precautions against crime. (Dowler, 2003; Wood & Ribeiro, 2010)

POLITICAL CONSEQUENCES“The lack of confidence in the courts and police has prompted a growing

number of Latin Americans to support quick- fix “solutions” that short circuit or undercut democratic norms” (Prillaman, 2003)

Research Questions

RESEARCH QUESTIONS(1) What is the actual prevalence of crime in Amazonas, and how does

it vary by social status?(2) What is the profile of the media-constructed image of the

prevalence and character of crime and violence? Hr: Political TV shows are more violent than non-political TV shows

(3) In what ways do the actual estimates differ from the image the media presents to the public?

(4) What decision-making processes do newsrooms employ when they cover crime in the state?

HYPOTHESISMedia’s portrayal of crime in Amazonas is exaggerated, distorted and

divorced from the actual prevalence of crime.

How to measure this?

INTERREALITY COMPARISON (DIXON AND LINZ, 2000)

Crime on the streets: Estimates of the prevalence of crime victimization: 2009 National Household Survey – PNAD and Mapa da Violencia (Weiselfisz, 2011)

Crime on TV: Content Analysis of crime shows Comunidade Alerta and Alô Amazonas58 stories from Comunidade Alerta and Alô Amazonas (June 06 – 17, 2011)Unit of analysis: each story (approximately 5 min each)Focus on three aspects of programming: a) Demographicsb) Characterizationsc) World-view

Participant observation and interviews: six weeks in Manaus

Number and Percentage of Stories that Depicted Offense Types by Program*

Amazonas, June 2011

Comunidade Alerta Alo Amazonas Combined

% n % n % nHomicide** 62.5 10 33.3 14 41.4 24

Motive Money 0 0 21.4 3 12.5 3 Drugs 50 5 7.1 1 4.2 1 Passion 0 0 14.3 2 8.3 2 No apparent reason 0 0 21.4 3 12.5 3

Unknown 50 5 28.6 4 36.7 9Theft 0 0 11.9 5 8.6 5Robbery*** 0 0 35.7 15 25.9 15Drug/weapon trafficking 37.5 6 11.9 5 19 11Assault 0 0 7.1 3 5.2 3Total 100 16 100 42 100 58* Percentages based on total number of crime stories in each show. ** Includes attempted murder

***Includes burglary/land invasion

Victimization Rates per 1,000 inhabitants

Amazonas, Brazil – 2008  

Type of Crime RatePercentag

eTheft 37.86 38.52%

Robbery 44.11 44.88%

Assault 16.08 16.36%

Total non-lethal victimizations

98.06 99.77%

Homicides* 24.5 0.24%Total victimizations

 

100%

Source: PNAD 2009

*Per 100.000 inhabitants - Source: Mapa da Violencia 2011 (Waiselfisz, 2011)

Crime on the streets X Crime on TV

Interreality comparison

Crime on the streets: victims

LETHAL VICTIMIZATIONS(1) 24.8 homicides per 100,000 (2008): 17th most dangerous state in Brazil(2) Youth (15-24 years old): 46 per 100,000 inhabitants(3) 92.4% males

Probability of a victim of homicide being Afro-Brazilian is 290.2% higher than being white

NON-LETHAL VICTIMIZATIONS: THE MOST VULNERABLE

(1) Theft: Black, female, 40-49 years, employed (sales)(2) Robbery: Black, male, 30-39 years, employed (services)(3) Assault: Black, male, 20-29 years old, unemployed

The more violent the crime, the younger, poorer, and darker the victim

Interreality: race

1= negative, 4= neutral, 7 = positive

Findings

(1) Victims appear only on 41% of the stories, body of a victim 52.4%

(2) Comunidade Alerta is more violent than Alô Amazonas

(3) Drug-related crimes are newsworthy in Amazonas: authority sources

“News about drug seizures or the arrest of a drug dealer will always make an impact. That’s because the average citizen likes to see drug criminals being punished.” (Military Police Representative, Personal communication, June 29, 2011)

(4) Robbery, theft and assault underrepresented

(5) Underrepresentation of black AND white victimization

(6) Underrepresentation and misrepresentation of females: only predatory crimes

Conclusions

(1) Crime on TV is more violent and random than actual statistics

(2) TV stories emphasize the role of criminals, their weapons, and their connections to the drug industry.

(3) Amazonas, Brazil: Lack of representation of victims in Amazonas’ local media being a victim not a benign role in the crime phenomenon.

E.g. “(s)he was the victim of drug traffic”, “(s)he made the wrong friends”, “when a citizen owns money to the bank, his name goes to a collection agency. When a citizen owns money to the drug traffickers, he will pay with his life.”

(4) Host (Comunidade Alerta): “electronic vigilante”, denounces the failures of the social system and calls attention to the many risks people face

(5) TV shows mediate relationship between people and authorities: lack of institutional democratic spaces for representation

Thank you!