An analysis of crime coverage on local television, drawing on the perspectives of media studies, psychology, sociology, criminology and other areas. It focuses on what makes coverage of crime so irresistible to viewers and what impact that emphasis has on societies perceptions of itself.

This volume offers an analysis of crime coverage on local television, exploring the nature of local television news and the ongoing appeal of crime stories. Drawing on the perspectives of media studies, psychology, sociology, and criminology, authors Jeremy H. Lipschultz and Michael L. Hilt focus on live local television coverage of crime and examine its irresistibility to viewers and its impact on society's perceptions of itself. They place local television news in its theoretical and historical contexts, and consider it through the lens of legal, ethical, racial, aging, and technological...