What makes a homicide newsworthy? UK national tabloid newspaper journalists tell all

Gekoski, Anna and Gray, Jacqueline M. and Adler, Joanna R. (2012) What makes a homicide newsworthy? UK national tabloid newspaper journalists tell all. British Journal of Criminology . ISSN 0007-0955

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Abstract

Homicide is the most newsworthy of all crimes. Yet not all homicides are reported equally: some
receive extensive coverage while others receive little or none. Qualitative questionnaires, completed
by ten UK national tabloid journalists, explored the criteria that determine the newsworthiness of
homicide. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis revealed that, with certain exceptions, homicides
involving ‘perfect’ victims, statistically deviant features, killers on the run, sensational elements
and/or serial killers will almost always be newsworthy, while those involving ‘undeserving’
victims in commonplace circumstances will almost always not. However, analysis further revealed
that there will always be caveats to this, with some, normally under-reported, homicides gaining
widespread coverage through unpredictable factors such as current societal issues or interest from
a particular editor.

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