In some countries, even though the rates of serious crimes are decreasing, people feel less safe than ever before. What do you think are the causes of this problem? What measures could be taken to solve it?
Although
cases of serious crimes are decreasing in many parts of the world, people feel less safe today than at any other time in the past. The main reason for this
is the increased coverage
of crime
in our media and one key solution is encouraging news outlets to cover more positive stories.
Crime
-related news more frequently features in our media than positive stories and the public, therefore
, believe there to be more
Suggestion
more criminal
crime
than there actually is. Crime
stories are considered to be more dramatic and capable of gaining more readers and viewers than stories of another nature. As a result
, the vast majority of the news focuses on serious crimes and this
is causing people to feel unsafe. For example
, the British Office for National Statistics recently reported that although
the number of murder cases had decreased in the UK by 20% in the last
20 years, the media’s coverage
of these murders had increased by 700%.
To combat this
disproportionate coverage
of crime
stories, media outlets should be encouraged to also
cover positive stories. By presenting an accurate picture of society that includes good news as well as bad, journalists can reduce the anxiety that causes viewers to feel unsafe. For instance
, one news website, the Good News Network, has aimed to accurately show what is happening in society by sharing good news stories since
the late 1990s and it has been reported that their visitors are 16% less concerned with the Suggestion
from
crime
rates in the respective countries.
In conclusion, people feel less safe today in spite of reducing crime
levels as a result
of negative media coverage
that focuses on crime
reporting. To remedy this
problem, journalists should be encouraged to share more positive stories to present a realistic picture of society.Submitted by david.me11 on
Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Writing9 with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
Your opinion
Don’t put your opinion unless you are asked to give it.
If the question asks what you think, you MUST give your opinion to get a good score.
Don’t leave your opinion until the conclusion.
Here are examples of instructions that require you to give your opinion:
...do you agree or disagree?...do you think...?...your opinion...?