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From Sounds Bites To Sound Policy: Reclaiming The High Ground In Criminal Justice Policy-Making, Anthony C. Thompson

Fordham Urban Law Journal

In this article, the author contemplates the way the criminal justice system is portrayed in the media and suggests how the media's emphasis on "sound bites" - which makes it difficult to separate fact from hype - has had significant policy ramifications. The author makes a point of exploring the many ways that conceptions of crime are formed and influenced, as well as how the media has shaped legislation. In the author's opinion, in order to curb the excessive influence of most mainstream representations of the criminal justice system, there must be some mechanism for oversight of both the media …