Media perceptions of murder-for-hire events

The media have long been criticized for over-representing violent crimes in comparison to more prevalent non-violent property crimes and white-collar crimes. Homicide has been found to be the number one violent crime reported on by the media. There are questions as to whether the media represent murder-for-hire events as violent crimes. A content analysis of 157 newspaper articles covering 25 murder-for-hire events was conducted to determine how murder-for-hire events are depicted in the media. Contents of the newspaper articles were examined in terms of their coverage of the events, presentation of information on event demographics and circumstances, and style of reporting. Results indicate that murder-for-hire events are treated no differently than other violent crimes, in terms of reporting demographic information and circumstances surrounding the crime. The media were also found to offer rationales for the events, usually focusing on money and illicit love for explanations. The findings do show, however, the media tend to depict murder-for-hire in a non-violent, matter of fact way. The media also tended to depict the solicitor and the hitman differently. Implications of these findings are discussed.