Newsmakers rely on common stereotypes and existing belief systems when determining which criminal instances receives news coverage (Gilliam & Iyengar, 2000; Gruenewald et al., 2013; Entman, 1992, Fishman, 1980; Freng, 2007). Previous research that examines the newsworthiness of crime have found that individual characteristics of the crime victim, individual characteristics of the crime perpetrator, and circumstantial characteristics of the crime are related to whether a criminal instance receives any news coverage and the amount of news coverage received. The present study builds upon previous research by examining the newsworthiness of a sample of intimate partners homicides, some of which involved Native American victims and perpetrators. Using the Montana Domestic Violence Fatality Review Commission 2017 report, this study analyzed news media coverage by four Montana news sources of intimate partner homicides occurring in the state between the years of 2000 to 2016. Findings indicate that circumstantial characteristics of the homicide incidents explained a greater amount of variance in the amount of news coverage the incidents received compared to crime victim and perpetrator characteristics.
Read
