Why Does the Media Have an Obsession with Chicago Violence? (Mark: crime rates, safe)

[Chicago60614]

Originally Posted by Chicagoiztoxic

POLITICAL REASONS.


They SHOULD show White Suicides. Which are 8 times higher than all black gun crime.

Whites (homicide): 3.3
Whites (suicide): 13.6
Blacks (homicide): 17.7
Blacks (suicide): 5.2

RealClearScience - U.S. Homicide & Suicide Rates in Whites & Blacks

[Cnynrat]

Originally Posted by Opin_Yunated

I'm not an Illinois resident, but I've been in the city many times. Every time an "active" weekend for homicides happens in Chicago, I see it on the national news. Everyone I know balks when I say Chicago is one of the coolest cities we have in the country. They say ".. yea but the crime is awful."

Funny, statistics have Chicago not even in the top 10. I never hear of shootings on the national news for Detroit or Philadelphia, which are far worse. I lived in the Philly Metro for 5 years, and multiple homicides were weekly in Philly, Camden, and Wilmington. Most rustblet cities fair similarly in crime to Chicago (Cleveland, Buffalo, Rochester, Milwaukee)

Because Chicago has an obsession with disarming it's citizens.

[Ibginnie]

I think you are all missing something here. I do not believe it has to do with politics, or race, or poverty, or population numbers alone. Chicago has long been seen by some as a hotbed of crime and corruption. It has been in the forefront of the evening news long before cable news came on the scene.


The Chicago Crime Scene Project is a great place to start to educate one's self. There is a wealth of information at this site. Link back to the main page after you read this one. You'd be amazed at what you find.

Homicide in Chicago done at Northwestern University Law School takes you back to 1870 and bring you to the present.

Crime and Chicago's Image gives us:

Chicago's criminal reputation long preceded Al Capone and the beer wars. Born in the same years as the sensationalist penny press and Americans' new fears of a masterless working class, the city seemed even to its earliest observers a hotbed of crime and immorality.

Chicago Crime Commission gives you a comprehensive history of crime in Chicago dating back to to the 1920's.

Chicago has been overly crime ridden for many many years and it surely didn't have anything to do with President Obama. You hear more about it now because of all the different media available. I remember hearing about Chicago and Mayor Richard J. Daley what seemed like every night on the news back in the dinosaur days of three channels on black and white TV.

[jdiddy]

Originally Posted by Ludja

I think you are all missing something here. I do not believe it has to do with politics, or race, or poverty, or population numbers alone. Chicago has long been seen by some as a hotbed of crime and corruption. It has been in the forefront of the evening news long before cable news came on the scene.


The Chicago Crime Scene Project is a great place to start to educate one's self. There is a wealth of information at this site. Link back to the main page after you read this one. You'd be amazed at what you find.

Homicide in Chicago done at Northwestern University Law School takes you back to 1870 and bring you to the present.

Crime and Chicago's Image gives us:


Chicago Crime Commission gives you a comprehensive history of crime in Chicago dating back to to the 1920's.

Chicago has been overly crime ridden for many many years and it surely didn't have anything to do with President Obama. You hear more about it now because of all the different media available. I remember hearing about Chicago and Mayor Richard J. Daley what seemed like every night on the news back in the dinosaur days of three channels on black and white TV.

This has to be posted in every thread about the media's focus on Chicago's murder rate.
Google Trends

[marothisu]

You're right, crime/corruption in Chicago is known and has been for awhile just like it was (or still kind of is) for NYC. However, the homicide rate and number of homicides per year has been cut in half (or more than that) since the 80s and 90s. Why were they not giving as big of a damn back then?

[Bluefox]

Originally Posted by marothisu

You're right, crime/corruption in Chicago is known and has been for awhile just like it was (or still kind of is) for NYC. However, the homicide rate and number of homicides per year has been cut in half (or more than that) since the 80s and 90s. Why were they not giving as big of a damn back then?

Not to sound callous, but probably because America's cities were so much more violent then that there was no shortage of things to report on from every city. New York and LA also got regular national attention for their crime/murder rates. The narrative was more that American cities in general were just violent.

Nowadays, crime is going down everywhere. But it's not as sensational to report on how crime is decreasing, so the media had to find some other doom and gloom scenario even if it means they have to manufacture it. My theory is that while Chicago's crime has indeed been on the decline just like most other places, the decline hasn't been as great as in Los Angeles and New York, the media's other whipping boys from way back when. So they can zero in on Chicago because, to the uneducated person, it really does look like Chicago has a problem compared to other large cities. But the media isn't going to tell you about how Chicago's crime is actually continuing on a downward trajectory when you look at the rates in a historical context because that doesn't fit the popular narrative they have hand-crafted for Chicago, and they know most people won't take the time to actually uncover the truth of the matter.

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by Bluefox

Not to sound callous, but probably because America's cities were so much more violent then that there was no shortage of things to report on from every city. New York and LA also got regular national attention for their crime/murder rates. The narrative was more that American cities in general were just violent.

Nowadays, crime is going down everywhere. But it's not as sensational to report on how crime is decreasing, so the media had to find some other doom and gloom scenario even if it means they have to manufacture it. My theory is that while Chicago's crime has indeed been on the decline just like most other places, the decline hasn't been as great as in Los Angeles and New York, the media's other whipping boys from way back when. So they can zero in on Chicago because, to the uneducated person, it really does look like Chicago has a problem compared to other large cities. But the media isn't going to tell you about how Chicago's crime is actually continuing on a downward trajectory when you look at the rates in a historical context because that doesn't fit the popular narrative they have hand-crafted for Chicago, and they know most people won't take the time to actually uncover the truth of the matter.

This is true, but Chicago's homicide rate was still slightly worse than NYC's and still bad. Even in the early 2000s, it wasn't really reported, and the homicide rate was still worse. There were over 650 homicides in 2001 still.

[Bluefox]

Originally Posted by marothisu

This is true, but Chicago's homicide rate was still slightly worse than NYC's and still bad. Even in the early 2000s, it wasn't really reported, and the homicide rate was still worse. There were over 650 homicides in 2001 still.

I think part of it was that ridiculous article that came out I think last year that Chicago was the "murder capital of the US" because it had the most in terms of raw numbers. I mean, I know Chicago had gotten a lot of attention for its crime rate before that but the media coverage has only seemed to intensify since that article came out.

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by Bluefox

I think part of it was that ridiculous article that came out I think last year that Chicago was the "murder capital of the US" because it had the most in terms of raw numbers. I mean, I know Chicago had gotten a lot of attention for its crime rate before that but the media coverage has only seemed to intensify since that article came out.

Hmmm, I thought it had intensified before that. You will see a lot of articles now saying how important per 100k rates are and how Chicago is not #1. But, most people just skim articles if not just read the first few sentences so many may completely miss that.

[TheSunshineKid]

I was in London during Christmas vacation and BBC had a small segment on Chicago. It was on Chicago's gangs and its violence - that's it. The other American segment was on guns (as in "Them crazy Americans with their rifles! That crazy organization called the NRA!").

I was getting my haircut in the suburbs, and I was conversing with the stylist saying I was going to see a musical in the Loop. The conversation carried on and then she said "Isn't Chicago very dangerous? Sometimes it's called Chi-raq. I mean they had to call in reinforcements during the July 4th holiday." I chuckled and responded "Somewhat fair."

Add in a lot of what foreigners get about America is through movies & tv shows, leads to a very bizarre interpretation of its people and its culture.