Narrative crime script

A narrative crime script is the logical sequence of events which can be easily interpreted by the viewer to make themselves a participant viewer. The narrative crime script helps the viewer by filling in the details of the story. For instance, the viewer doesn’t need to see fire fighters at a burned house to know they were there.(Gilliam, Shanto.P561)

Due to the predictable patterns of crime scripts they can be divided into three phases:

First, the broadcaster delivers a concise announcement of the event. This phase simply consists for the most basic information relevant to the story.

Second, the viewer is given a supported account of the event. This often takes the place of supporting accounts from family members, bystanders, or witnesses. The purpose of this phase is to expand on the information given in phase number one and to support the original report.

Third, the focus shifts to the identity of the suspect, and actions taken to apprehend the perpetrator. This includes description of any suspects or collected leads.It is often in this section that the biases of the report are most apparent.(Gilliam, Shanto.P561)

The majority of research concerning the narrative script of crime reporting is focused on the viewers of the newcast. Research conducted by Franklin D. Gilliam, Jr. and Shanto Iyengar has shown narrative script crime reporting is receptive to racial stereotypes. In a study where subjects were shown broadcasts in keeping with the narrative crime script model, the majority of subjects recalled the race of the suspect as being of color. This was inconsistent with the broadcast which did not always show a colored suspect, if any suspect at all.(Gilliam, Shanto.P565)

As part of the study conducted in July 2000, Franklin D. Gilliam, Jr. and Shanto Iyengar, were curious to see if exposure to local news increased viewers fear of crime. instead, factors such as: gender, socioeconomic status, current place of residence, and past exposure to criminals were far more determinant in an individual's relative fear of crime.(Gilliam, Shanto.P 565)

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