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PRESS ADVISORY

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
Laura Jones, (202) 737-7270 or cell: (202) 425-4659
Jason Ziedenberg, (202) 737-7270 or cell: (202) 210-2489

News Coverage Skews Picture of Youth Crime

New Study Finds that Media Unduly Connects Youth to Crime and Violence; People of Color are Overrepresented as Perpetrators, Underrepresented as Victims

WHAT: Press Conference to Release Study, "Off Balance: Youth, Race and Crime in the News" (Embargoed for release until 12:01 am, April 10).

A new report finds that depictions of crime in the news are not reflective of the rate of crime, the proportion of crime which is violent, the proportion of crime committed by people of color, or the proportion of crime committed by youth. The report was commissioned by Building Blocks for Youth, a national initiative to promote a fair and effective youth justice system, and prepared by the Berkeley Media Studies Group and the Justice Policy Institute.

WHO:
  • Vincent Schiraldi, Justice Policy Institute President
  • Hilary Shelton, Washington Bureau of the NAACP Director
  • Angela Arboleda, National Council of La Raza Civil Rights Policy Analyst
  • Frank Gilliam, UCLA Political Science Professor
  • Shaquesha Alequin, a member of New York Youth Media Watch, a joint project of Youth Force and We Interrupt This Message
WHEN: 9:30 AM, April 10th 2001
WHERE: Paul Porter Conference Room, Arnold & Porter, 555 12th St. N.W.

The release of the study will be followed by a discussion of the findings at a forum moderated by Michel Martin of ABC's "Nightline" and co-sponsored by Criminal Justice Journalists, George Washington University School of Media and Public Affairs, American University School of Communication, Howard University Department of Journalism, and UNITY: Journalists of Color.

For more information about the report or to register for the forum, contact: Theresa Rowland at 202-737-7270, x. 236, or go to http://www.buildingblocksforyouth.org/register.html.

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