A Transnational Study of Law and Justice on TV

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This collection examines law and justice on television in different countries around the world. It provides a benchmark for further study of the nature and extent of television coverage of justice in fictional, reality and documentary forms. It does this by drawing on empirical work from a range of scholars in different jurisdictions. Each chapter looks at the raw data of how much "justice" material viewers were able to access in the multi-channel world of 2014 looking at three phases: apprehension (police), adjudication (lawyers), and disposition (prison/punishment). All of the authors indicate how television developed in their countries. Some have extensive public service channels mixed with private media channels. Financing ranges from advertising to programme sponsorship to licensing arrangements. A few countries have mixtures of these. Each author also examines how "TV justice" has developed in their own particular jurisdiction. Readers will find interesting variations and thought-provoking similarities. There are a lot of television shows focussed on legal themes that are imported around the world. The authors analyse these as well. This book is a must-read for anyone interested in law, popular culture, TV, or justice and provides an important addition to the literature due to its grounding in empirical data.

Reviews

The survey, within its chosen and well defined limits of scope and approach, offers, first and foremost, reliable quantitative affirmation of the American dominance of law and justice on TV (with the exception of the UK), and of the dominance of series featuring police focus over lawyer and punishment focus ... The survey will serve as excellent framework and basis for further studies along the quantitative/empirical lines laid out. -- Lars Ole Sauerberg * Criminal Law and Criminal Justice Books *

Author Bio

Peter Robson is Professor of Law at Strathclyde University, Scotland. Jennifer L Schulz is Associate Professor of Law at the University of Manitoba, Canada.