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This study of eight metropolitan dailies shows they had crime news more than any other kind of story, but crime stories did not dominate front pages., A quarter of a century ago a metropolitan daily editor offered this advice to the urban press, 'We must take care not to present a distorted picture of urban society, [...]

Increasing economic pressures are threatening to compromise the quality of US journalism. The pressure for profits has led to the proliferation of market-driven news products including short stories lacking details and infotainment pieces. One positive movement against this trend can be seen in small-scale activities taken by community television stations to improve the quality of journalism.

More than 65% of women living in American cities are afraid to be out alone at night. Media coverage of rapes and other crimes of violence involving women certainly contribute to this. Media coverage often focuses on the sensational and violent because it makes a better story rather than for reasons of public service. Statistics derived from police reports give the impression that violence is more often involved and attempts are often successful. Data from census-based victims' studies contradict this, indicating less violence and better chance of escape.

Analyzes factors which have contributed to the poor conditions of large cities: failure of courage to deal with racism; individualism; short-term thinking; political nonaccountability; diversity of peoples and information; loss of faith in leaders and in nation; and threat of nuclear war. Calls for new policy initiatives and outlines an urban research agenda that would address these problems. (KH)

A survey in three United States cities indicates that fear of rape is greatest among women who are elderly, belong to ethnic minorities, or have low incomes. Certain psychosocial and environmental factors are associated with high fear levels among women. Fear, in turn, determines the use of certain types of safety strategies. (Author/MJL)

Feminists argue that the threat of rape acts as an instrument of social control of women, keeping them in a state of anxiety and encouraging the self-imposition of behavioral restrictions in a quest for safety. This assertion is tested with survey data from residents of Chicago, Philadelphia, and San Francisco. Women fear crime more than men, and engage in more precautionary behaviors. However, these fears and behaviors are not randomly distributed among women. Those with the fewest resources to cope with victimization, the elderly, ethnic minorities, and those with low incomes, carry the heaviest burden of fear. Psychosocial and environmental factors associated with high fear levels among women include perceptions of high risk of one's own victimization of a multitude of violent crimes (including rape), a sense of physical powerlessness, and weak feelings of attachment to the neighborhood. Fear levels are strong predictors of the use of either of two types of safety strategies, isolating oneself from danger by limiting one's movement through time and space, and risk management in the face of danger by using "street savvy" tactics. Reliance on isolation is associated with women's beliefs about their own physical competence, while use of "street savvy" tactics is related to women's attitudes about the extent of danger in their neighborhoods. The implications of these results for the quality of women's lives are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Factor analyses of the responses of random samples of men and women from three cities indicate the presence of two relatively independent dimensions of rape prevention attitudes: a) beliefs about measures calling for restrictions in women's behavior, and b) beliefs about measures involving changes in the environment, or assertive actions by women. Sex and race differences in ratings of the effectiveness of the two types of prevention measures illustrate the usefulness of this two-dimensional approach for understanding rape prevention beliefs. The implications of these results for attribution theory and for anti-rape policies are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]