Bad boys and girls, yesterday and today: A century of print media perspectives on youthful offending

TL;DRAbstract

In order to assess the relevance of claims often found in contemporary print media accounts that youth crime is out of control and that youth today are worse than ever, this dissertation examines Canadian print media coverage of youthful offending throughout the twentieth century. The research endeavour is situated within the existing research literatures on youth crime and justice and media coverage of crime. A sample of 1937 news items from three Canadian daily newspapers (The Toronto Star, The Province from Vancouver and La Presse from Montréal) is examined using quantitative and qualitative data analysis techniques and from perspectives that draw on cultural studies and feminist media studies. Quantitative analysis reveals certain patterns in coverage over time as well as similarities and differences between the three newspapers examined. The qualitative thematic analysis exposes several key narratives in the print media discussion of youth crime and justice. This research confirms

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