“If it bleeds, it leads.”
From the rise of true-crime podcasts to the rampant publication of crime blotters, mugshot galleries, and real-time police footage, sensationalized coverage of crime and policing is inescapable. In 2024, the Pew Research Center found local news coverage to be a key contributing factor to the perception among most Americans that U.S. crime rates have spiked in the past thirty years – despite direct evidence to the contrary.
But when did this relationship between press, police, and crime begin? In the new podcast Empire City, NYU Professor and Peabody award-winning host Chenjerai Kumanyika, digs into the origin story of the world’s largest police force: the NYPD – and the role of sensationalized news coverage in shaping present-day media and police narratives of law, violence, suspects, and crime.
At this special event with the Ethics and Journalism Initiative at NYU, Professor Kumanyika will be joined by story editor Diane Hodson, and public historian Asad Dandia, to discuss the making of the podcast, and media ethics when reporting on police and crime.
Registration required. A light dinner will be served.