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Literature Review Theoretical Framework The role of media in shaping public perceptions and attitudes is highly significant, and the Agenda-Setting Theory provides a foundational framework on which this research will be based. This theory asserts that media outlets influence public agendas by determining what issues receive attention, how often they are covered, and how prominently they are presented (Naser, 2020). Agenda-setting theory is crucial for comprehending how media shapes the portrayal of this issue and its impact on public perception. Media outlets can prioritize specific aspects of youth crime, potentially influencing public views on its prevalence, seriousness, and demographics. It will ultimately contribute to developing beliefs, stereotypes, and attitudes about youth involved in criminal activities. This literature review will delve into existing research that applies Agenda-Setting Theory to the portrayal of youth crime in Ontario, providing an in-depth analysis of how media outlets influence public discourse on this topic. By examining the academic literature, this review aims to uncover how media coverage shapes public opinion, potentially leading to misperceptions and distorted views of youth crime. Additionally, it will explore the consequences of these media-driven perceptions, including their influence on public policy formation and the cultivation of stereotypes. The subsequent sections of this literature review will further investigate critical themes related to Agenda-Setting Theory, including media's influence on public perception, bias, and stereotyping, the media's role in policy formation, and the relationship between media narratives and actual youth crime statistics and demographics,

offering a comprehensive understanding of the impact of media coverage on the portrayal of youth crime and its implications for public opinion and policy. Media Influence on Public Perception The media can distort public perception from its sensationalized media coverage of youth crime. Sensationalism often spotlights rare and extreme cases, and when these receive disproportionate attention, it can skew the public's perception (Schatz, 2022). Furthermore, media outlets pick not only what to report but also how to frame stories, impacting how the public views the seriousness of minor criminal acts. When tales are structured to stress violence or danger, the public may perceive teenage criminality to be a more severe problem than the official crime data show. How the media portrays teenage corruption can alter views of who commits these acts. According to specific research, the media can contribute to criminalizing certain demographics, such as racial or ethnic groupings or those from poorer socioeconomic origins (Jupp et al., 2018). The press may establish prejudices and preconceptions by focusing on specific persons or groups, impacting how the public sees those involved in criminal activity. Bias and Stereotyping in Media There are various types of media bias in the representation of teenage criminality. It might take the shape of over-representing certain groups in crime reporting, selective use of terminology, or story framing. According to research, media sources frequently over-emphasize adolescent criminal instances involving specific racial or ethnic groups (Jupp et al., 2018). This approach reinforces prejudices and can influence how the public perceives these groups. The media's overrepresentation of racial or ethnic minority adolescents as criminals can contribute to

the criminalization of these populations, perpetuating negative preconceptions about their involvement in criminal activity. Furthermore, gender influences how the media presents teenage criminality. Young males are disproportionately depicted in media narratives, promoting stereotypes that relate to masculinity and criminal conduct (Jupp et al., 2018). At the same time, media coverage of young girls may focus on certain transgressions, such as stealing or assault, leading to gender stereotypes. Furthermore, media coverage may focus disproportionately on teenage criminality in low- income regions, perpetuating assumptions about the relationship between poverty and criminal conduct. These images can potentially influence public views about interventions and policies addressing teenage crime in economically deprived communities. Bias and stereotyping in media coverage of teenage criminality can seriously and negatively affect the affected populations. These implications may include negative perception reinforcement, stigmatization, and the continuation of structural inequities (Jupp et al., 2018). These biases can also impact public views and governmental decisions, potentially leading to implementing punitive measures while ignoring more comprehensive and preventive approaches to teenage criminality. Media and Policy Formation According to Agenda-Setting Theory, media narratives are vital in determining politicians' policy agendas. When media sources frequently highlight certain features of teenage criminality, they can influence legislators' priorities. It shows that media narratives are essential in pushing young crime-related concerns to the forefront of public discourse, making them more likely to catch policymakers' attention (Malakieh, 2018). The way these issues are framed in the

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media can substantially impact the policy agenda, sometimes diverting it away from evidence- based or data-driven concerns. Furthermore, research has found that media depictions of teenage criminality significantly influence public opinion, and legislators frequently respond to fluctuations in general attitude (Grossman, 2022). When perceived crises or problems connected to adolescent crime are exaggerated in the media, politicians may feel forced to address them, even if they do not correctly reflect the current situation of juvenile crime. Policies and initiatives resulting from media-driven narratives can have far-reaching repercussions. They may disproportionately affect certain demographic groups, lead to over-policing and racial inequities, and perpetuate existing inequalities in the criminal justice system. Furthermore, these policies may overlook more comprehensive and preventative efforts to combat teenage criminality, instead focusing on punitive and short-term remedies. Youth Crime Statistics and Demographics The decrease can be ascribed to several variables, including improvements in socioeconomic situations and policy reforms (Public et al., 2019) due to property crimes such as theft, break, and mischief, as well as violent crimes such as assault, are common among Canadian teenagers (Malakieh, 2018). Compared to older age groups, these transgressions are more common among young people. Young boys have historically been overrepresented among adolescent offenders, particularly in serious offences. However, in recent years, the gender difference in teenage criminality has been closing. Youth crime rates vary significantly across Canada, with provinces like Quebec frequently reporting lower youth crime rates than territories like Nunavut, where historical trends have shown more excellent teenage crime rates.

Furthermore, the demographics of Canadian child offenders include the essential components of race and ethnicity. Concerns have been raised in studies and research about the engagement of racialized kids in the criminal justice system, particularly in metropolitan areas (Public et al., 2019). These studies have found that racialized kids may be overrepresented in various elements of the judicial system, raising debate about equality and fairness in the legal system. Socioeconomic variables have also been found to have an impact on juvenile criminality. Young individuals from low-income families frequently experience distinct obstacles and risk factors leading to criminal activity participation. These economic differences highlight the intricate interaction of social and economic variables in Canada's teenage crime environment. Methods To answer our guiding research question of how youth crime is depicted in Canadian media, we will conduct a thematic content analysis of 10 Canadian news articles. The articles will be selected to represent the most accessible media depictions of Canadian youth crime over ten years to observe any changes or trends in media portrayal. The selected articles will be analyzed with a focus on the occurrence of 3 themes (Moral panics, stereotyping, and sensationalization) through the use of coding developed to address each of the themes above. The results of this study will then be observed through the lens of the agenda-setting theory. The scope of this study will consist of a thematic analysis of 10 online news articles from 2013-2023, one piece for each year. The articles will be selected by searching the term "Youth crime in Canada" in Google and applying the search engine "News” filter as well as the “Date Range” to select for the appropriate year (i.e Jan 1 2013 - Dec 31 2013 to choose an article for 2013). Upon applying the search term and proper search filters, the theme for each year will be

selected by choosing the top search result, that is, an article about either a specific instance of youth crime or the overall issue of youth crime. The articles will be selected this way due to the Canadian public's heavy reliance on national media depictions and "click-worthy" stories for information on youth crime. The fact that 92% of clicks occur on the first page of Google search results (Silcox, 2022) gives us a high probability that selecting the articles in this way will provide a good representation of what information the average Canadian is most likely to come across. Using the previously outlined method of selecting articles, we have chosen our ten pieces as the sample for our study. The papers used will be the following: 1: " Slap-on-wrist approach to youth crime skews statistics" (Gunter, 2013), 2: "Gangs, youth crime concerns Edmonton ethnic communities" (C.B.C., 2014), 3: "The real reason crime is falling so fast" (Mcknight, 2015), 4: “Breaking the youth crime cycle: New strategies aiming to rehabilitate young offenders have mixed results" (Ellwand, 2016), 5: "Youth crime frequency and severity drop across the North, especially in N.W.T."(Hwang, 2017), 6: References

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Carlson, J. (2016). Moral panic, moral breach: Bernhard Goetz, George Zimmerman, and racialized news reporting in contested cases of self-defence. Social Problems , 63 (1), 1– 20. https://doi.org/10.1093/socpro/spv029 Covert, T. J., & Washburn, P. C. (2007). Measuring media bias: A content analysis of time and newsweek coverage of Domestic Social Issues, 1975–2000*. Social Science Quarterly , 88 (3), 690–706. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-6237.2007.00478.x Moreau, G., Canadian Centre for Justice and Community Safety Statistics (2022). Police- reported crime statistics in Canada, 2021. https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/85-002- x/2022001/article/00013-eng.htm Public Safety Canada. (2012). A statistical snapshot of youth at risk and youth offending in Canada . https://www.publicsafety.gc.ca/cnt/rsrcs/pblctns/ststclsnpsht-yth/index- en.aspx#sec01 Silcox, J. (2022). Youth crime and depictions of youth crime in Canada: Are news depictions purely moral panic? Canadian Review of Sociology/Revue Canadienne de Sociologie , 59 (1), 96–114. https://doi.org/10.1111/cars.12370 Evans, K. (2021). Young People in the Media: a dangerous and anti-social obsession. Criminal Justice Matters , 59 (1), 14–15. https://doi.org/10.1080/09627250508553032 Grossman, E. (2022). Media and Policy Making in the Digital Age. Annual Review of Political Science , 25 (1). https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-polisci-051120-103422 Malakieh, J. (2018). Adult and youth correctional statistics in Canada, 2016/2017 . https://globcci.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Adult-and-youth-correctional-statistics- in-Canada-2016_2017.pdf

NASER, M. A. (2020). Relevance and Challenges of the Agenda-Setting Theory in the Changed Media Landscape. American Communication Journal , 22 (1-15). Public Safety Canada. (2019). A Statistical Snapshot of Youth at Risk and Youth Offending in Canada . Publicsafety.gc.ca. https://www.publicsafety.gc.ca/cnt/rsrcs/pblctns/ststclsnpsht- yth/index-en.aspx

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