The Role of the Press in Public Security

Abstract

The sensational increase in violent criminality in recent years has placed the question of public security on the social agenda. Formerly a matter restricted to a few actors, now the topic of public security has become the center of discussion in an affl icted society in the midst of a notorious increase in violence and criminality. The result of the referendum on the prohibition of the sale of fi rearms and ammunition amplifi ed an obvious popular clamor demanding consistent, lasting and clear measures in the combating and prevention of crime. The media, perceiving the importance of this historic moment (and mainly the power to vocalize this demand of the middle class – their major consumer – has deepened the discussion on this issue, organizing in an increasingly more constant way coverage of public security.