Tagged: Howard Becker

“Operation Ore”: "A huge miscarriage of justice"?

by paulabowles In 2001, the British police launched “Operation Ore”, hailed as a ground-breaking opportunity to catch individuals, who had paid for and accessed child pornography via the internet. With a possible 7,000 plus British suspects on the database, it is little wonder that the operation was perceived to have huge criminological and technological potential, not least in the fight against transnational pornography. However, over the last two years, criticisms have been raised, particularly in relation to the validity of...

Talent Agencies as Cultural Gatekeepers

by bmckernan A few weeks ago, two of the largest talent agencies in America – William Morris and Endeavor – announced plans to merge into one corporate entity. The new mega-agency, entitled William Morris Endeavor (WME) will rival the current industry leader Creative Artists Agency (CAA) in both size and scope, representing some of the wealthiest and most critically acclaimed American entertainment personalities. According to a recent NY Times article, the merger illustrates the current ambiguity and instability in the...

‘Hoodies or Altar Boys?’

by paulabowles Recent research commissioned by the group Women in Journalism has looked at the portrayal of teenage boys in the press. By analysing both national and regional papers, the research team hoped to gain some insight into the representation of youth by the British media. Perhaps, unsurprisingly the overarching theme was one of negativity, with labels such as ‘yob’, ‘thug’, ‘feral’, ‘scum’ and louts cropping up again and again. The only exception to this representation appears to have been...

Rethinking Childhood Gambling

by theoryforthemasses A recent article in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine suggests that children who display impulsive behavior in kindergarten are more likely to engage in gambling at a young age. Researchers asked kindergarten teachers to rate their students’ inattentiveness, distractibility, and hyperactivity; six years later the students were asked to report the frequency with which they participated in activities such as buying lottery tickets and placing bets at sporting events. The researchers identified a positive relationship between...