The crisis and Bernie Madoff: Capitalism, media, and culture in the US and UK
Item
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Title
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The crisis and Bernie Madoff: Capitalism, media, and culture in the US and UK
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Identifier
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d_2009_2013:f84fe866c044:11898
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identifier
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12597
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Creator
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Eren, Colleen P.,
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Contributor
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Lynn S. Chancer
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Date
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2013
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Criminology | Mass communication | Multimedia communications | bernie madoff | content analysis | financial crime | financial crisis | media | white collar crime
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Abstract
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During the maelstrom of uncertainty and panic produced by crisis of 2007-2008, the "Bernie" Madoff Ponzi scandal erupted into headlines in the US and UK press. The punitive responses and corresponding discourse surrounding the case were remarkable, as social scientists have generally focused on the `criminological' poor and `street' crime, not wealthy financial fraudsters or white collar crime, under a presumption of public apathy. What themes emerged from this discourse, and what was their significance during a time of financial crisis? Were there differences in US coverage versus that in the UK, and what did this say about culture and capitalism? This dissertation, contributing to the literature on crime and media, follows the work of Lynn Chancer on high profile crimes using a mixed methods, comparative approach. Content analysis of 8 newspapers was performed using the qualitative research program Atlas.ti, and interviews with major journalists, editors, SEC officials, and Bernie Madoff were conducted. I explore how the Madoff case provided an intelligible, human narrative through which issues seen as causing the crisis and threatening capitalism could be explored, contested and solutions proposed. I also argue that the entire cultural performance of seeking harsh justice for Madoff provided a symbolic resolution to the dissonance that emerged as a result of the financial crisis, but did not address deeper structural concerns with free market capitalism that would prevent the occurrence of future financial frauds of this scale.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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2009_2013.csv
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degree
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Ph.D.
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Program
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Sociology
