Abstract
The relationship between crime and the mass media often has been described by researchers as paradoxical. Perhaps the most striking of the proposed paradoxes are the dual contentions that the media can serve as both a cause of crime and a cure for crime. This paper posits that the recent financial scandals in the United States—which began in 2001, when Enron tipped over the first domino in a stunning fission of corporate failures—are a reflection of these contradictory notions of cause and cure.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Barlow, Jim (2001) “Enron Making Way to Weather Storm.” Houston Chronicle, 19 August, sec. C, p. 1.
Boston Business Journal (2003) “Study: More Companies Restating Earnings.” bizjournals.com (accessed 29 July 2003).
Business 2.0 (2001) “The Revolution LIVES!.” business2.com (accessed 1 September 2001).
Comstock, George (1983) “Media Influences on Aggression.” In Prevention and Control of Aggression, Editors A. Goldstein and L. Krasner. Elmsford, NY: Pergamon.
Cook, Thomas D. et al. (1983) “The Implicit Assumption of Television Research: An Analysis of the 1982 NIMH Report on Television and Behavior.” Public Opinion Quarterly 47:161–201.
Doppelt, Jack C. and Peter Manikas (1990) “Mass Media and Criminal Justice Decision Making.” in R. Surette, ed., The Media and Criminal Justice Policy. Springfield, IL: Charles L. Thomas.
Enron Press Release (2001) “Enron Named Most Innovative for Sixth Year.” Propaganda Critic, propagandacritic.com (accessed 6 February 2001).
Fergus, Mary Ann (2002) “The Fall of Enron: Ken Lay Known as a Man of Humble Beginnings.” Houston Chronicle, 25 January, sec. A, p. 19.
Flanigan, James (1999) “Energy Deregulation Helps Power U.S. Productivity Gains.” Los Angeles Times, 14 March, sec. C, p. 1.
Fowler, Tom (2001) “Enron Adds Up 4 Years of Errors.” Houston Chronicle, 11 November, sec. A, p. 1.
Garofalo, James (1983) “Crime and the Mass Media: A Selective Review of the Research.” J. of Research on Crime and Delinquency 18:319–350.
Goldberg, Laura (2001) “Taking a Long View: Enron Works to Shore Up Confidence.” Houston Chronicle, 28 August, sec. C, p. 1.
Goldberg, Laura (2002) “The Myth of Enron.” Houston Chronicle, 27 January, sec. A, p. 1.
Greer, Jim (2000) “Enron Stock Hits New Heights As Market Applauds Diversification Plan.” Houston Business Journal, houston.bizjournals.com (accessed 21 January 2000).
Guardian Newspapers (2003) “American Airlines Chief Quits in Business Row.” buzzle.com (accessed 25 April 2003).
Kurtz, Howard (2002) “The Enron Pundits.” Washington Post, washingtonpost.com (accessed 30 January 2002).
Locke, Christopher (2001) “Enron Experiences Exchange Overload.” Red Herring, redherring.com (accessed 1 September 2001).
Molotch, Harvey L. et al. (1987) “The Media-Policy Connections: Ecologies of News.” In Political Communication Research, Editor D. Paletz. Norwood, NJ: Ablex.
McLean, Bethany (2001) “Why Enron Went Bust.” Fortune, Fortune.com (accessed 24 December 2001).
Phillips, David (1982) “The Behavioral Impact of Violence in the Mass Media: A Review of the Evidence From Laboratory and Non-Laboratory Investigations.” Sociology and Social Research 66:387–398.
Rebello, Kathy (2000) “New Faces at theParty.” Business Week E.Biz, businessweek.com (accessed 15 May 2000).
Rosekrans, Mary A. (1967) “Imitation in Children as a Function of Perceived Similarities to a Social Model of Vicarious Reinforcement.” J. of Personality and Social Psychology 7:307–315.
Rosoff, Stephen M. et al. (2004) Profit Without Honor: White-Collar Crime and the Looting of America (Third Edition). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall.
Salpukis, Agis (1999) “Firing Up an Idea Machine: Enron Is Encouraging the Entrepreneurs Within.” The New York Times, 27 June, sec. 3, p. 1.
Sherman, Scott (2002) “Enron: Uncovering the Uncovered Story.” Columbia Journalism Review-, cjr.org (accessed April 1, 2003).
Stover, Stacy (1998) “Experts’ Pick: Enron.” Kiplinger’s Personal Finance Magazine, kiplinger.com (accessed 30 September 1999).
Surette, Ray (1992) Media, Crime & Criminal Justice: Images and Realities. Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole.
TalkLeft (2004) “Andrew Fastow Pleads Guilty, Cooperates.” talkleft.com (accessed 11 January 2004).
Thompson, Clive (2002) “Bad Energy.” Media Bistro, mediabistro.com (accessed 24 January 2002).
Usborne, David (2003) “ImClone’s Waksal Jailed for Seven Years.” The Independent, (accessed 17 June 2003).
Useem, Jerry (2003) “Oink! CEO Pay is S till Out of Control.” Fortune 147:56–64 (April).
WCVB-TV Boston (2003) “Former Rite-Aid CEO Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy.” the-bostonchannel.com (accessed 17 June 2003).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2007 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Rosoff, S.M. (2007). The Role of the Mass Media in the Enron Fraud. In: Pontell, H.N., Geis, G. (eds) International Handbook of White-Collar and Corporate Crime. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-34111-8_25
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-34111-8_25
Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA
Print ISBN: 978-0-387-34110-1
Online ISBN: 978-0-387-34111-8
eBook Packages: Humanities, Social Sciences and LawSocial Sciences (R0)