Medios de comunicación y populismo punitivo Revisión teórica del concepto y análisis de la reforma penal en materia de hurto

Abstract

The present article is divided in two parts. First, we propose review the existing literature about the concept of «penal populism» and the media social effects in this process. The agenda-setting’s theory assures the existence of a relevance transfer process from the media discourses towards the public and political agendas. This makes us suppose that the mass media frames of penal issues not only can provokes waves of fear of crime and insecurity but also could influence on the legislator’s works. As a result of this, in the second part we propose an empirical research: from the analysis of the worst treatment of the denominated «multiple thefts offenders» on the 2010 Penal Code reform we will analyze a concrete demonstration of the penal populism in Spain and, from this, we verify some possible media effects in the populist option assumed by the Spaniard policy makers.