| Summary: | Photographic images found in magazines, newspapers, billboards, the Internet, and on buildings has triggered a huge phenomenon in all aspects of human life. Recognizing the importance of images to the community, a study was carried out to identify the functions of the crime image displayed in press. Crime images are often displayed in the newspaper and become an obligation to be showcased to the public. The images provide a visual representation of the actual design to the community to be used as well as to be enlightened. However, whether it is capable of delivering positive impacts or otherwise to newspaper readers is questionable; thus, it became the main objective in this study. Three major Malay newspapers were selected: Berita Harian, Utusan Malaysia, and Harian Metro with violent crime pictures taken from the year 2007 to 2010. Two research approaches were employed through distribution of questionnaire and interview sessions. From 700 surveys distributed, only 404 surveys were answered. The results gained through the conducted questionnaire and interviews show that the crime image displayed in newspaper could provide positive impact on the reader. Although there are a few who mentioned that it can give a negative impact and cause trauma to the reader, it does not represent the majority of the respondents. In summary, the collaboration between the editor and the photographer in the selection of crime images in the press is of utmost importance. Positive impact of this study has proven that the effort by the newspaper media in the social obligation to the community has been successful due to their self-consciousness when viewing such images. This study also proves that the image is one of the most effective medium in conveying message and information to the general public. © Springer Science+Business Media Singapore 2015.
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