In 2023, the Contemporary Narratives lab partnered with The Ferret and Greater Govanhill magazine to create a new Glasgow-based participatory journalism-meets-theatre project exploring how stereotypical crime reporting can negatively impact neighbourhoods and communities, and how that can be reimagined.
The project is led by Rachel Hamada and brought together a group of people with direct experience of the criminal justice system and with people from communities often scapegoated or blamed for crime. In the summer, It’s Criminal participants put on a live collaborative journalism show at The Tron theatre in Glasgow to present their findings. The Greater Govanhill magazine also ran a piece exploring the issues.
This project is supported by City University of London’s Higher Education Innovation Funding Knowledge Exchange.
From the blog
New Project: It's Criminal
How does the way the media reports on crime affect communities? That’s what It’s Criminal, a new storytelling project taking place in Glasgow this year, aims to find out.
It's Criminal—at The Tron
“Thug” “Serial Offender” “Victim” As words normally associated with crime reporting flashed up on screen, eight performers strode onto the stage at the Tron theatre in Glasgow to kick off It’s Criminal, a live journalism project exploring the impact traditional crime reporting is having on Govanhill, an Glaswegian neighbourhood whose citizens are often scapegoated or blamed for crime.