The author advises that the traditional criminological concerns with the causes and consequences of crime have been undermined by the fragmentation of societies, by the effects of the fear of crime, by drug wars that invade the social fabric at all levels, and by the apparent inability of any governments to control social or national developments. The issue for criminology has become what it means to be caught up in this post-modern maelstrom of perpetual disintegration and renewal, of fragmentation and fear, of struggle and contradiction, and of seemingly random violence and criminality at all levels of society. An issue for post-modern criminology is why crime is so popular, so threatening, and so entertaining all at once, and why television and other media never tire of every aspect of crime reporting and reconstruction. Issues examined in this discussion of media priorities and formats in relation to crime portrayals are crime and the fear of crime, real-life crime and crime as entertainment, violence and the media, copy-cat violence, sensitization and desensitization, criminal justice and the media, and media technology and the courts. Other issues considered are the prevalence of pornography and the media's coverage of sex crimes, as well as the media's handling of drug offenses and drug law enforcement. 29 notes and an 18-item bibliography