An introductory discussion of relationships between the media and crime covers the impact of newspapers, television, and films on the public; the characteristics of those who read crime news; and relations between reporters and police. This study attempted to described the content of crime news as it appeared in 40 newspapers representing 37 different Ontario communities. A total of 2,145 items which pertained to a crime or a related matter were selected for analysis. Data collected on the location of reported crime incidents revealed that 60 percent of the events occurred in Ontario and that almost all crime news from outside the province came from wire services. The content of each crime item was categorized according to types of criminal activity, stage of the criminal incident reported, opinion of police and court performances, attention focused on offenders, and editorial comments. The prominence given to an item was assessed according to location in the newspaper, length, headline size, and use of photographs. Most crime items were found to be relatively short with small headlines. A detailed examination of the relationship between the prominent handling of an item and its content revealed no clear trends. Differences between newspapers in the amount and treatment of crime news were also considered. The study's findings showed that murder, fraud, breaking and entering, major theft, and robbery appeared most frequently in the news. This reporting correlated highly with actual incidents known to the police, with the exception of murder and robbery which were overreported. Crime news focuses on police, offenses, and offenders and generally ignored correctional measures and victims. A high degree of uniformity between newspapers in the content of their news was discovered. In larger communities, more crime news was devoted to non-Canadian items and newspapers in small communities had more crime news on their front page. Additional findings of the study are detailed, along with recommendations for further research. The appendixes contain a questionnaire administered to police officers concerning their relations with the press, a list of the newspapers studies, statistical tables, and a bibliography of over 90 references. Tabular data are included.