Journalists
must back down
Police in the Washington, D.C. area have
two battles on their hands. The first is
finding the identity of a sniper who’s killed
eight people and wounded two. The second
is the media.
Montgomery County Police Chief Charles Moose
has cut back on his briefings and sarcastically
asked for a poll of residents to see whom
they want to investigate this case — the
police or TV news.
As a journalism student, I’m taught about
getting the scoop and how to get a thorough
story with all pertinent facts. I believe
the media has a duty to inform the public
of what’s going on in our world, but situations
such as this one have boundaries that the
media don’t seem to recognize.
The police have had to defend their lack
of cooperation because of pressure from
journalists. Investigators say releasing
this information might give the killer a
heads-up about their tactics. Cops don’t
call reporters and ask them to print stories
about undercover cops trying to catch drug
dealers or leak information about where
the black and whites hang out to ticket
speeding cars, so why would they want to
start giving criminals help now?
I don’t know who these journalists are,
but if it were me covering this story, I
would let the police do their job. If reporters
want to know every detail about this case,
they should go to a police academy and become
cops.
Reporters have every right to tell the facts
about these incidents, the shooter, the
victims and any new clues. These stories
should be comprised of the location of the
shooting, the time of day and perhaps a
brief description of the victim. In no way
should these journalists expect to know
more than this.
Police are human and infallible, but if
the general public wants answers, they need
to let the people who get paid to solve
crime solve crime. What gives journalists
the right to secret information any more
so than someone behind the counter at a
convenience store?
If my professors read that last sentence,
I’m guaranteeing a few talks in the hallway
tomorrow. But that’s fine because I’ll defend
what I think is right. Police do what they
do and the media should let them handle
their business until the police show signs
that they need help.
I’ve been taught about note-taking and confidentially
in numerous classes. For the most part,
I agree with what I’ve been taught. Don’t
show anyone your notes and don’t be a snitch.
This is the only way to ensure fair journalism
— until it involves me.
If this sniper revealed their identity to
me, I would call the police faster than
you can say tattle-tale. It’s easy to keep
your mouth shut when you’re the journalist
in this situation. But what about the other
side of the story?
If my mom dad brother etc. were killed by
this sniper, I would want justice. If I
found out a journalist knew the identity
of the killer and didn’t speak up, well,
there would soon be two snipers in the area.
The media acts like it can do no wrong.
Journalists make a living finding faults
in people and exposing them. Most of the
time reporters are right on the money, but
in certain circumstances, they need to know
when to back off. Imagine if every time
a journalist made a mistake it was all over
town. I highly doubt they would enjoy that.
Ryan Ritchie is a senior journalism major
at Cal State Long Beach.
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