Aiding Law Enforcement

Journalists on the crime beat are in constant communication with law enforcement. But when becoming involved with a case story, where is the line on reporting the news or making it?

Again, here are some relevant notes by SPJ relevant to working side by side with law enforcement.

Seek Truth and Report It – Journalists should be honest, fair and courageous in gathering and interpreting information.

- Diligently seek out subjects of news stories to give them the opportunity to respond to allegations of wrongdoing.

- Avoid undercover or other surreptitious methods of gathering information except when traditional open methods will not yield information vital to the public. Use of such methods should be explained as part of the story.

Act Independently – Journalists should be free of obligation to any interest other than the public’s right to know.

While Chris Hansen and Dateline NBC attain a surprise interview with potential sexual predators, the use of deception puts their motives into question. Paying the advocacy group, Perverted Justice, and the actress to investigate and gain access is an unethical way to make any report. Like most of you said today in class, entrapment is never a good idea when reaching out to a subject for comment.

My favorite policy on this event was from a report found on Poynter: “Let law enforcement conduct sting operations and the media report on the arrests.”

       -- By Robbie Rogers and Sara Stone, Baylor University

But each case should be handled circumstantially. In a more general sense, aiding law enforcement may be acceptable when lives are at stake. In a report by members of the Practical Ethics Center at the University of Montana - regarding journalists helping police - Deni Elliott and Paul Martin Lester noted that, “When the news photographer is first on an accident scene and she can assist the victims with little risk to herself, there is no question that the journalist should save the life rather than get an initial picture. Few would question the professionalism or the compassion of the shell-shocked journalists in Manhattan who we watched pull victims to safety in-between taking shots and running for cover themselves”

Here are a few links I used for this presentation. I included the Tribune’s timeline of the Blagojevich scandal coverage, to anyone who was interested in learning more on that case. Thanks for the discussion.

To Catch A Predator
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=soYoaenyqnw

Blagojevich Timelinehttp://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-investigation-timeline-1208,0,2680294.story

Seaborn Larson