Covering Crime and Justice

One:


Post-traumatic stress disorder, death threats, homicide, and crooked cops.. Boy oh Boy Dave Krajicek certainly sold me to crime beat reporting. In all honesty covering the crime beat actually seems fulfilling to me. Change starts somewhere, why not through covering corruption? Crime exists, crime is real.. it needs to be reported. Krajicek mentions something about how critics feel that a couple sentences debriefing on how typically the reported crime is in general should be included in a report. I can understand objections. However approaching crime reporting on a holistic level makes sense. Instead of reporting on the bad depressing aspects of the crime news, (isn't that all news not just crime beats?) investigate on trends and how crime effects the public at large.

Crime beat reporters don't appear to have many friends. If editors even clash with reporters, what is the problem. Who wants to read just the hard facts of a sexual assault? I can understand summarizing lead crimes, however the big picture should not be ignored. Maybe I my image of journalism is to involved. I want to write stories that mean something to people. I want people to be informed. I want people to know how to change their world and why it needs to be changed. I don't just want to write about a homicide.. I want to write about why homocides continue to occur in certain areas and how to prevent further homicides. But then again we are just talking about crime beats not feature stories. I surprise myself in saying that I might like crime beats. Mix in a little investigative reporting and crime beats... well I might just be prepared to tackle the organized crime that fronts as garbage collection.

Five:

note to self: "Never forget it's not our job to judge, only to tell the truth through reporting and writing."

A problem I have is that I don't like to be obtrusive. I've never been placed in the situation.. but I can guarentee that I will have a difficult time calling a victim or family member of a victim.. and then calling again and again. I am a good judge of emotion and when I sense someones irritation with me.. I back off. I have a backbone.. but no one like to be pestered during the grieving process.

I will take the suggestion of being the reporter that does not fall to the wolfpack mentality. I feel that if people want to talk I need to let them know I am here to listen and tell their story, but until they are ready I won't force them. Subjects are human. Reporters should be human too.

Names of rape victims should only be reported if given consent from the victim. I don't understand how anyone can argue that names of rape victims constitutes as the publics right to know. I can't even imagine the emotion psychological and physical issues that arise from becoming a rape victim.. having the media exploit a sexual crime is unacceptable. The public has a right to know who is doing the raping and where the rapes are happening but they do not need to know the name of an individual who has gone through, in my mind, the worst crime there is.

I think a lot o ethica questions that arise for journalist are a result of lack of compassion. Maybe the media would be able to rid it's evil image if the press stopped acting like men and starting thinking with their brains and their hearts.

Seven:

Courts courts courts. Well I don't know really what to say about covering courts. I feel bad for anyone that is thrown into the court beat. I believe it is necessary to have a competent reporter who understands the legal system. I think the most compelling necessity of court reporting is to make sure everyone is playing the game fair. In general journalist duty is to make sure everyone is acting legit.

The legal system is intense.. laywers and judges wouldn't be paid as much as they are if i wasn't. I can try to understand the structure of the system and I think that that is the best heads up a court reporter can have.

Access to documents seems to be one of the larger challenges of court reporting. It is important to find necessary documents, because as the article says, printed documents are the best defense against libel.

side note: although this weeks reading was long, the website was really intriguing. I felt that the website was legit and speeching from experience. Much better than the text. so ++ for the reading selection.