THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, February 2, 1997 TAG: 9702020012
SECTION: COMMENTARY PAGE: J5 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: REPORT TO READERS
SOURCE: Lynn Feigenbaum
LENGTH: 91 lines
In the past week, several readers have posed virtually the same question:
The Virginian-Pilot doesn't identify victims in a sex crime. Why does it identify the suspects in such a crime until they've been convicted? In fact, why identify any crime suspects before a verdict has been reached?
A strange demand, you might think, but not so far-fetched. Some years ago, the Canadian Bar Association proposed a law forbidding publication of suspects' names before trial.
And consider the case of football player Michael Irvin - accused in the boldest of headlines of abetting a rape, then exonerated when the ``victim'' recanted.
The Irvin case brought out the worst in both media, and human, exploitation. But our callers also mentioned recent local cases.
Either way, the ``primary ethical obligation of journalism is to inform the public by seeking truth and reporting it as fully as possible,'' states the handbook Doing Ethics in Journalism (no, that's not an oxymoron). ``That obligation must then be balanced against the obligation to respect individuals and their privacy.''
But where is that line of obligation drawn when a serious crime has been committed? Don't we have a responsibility to name names, as long as the suspects are formally charged?
One pitfall: The press is sometimes sloppy about following up when it's a not-guilty verdict.
``We make it a policy to write about the outcome of any charges we print,'' said Bill Burke, who edits the Pilot's team of police and court reporters.
Still, a chronic problem in print journalism is that charges tend to get better play than acquittals. And even when a suspect is cleared, particularly in a sex crime, it seems like the stigma never quite goes away.
``Mud, once thrown, tends to stick,'' wrote Jim Stott, when he was ombudsman of the Canadian newspaper Calgary Herald. ``Reputations are damaged, if not destroyed, and the shadow of doubt lingers a long time in the harsh world of public opinion and prejudice beyond courtroom walls.''
On the other hand, public opinion can veer from anger to sympathy. The Irvin case, said Burke, came full circle - he was ``named, vindicated, exonerated and then some. . . I think most people have turned their wrath from Michael Irvin to the woman (who accused him). He's become a martyr, a victim, too.''
Even as we fielded questions about naming suspects, other readers have urged us to name more names - specifically, juveniles who get into trouble.
In fact, you're already seeing more young names and faces in the newspaper's crime stories. In cases of murder, maiming and rape, the courts are treating youths 14 and older as adults - ``so part of the decision is made for us,'' said Burke.
The Pilot is also evolving toward identifying more juveniles involved in serious crimes. Juvenile courts cannot give out names but it is not, as many readers think, against the law for the press to do so.
Still, Burke and his reporters say they do so on a case-by-case basis. Recently, they debated whether to identify two young bank robbers who were apprehended when one left behind a bookbag. They decided not to name the boys, said Burke, because there was no gunplay.
We need to use caution in this area. But communities are getting fed up with young criminals and, these days, public sympathy is not on their side.
Positive about Portsmouth. Accusations of Portsmouth-bashing have been a regular reader complaint over the years - comments like, ``If something good happens, you bury the story. If it's crime or drugs, it goes on the front page.''
So it was with a sense of pride that I saw the two-part series that started last Sunday, ``Turning it around in Portsmouth.'' Sunday's account, the lead story on A1, was about a drop in violent crime; Monday's looked at how the city is attracting more people.
At least one Portsmouth resident, Jimmy Spruill, wrote to thank the newspaper for its ``positive journalism.'' He added, ``All we want in Portsmouth is to be evaluated on a level playing field with our neighboring cities and to be an equal partner in regional cooperation projects.''
Looks like a start.
Skating on thin ice. Boy, former Olympic ice skater Tonya Harding certainly has changed. In last weekend's Sports section, she looked a lot like Buffalo Bills quarterback Jim Kelly.
In fact, that was Kelly. His photo appeared twice in a sports roundup column.
How do these flip-flops happen? Sometimes, just a mislabeled photo. Other times, the page is transmitted from the Norfolk newsroom to the Virginia Beach printing plant before an editor can fix the problem.
More than a half-dozen readers reported those glitches. A similar number caught the duplicated celeb birthdays in two People columns this week.
As always, it's a humbling reminder to get the details correct, along with the big issues. MEMO: Call the public editor at 446-2475, or send a computer message to
lynn(AT)infi.net