Question

Police use of deadly force and the media has caused a stir across the country. In your opinion, when an officer uses deadly force and the media reports it prior to all of the facts of the investigation are gathered, does this tend to have a negative effect on all law enforcement agencies across the country?

Or is it ok for the media to report what little facts and generate a headline based on their opinion of the case? Explain in detail, please

Answer 1

It is not an ethical practice for news media to report about an incident based on marginal and lopsided evidence. This is because news reporting is premised on the principle of objective journalism. It doesn't involve abandoning ab impartial stance nor does it involve overstimulation of the audience with undigested facts and leaving them bewildered to try and make sense of it.

In cases of treatment of law enforcement agencies, the nature of information is rather politically sensitive and it can easily become oversensationalised with one sided or incomplete reportage. A more informed reporting in the cases of police treatment would be weighing and assessing that information and then reaching a conclusion based on the evidence. It involves a conscious and disciplined process where the evidence is not misrepresented or suppressed. In the absence of such a procedure, news agencies run the risk of creating a negative public image of the law enforcement institution which only suits preconceived opinion about police brutality.