News or Entertainment?
15/12/06 17:07 |
Personal
I
am not sure which I have found more shocking over the
last week. Of course I am, like everyone else,
shocked by the murder of 5 women in Suffolk but I
think running close is my shock at the sheer feeding
frenzy of the press and media in their coverage of
these terrible events. It has almost become light
entertainment to the various news organisations while
they try to "analyse and inform" with information and
conjecture that is probably nothing even close to
resembling the truth. It has almost been bloodlust.
Of
course, this cannot be totally laid at the door of
the news organisations, as the police must bear some
responsibility for feeding this frenzy. I was
surprised on Tuesday afternoon to watch a press
conference - less than two hours after the latest two
bodies were discovered - led by the Chief Constable
of the local force and the chief investigating
officer. I would have thought that these two
gentlemen would have been expected to be standing in
the fields at the site of the discoveries wearing
wellies and directing the search for clues. Instead,
they were in front of the cameras at another location
announcing the 'discovery' of the two bodies.
Following the press conference they were then giving
individual interviews to anyone who had a microphone
- preferably attached to a camera!
Is this a good thing? I remember the days when the police avoided giving press conferences for fear of revealing information that might highlight their progress in catching the murderer. There was also a view it might prejudice any subsequent trial.
So why are the police now so keen to appear on the TV at every opportunity and why has the man who is supposedly responsible for leading an investigative team of what is reported to be over three hundred men, got the time to give regular updates to the feeding journos? Could it be that the investigation has been unofficially taken over by officers who are more
experienced
in investigating this sort of crime but the local
officers are being allowed to look like they are
still in charge? Does it really matter? I guess not
as long as the murderer is caught at the soonest
possible moment.
What it does do though, is increase the frenzy of the media. We then get interviews and opinions from every conceivable 'expert'. Retired detectives, criminal psychologists, forensic scientists and anyone who might have 'something' that adds to the theories is dragged in front of a camera to hypothesise about what may be the motivation or method being employed by the killer and the methods by which he may be caught. I have even seen an interview with two young frightened single women sitting in a bar who have told us how they are careful not to get caught out by the killer while their full names are shown at the bottom of the screen. A challenge to an unstable calculating killer if ever there was one!
This killer must be caught as soon as possible, but an 'investigation' by a news organisation is not the way to get it done. Sky News in particular are acting like they are playing a giant game of Cluedo and I am sure they think they are going to solve the murders themselves with the help of their various 'experts'
I hope when the person is eventually caught his trial is not jeopardised by the possibility of failing to find a jury that has not been influenced by the things they have seen on the TV or read in the press.
As they say......never let the facts get in the way of a good story!!
Is this a good thing? I remember the days when the police avoided giving press conferences for fear of revealing information that might highlight their progress in catching the murderer. There was also a view it might prejudice any subsequent trial.
So why are the police now so keen to appear on the TV at every opportunity and why has the man who is supposedly responsible for leading an investigative team of what is reported to be over three hundred men, got the time to give regular updates to the feeding journos? Could it be that the investigation has been unofficially taken over by officers who are more
What it does do though, is increase the frenzy of the media. We then get interviews and opinions from every conceivable 'expert'. Retired detectives, criminal psychologists, forensic scientists and anyone who might have 'something' that adds to the theories is dragged in front of a camera to hypothesise about what may be the motivation or method being employed by the killer and the methods by which he may be caught. I have even seen an interview with two young frightened single women sitting in a bar who have told us how they are careful not to get caught out by the killer while their full names are shown at the bottom of the screen. A challenge to an unstable calculating killer if ever there was one!
This killer must be caught as soon as possible, but an 'investigation' by a news organisation is not the way to get it done. Sky News in particular are acting like they are playing a giant game of Cluedo and I am sure they think they are going to solve the murders themselves with the help of their various 'experts'
I hope when the person is eventually caught his trial is not jeopardised by the possibility of failing to find a jury that has not been influenced by the things they have seen on the TV or read in the press.
As they say......never let the facts get in the way of a good story!!
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