Police'and'Crime'Reporting

Damian'Radcliffe'/'Reporting'II'/'

11th November'2015

Another'broad'beat…

...But'one'which'brings'together'much'of'what'we'have'covered:

1. The& importance& of&having&good&contacts&

2. Knowing&which&sources&to&use&to&find/follow&stories

3. Live& reporting/blogging

4. Writing&against& the&clock&and&longerAform&storytelling

5. Court&reporting

6. Human& interest&perspectives

7. The& importance& of&description

8. A&subject&which&ties& into&the&core&purposes&of&journalism& (à la&Health)

1. Data&Journalism

2. Obits

3. Social&media&for&news

...And'much'of'what'we'have'coming'up:

Why'this'matters

Reasons'include:

• Holding&authority&to&account• Importance&of&justice&being&seen&to&be&served&• Identify&wrongdoing&(on&both&sides&of&the&law)&• Fulfils&our&thirst&for&news&• Reflects&trends• Understand&where&public&money&has&gone

12'x'examples'+'case'studies

Breaking'Newshttps://storify.com/homicidewatch/navyAyardAshootingAseptA16A2013

Recent'incidentshttp://www.oregonlive.com/gresham/index.ssf/2015/11/kidnapped_greatAgrandma_says_s.html#incart_river_home

Fires,'Deaths,'Accidentshttp://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/23/nyregion/fatalAbrooklynAapartmentAfireAwasAarsonApoliceAsay.html?_r=0

Police'cam'videos'/'Eyewitness'Mediahttp://www.dallasnews.com/news/columnists/jacquielynnAfloyd/20150723AviralApoliceAvideosAhaveAbecomeAourAculturalArorschachAtest.ece

OnPgoing'news'stories

http://www.kezi.com/news/Public_Hearing_for_Brian_Babb_Police_Involved_Shooting_Tuesday.html?utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter_KEZI9

http://www.kezi.com/news/Civilian_Review_Board_Expresses_Concerns_in_Babb_Case.html

Data'Journalismhttp://www.dnainfo.com/newAyork/20120604/newAyorkAcity/portAauthorityAisAtopAstopAandAfriskAhotspotAregardlessAofArace#ixzz1wrTXMVW5

http://thestolenones.heraldtribune.com/default.aspx

Traditional'investigative'reporting

http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2013/04/mentalAhealthAcrisisAmacAmcclellandAcousinAmurder?page=1

Issues'based'journalism

Human'Interesthttp://www.buzzfeed.com/andrewmcmillen/theAconstableAofAbirdsville?utm_source=nextdraft&utm_medium=email#.oy2Y24rpwN

Human'Interest'followPuphttp://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p014ys4b

Personal'stories'/'(non)'Human'Interesthttp://thisiscriminal.com/episodeA29AofficerAtalonA10A30A2015/

Celeb'misdemeanors'

Exercise

Working&in&pairs,&review&the&story&I&give&you&(20&mins).

Share&with&the&class:

• What&the&story&is&about• What&type&of&journalism&it&is• Why&the&piece&is/isn’t&effective• Highlight&and&read&out&2A3&particularly&powerful&paragraphs

• Other&useful&lessons&from&the&piece

Tips'+'Recommendations

Reporting

• Know&your&“Sunshine&Laws”

• Use&official&records&e.g.&arrest&report

• Get&quotes

• Visit&the&scene&if&you&can

• DoubleAcheck&facts

• Recognize&you&may&get&different&interpretations&(and&acknowledge& them)

• Know&your&media&e.g.&release&of&names

Tell'the'facts.'Don’t'jump'to'conclusions.

Good Er,'not'so'good…

A&23AyearAold&man&fell&to&his&death&from&an&office&block&in&the&Central&Business&District&today.

Police&believe&that&telephonist Andrew&Waiwafell&from&the&top&floor&of&the&10Astorey&Telecom&Building&in&Garone Street&at&midday.

They&say&they&are&treating&his&death&as&suspicious&and&are&questioning& one&of&Mr Waiwa'scolleagues&about& it.

A"Telecom"employee"pushed"a"colleague"out"of"a"top3floor"window"in"a"city"office"block"today.

Telephonist Andrew"Waiwa fell"ten"floors"after"being"pushed"out"of"the"Telecom"Building"on"Garone Street"in"the"Central"Business"District."

Police"are"questioning"his"killer.

Via:&http://www.thenewsmanual.net/Manuals%20Volume%202/volume2_38.htm

Writing'style

• Inverted&pyramid;&especially& for&news&and&report&based&stories.

• Keep& it&simple.

• Try&and&avoid&clichés.&You’re&better&than&that.

!“Blood&curdling&scream”

!“Pool&of&blood”

!“Loud&explosion”

!“Brutal&slaying”

!“Ambulance&rushed&to&the&scene”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/crimeAscene/post/arrestAafterAfatalAmorningAstabbingAinAsoutheastAdc/2012/06/04/gJQAjAQEEV_blog.html

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/crime/dc4murder4victim4spoke4of4plans4to4end4friendship4with4accused4killer/2012/08/15/04c787844e70d411e148f62458260e3940a0_story.html

https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/607585/cydrisseAalvinAindictment.pdf

http://homicidewatch.org/2014/03/05/cydrisseAalvinAsentencedAtoA35AyearsAforAkillingAbestAfriendAamberAkent/

SeeFyouFthen!

• Crime&Sources• Data• Sources&for&inspiration