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Police and Crime Reporting
Damian Radcliffe / Reporting II /
11th November 2015
RECAP
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 longer-‐form 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:
Has always been a popular genre
Leading to the journalistic phrase….
Reasons this matters 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
Reporting• Know your “Sunshine Laws”
• Use official records e.g. arrest report
• Get quotes
• Visit the scene if you can
• Double-‐check facts
• Recognize you may get different interpretations (and acknowledge them)
• Know your media e.g. release of names
Writing style
• Inverted pyramid; especially for news and report based stories.
• Keep it simple.
• Try and avoid clichés. You’re better than that.
v“Blood curdling scream”
v“Pool of blood”
v“Loud explosion”
v“Brutal slaying”
v“Ambulance rushed to the scene”
A robbery at Charles Dickens' house reported by the Dover Express in 1859:
http://blog.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/2015/03/12/charles-‐dickens-‐and-‐the-‐diabolical-‐crime-‐he-‐survived-‐in-‐kent/
Sources
For good leads, contacts and stories
Traditional Digital1. Press Offices, press conferences and mailing lists 1. Google Alerts
2. Personal, corporate, Government blogs / news pages 2. People and groups on social networks: Twitter, Facebook, Craigslist et al
3. Public data portals 3. #tags on Twitter and Instagram
4. People you meet/talk to – your network 4. LinkedIn for contact details
5. Other media e.g. newspapers, listings etc. 5. Newsletters and Alerts (e.g. SMS, email etc.)
10 potential avenues include:
Some local links: http://www.eugene-‐or.gov/crimestatistics
Eugene Police Calls for Service• 2014 Calls for Service Report
CFS and Population by Beat• CFS by Month
Annual DUII Arrests• Annual DUII Arrests By Month 2011 and 2012• Annual DUII Arrests By Month 2013• Annual DUII Arrests By Month 2014
2014 FBI Oregon CrimeStatistics Report
Report PDF Link
Oregon Death Row: http://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-‐northwest-‐news/index.ssf/oregon_death_row.html
CrimeReports website (national): https://www.crimereports.com/
Need more inspiration?
• http://tetw.org/Crime_and_Punishment• http://tetw.org/True_Crime• http://blog.longreads.com/2014/12/17/longreads-‐best-‐of-‐2014-‐crime-‐reporting/• http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2011/05/nearly-‐100-‐fantastic-‐pieces-‐of-‐journalism/238230/• http://blog.longreads.com/2014/12/17/longreads-‐best-‐of-‐2014-‐crime-‐reporting/