On Nov 4, 2005, at 11:24 AM, frank theriault wrote:
certainly, both the police and the press have the legal right to publish such info. but really, sometimes i wish they'd both use a bit of discretion in such sensitive cases as those involving sexual allegations.
Media? Discretion? Discretion doesn't add value to ad space, unfortunately.
As for the "legal right", I'm sure they'd have to be quite careful about how they present the information, and any implications they might make. Public opinion is shaped by exactly how the information is reported by the media so there is bound to be a certain amount of room for a civil lawsuit in many cases.
lives can be ruined by mere allegations. "innocent until proven guilty" is lost on most people with sex crimes are alleged.
Even when people get name suppression, enough details can get out that lead to wild speculation by just about anyone with an axe to grind. eg "high-profile ex-sportsman" for one recent case, which was a relatively minor drugs charge. The guy eventually released his own name just to stop the rumours from harming his friends.
legal or not, it would be nice to see the police and press do the ~right~ thing in these cases!
The press love to tell us what to think, which is the reason I stopped reading newspapers. I stopped watching TV news because it's becoming completely ridiculous for a number of reasons. OK I do watch the weather girl, but only because there's something good on just after the news (currently Family Guy). Honest... ;)
Teletext is my favourite news source now because they can fit so little info onto a page they have no choice but to pick the most important stories, and include only the most important information within them. Not sure if you guys have a similar service:
http://tvnz.co.nz/view/tvnz_story_skin/413580?format=html - Dave
