Showing results for

• Discussion Question

  What does the word safety mean to you? What personally makes you feel safe or unsafe? How does this compare with what is reflected in the media?

  Crime vs. Harm Story Selection

   
• Discussion Question

  Is crime a serious issue in your community? Why do you believe this? How does the media inform your perception of crime where you live?

  Crime vs. Harm Story Selection

   
• Discussion Question

  What do you believe is the biggest public safety issue facing your community? Do you believe it gets sufficient news coverage? Why or why not?

  Crime vs. Harm Story Selection

   
• Discussion Question

  What is the purpose of reporting on crime and safety issues? What do readers/viewers need to know? Who decides?

  Crime vs. Harm Story Selection

   
• Discussion Question

  Issues like workplace safety, enviornmental conditions, and housing are not often covered in crime and public safety beats. How can crime reporters effectively pitch stories about these issues to their editors?

  Crime vs. Harm Story Selection

   
• Discussion Question

  How can reporting on arrests or allegations potentially influence a case or investigation?

  Arrests and Allegations Story Selection

   
• Discussion Question

  How does reporting on arrests impact how the public perceives certain crimes? Groups of people? Communities?

  Arrests and Allegations Story Selection

   
• Discussion Question

  Why do you believe crimes such as tax evasion, wage theft, and violations of environmental law do not receive as much coverage as index crimes like robbery and shoplifting?

  Crime vs. Harm Story Selection

   
• Discussion Question

  What steps can journalists take to ensure that reporting on a criminal case will not have an undesired impact on an individual’s life?

  Arrests and Allegations Story Selection

   
• Discussion Question

  Why is it important to follow a case from beginning to end? What are the benefits of this? What are the dangers if a journalist chooses to only report on the arrest or the allegation?

  Arrests and Allegations Story Selection

   
• Discussion Question

  What organizations publish local crime data? State crime data? National crime data? How might the sources of this data influence the data itself? What should journalists tell their audience to consider about the sources of crime data?

  Crime Statistics Verification

   
• Discussion Question

  Which crimes are included in the crime statistics you see referenced in news stories? Are there other crimes that you think should be included but aren’t? Are there crimes included that you think shouldn’t be?

  Crime Statistics Verification

   
• Discussion Question

  Besides crime data, are there other types of data about public safety that readers/viewers should know about?

  Crime Statistics Verification

   
• Discussion Question

  Journalists often compare new crime data with data from the previous year. Why is it important to consider how new crime data compares with data from five, ten, twenty-five, or fifty years ago?

  Crime Statistics Verification

   
• Discussion Question

  Should journalists compare local crime statistics with statistics from other parts of the country or the U.S. as a whole? Why or why not?

  Crime Statistics Verification

   
• Discussion Question

  Police departments have been caught manipulating crime statistics in the past. Why do you think that might happen? Knowing that history, what kind of disclaimers should journalists include when they report on crime data?

  Crime Statistics Verification

   
• Discussion Question

  What is the difference between a number and a rate? Why is it important for journalists to consider the number of certain crimes committed in their community? The rate of certain crimes committed in their community?

  Crime Statistics Verification

   
• Discussion Question

  Increases and decreases in crime rates are often presented as percentages. Can you think of times when using percentages might be misleading?

  Crime Statistics Verification

   
• Discussion Question

  Should journalists include information about causes and solutions when reporting on crime statistics? Why or why not?

  Crime Statistics Verification

   
• Discussion Question

  How can reporters avoid stoking fear when reporting on crime statistics? Should they always avoid it?

  Crime Statistics Verification

   
• Discussion Question

  What is the impact of publishing inaccurate information for readers/viewers? For the reporter?

  Police Statements Verification

   
• Discussion Question

  What motives might police or prosecutors have for making inaccurate claims about crime data? About a specific crime? About a shooting committed by a police officer? About a new criminal legal policy, like changes to the rules about how judges set bail?

  Police Statements Verification

   
• Discussion Question

  What tools do journalists have to verify claims made by police, prosecutors, and other criminal legal officials?

  Police Statements Verification

   
• Discussion Question

  What should journalists do if they are unable to verify claims made by police, prosecutors, and other criminal legal officials? Other sources?

  Police Statements Verification

   
• Discussion Question

  Can you think of a situation when it would be best not to publish a story if information cannot be verified? A situation when the story should be published anyway? What kind of disclaimer might be necessary if you do decide to publish?

  Police Statements Verification

   
• Discussion Question

  Why is accepting all claims made by police, prosecutors, and criminal legal officials as fact problematic for reporters?

  Police Statements Verification

   
• Discussion Question

  Can you think of other beats in which journalists have to work with official sources who have a history of inaccuracy or dishonesty? What lessons can crime reporters learn from those journalists?

  Police Statements Verification

   
• Discussion Question

  How do skepticism and cynicism differ? Why should journalists approach claims from police with skepticism? From other sources?

  Police Statements Verification

   
• Discussion Question

  How much do you know about the evidence on what causes crime and violence and what works to reduce it? How did you learn what you know?

  Causal Claims Verification

   
• Discussion Question

  Do journalists have a responsibility to report on causes of and solutions to crime and violence?

  Causal Claims Verification

   
• Discussion Question

  What should reporters do when a source in their story claims to know what causes crime or what works to reduce it?

  Causal Claims Verification

   
• Discussion Question

  What processes and resources are available in the newsroom to determine whether a claim is backed up by evidence?

  Causal Claims Verification

   
• Discussion Question

  Who can journalists contact to learn more about the research on what causes crime and what works to reduce it?

  Causal Claims Verification

   
• Discussion Question

  How does publishing claims about what causes and/or reduces crime that can’t be back up by evidence impact readers/viewers?

  Causal Claims Verification

   
• Discussion Question

  Are there other beats that require journalists to assess evidence and research? What can crime reporters learn from reporters assigned to those beats?

  Causal Claims Verification

   
• Discussion Question

  Is it the responsibility of journalists to inform the public about crime prevention/reduction policies other than the status quo responses of policing, prosecution, and incarceration? Why or why not?

  Causal Claims Verification

   
• Discussion Question

  Are there times when it is justifiable to publish claims that are not supported by evidence?

  Causal Claims Verification

   
• Discussion Question

  How can journalists express skepticism about claims that aren’t backed up by evidence to readers/viewers?

  Causal Claims Verification

   
• Discussion Question

  What are the potential problems with only relying on police, prosecutors, and criminal legal officials as sources?

  Police Sources - Bias Sourcing

   
• Discussion Question

  Are police and other criminal legal system actors, like prosecutors and correctional officers, neutral sources? Are judges? Public defenders? Why or why not?

  Police Sources - Bias Sourcing

   
• Discussion Question

  Should journalists ever rely on sources that have provided false or misleading information in the past?

  Police Sources - Accuracy Sourcing

   
• Discussion Question

  How does relying on sources with a history of dishonesty impact journalists’ trustworthiness?

  Police Sources - Accuracy Sourcing

   
• Discussion Question

  If using a source with a history of dishonesty is unavoidable, what are some ways that journalists can be transparent with readers/viewers about the source’s history? Is it always necessary to make a disclaimer?

  Police Sources - Accuracy Sourcing

   
• Discussion Question

  How can using vague group phrases such as “analysts” or “experts” potentially mislead readers/viewers?

  Source Anonymity Sourcing

   
• Discussion Question

  What do readers/viewers to know about a source so that they can assess motivations and credibility?

  Conflicts of Interest Source Anonymity Source Perspectives Sourcing

   
• Discussion Question

  When might it be important to disclose if a source used to a police officer? What other previous professions or affiliations might warrant disclosure?

  Conflicts of Interest Sourcing

   
• Discussion Question

  What factors might contribute to a lack of diverse perspectives in crime reporting?

  Source Perspectives Sourcing

   
• Discussion Question

  Whose voices are not being heard in most crime stories? Why do you think this is?

  Source Perspectives Sourcing

   
• Discussion Question

  Besides police officers, what groups of people have experience that is relevant to reporting on public safety issues?

  Source Perspectives Sourcing

   
• Discussion Question

  Should journalists include the perspectives of people who support alternative approaches to addressing violence and other types of harm in their reporting? Why or why not?

  Source Perspectives Sourcing

   
• Discussion Question

  What words come to mind when you think about hyperbole? Can you think of times when you have seen those words used in crime reporting?

  Hyperbole Stylistic Choices

   
• Discussion Question

  What impact do you think hyperbole has on readers/viewers of crime reporting?

  Hyperbole Stylistic Choices

   
• Discussion Question

  Hyperbole is a stylistic tool used by writers to convey certain moods, emotions, and sentiments to their readers. Why might that be an inappropriate tool for crime reporting?

  Hyperbole Stylistic Choices

   
• Discussion Question

  How could the repeated use of hyperbole to depict a particular group of people, place, or problem affect readers' understanding of it?

  Hyperbole Stylistic Choices

   
• Discussion Question

  Mugshots are typically taken at the time of arrest, before a person has been either acquitted or convicted of a crime. How should that impact how journalists think about publishing mugshots?

  Mugshots Stylistic Choices

   
• Discussion Question

  How does the publication of mugshots affect the people in them? Their families? Their communities?

  Mugshots Stylistic Choices

   
• Discussion Question

  What effect does the publication of mugshots have on viewers/readers?

  Mugshots Stylistic Choices

   
• Discussion Question

  What kinds of news stories do mugshots typically appear in? Do you think those stories are newsworthy? Why or why not?

  Mugshots Stylistic Choices

   
• Discussion Question

  What is the journalistic purpose of publishing a mugshot?

  Mugshots Stylistic Choices

   
• Discussion Question

  If your newsroom has carefully considered the situation and decided you do need to publish a picture of a person accused or convicted of a crime, what types of images could be used? Where could you find those images?

  Mugshots Stylistic Choices

   
• Discussion Question

  Some news outlets maintain online “mugshot galleries” where viewers can scroll through pictures of people recently arrested in their community. Do you think there is journalistic value in these galleries? Why or why not?

  Mugshots Stylistic Choices

   
• Discussion Question

  The Associated Press Stylebook now recommends that news outlets “avoid the vague ‘officer-involved’ for shootings and other cases involving police." Why do you think the AP made that recommendation?

  Passive Voice Stylistic Choices

   
• Discussion Question

  What language can journalists use instead of “officer-involved shooting?” Give specific examples.

  Passive Voice Stylistic Choices

   
• Discussion Question

  What is the impact of using labels like "felon" and "offender" on the people they refer to? On readers/viewers?

  Dehumanizing Labels Stylistic Choices

   
• Discussion Question

  Many news outlets have recently stopped using terms like “illegal immigrant.” What lessons can crime reporters learn from their efforts?

  Dehumanizing Labels Stylistic Choices

   
• Discussion Question

  In addition to “officer involved shooting,” can you think of other common phrases that use the passive voice? What language could journalists use instead of those phrases?

  Passive Voice Stylistic Choices

   
• Discussion Question

  What words can you use to describe people with criminal records other than "felon," "offender," "criminal," etc...?

  Dehumanizing Labels Stylistic Choices

   
• Discussion Question

  When is it necessary to mention that a person has a criminal record?

  Dehumanizing Labels Stylistic Choices

   
• Discussion Question

  What steps can reporters take to make sure sources with different perspectives are given equal prominence? Should they always receive equal prominence?

  Order Of Sources Stylistic Choices

   
• Discussion Question

  What does it signify to readers when non-police/prosecutor perspectives are placed towards the end of the story?

  Order Of Sources Stylistic Choices

   
• Discussion Question

  What barriers might journalists face in reporting on crimes like wage theft, illegal evictions, and violations of environmental law?

  Crime vs. Harm Story Selection