Newspapers should have a bigger consciousness of the effect that they have on the court of public opinion.  Journalism students and the journalistic community should put a higher standard on objectivity.  Yes, objectivity is impossible.  But that doesn’t mean we should just throw up our hands and forget that pursuit.

Failure to do this leads to a breakdown in the system.

Take for example the following story.  Just last week Andrew Klyman, head of the CPCS Springfield Superior Court office, won a rape trial in Hampden Superior.  Guy was charged with five counts of rape, and some other stuff besides (kidnapping etc.)  I was unable to see any of the case because I was in Holyoke court all last week, so my knowledge of the case is pretty limited to what I’ve read on Masslive.  Which isn’t really all that good.

Just reading that you think to yourself: Holy crapola!  Venturing a little further south into the comments you can see this outrage: Five restraining orders!  Registered sex offender!  Indecent A&B!  He should be locked up for life!

But I also have another source of information about the trial: my colleagues who actually sat through and watched it.  And heard the complaining witness when she testified, in open court, to being a heroin addict, who regularly stole from and cheated her family out of money in order to support her drug habit.

There’s no mention of that in the story, of course.  One poster in the comments does bring up the fact that she was a “crackhead”, but his presentation leaves something to be desired.

Where’s the objectivity here?  The man was found not guilty, he shouldn’t be condemned for it.  I can understand posters feeling frustration at the larger system, but when the journalist, implicitly (through inaction or simple ineptitude), or explicitly, asks for this type of response, it’s simply inexcusable.

Buffy Spencer represents the worst form of journalism, and should be removed from this position.  (Notably, this is not the first time I’ve criticised Spencer before.)  People need to hear the whole story, not some cherry picked version of the truth.

(My particularly favorite commenter was carolinamom, whose “heart goes out to the poor woman” who was allegedly raped.  I’m sure she’d feel a whole hell of a lot less sorry for her if she found out she was, in fact, a drug addict.  But then… that’s kind of the point isn’t it?)

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Posted by Alex Ramos on August 17th, 2009 :: Filed under In the News
Tags :: bad journalism, law in the media, newspapers
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