However I cannot help getting totally annoyed, irritated and filled with disgust when I see the gutter press again interfering with an ongoing police investigation.
The two largest tabloids in Sweden have today published the name and image of the man suspected to be the Malmö gunman thus to some extent sabotaging the investigation.
As usual both say this was done in the "public interest", which gets to be a lamer excuse everytime they use it but especially in this case where the suspect is a socially isolated and possibly mentaly disabled person.
The newspapers' editorial boards have become more or less like street courts. They seem falsely motivated by the belief that they are better investigators, prosecutors or judges than those hired by the judicial system. Meanwhile what they really are doing is muddying the waters and obstructing justice through their tampering with witnesses.
We need a press that takes it responsibilities seriously and understand that the freedom given to them must be tempered with some measure of common sense and good judgement.
Why would "a socially isolated and possibly mentaly disabled person" been given a licence to have firearms?
ReplyDeleteThat is the kind of question a free press have to ask.
Today on my blog http://vanadisser.blogspot.com
ReplyDeleteI show what happens if newspaper are quiet.
Yes of course, and they can ask it without publishing his name and picture!
ReplyDeleteHuh, please tell me where in my post did I say the press should be quiet?
ReplyDeleteWhy publish the pic?? destroys all lineups" the Police ev wants to do??
ReplyDeletetwo?? i only seen his name and pic in expressen as of yet and the police did NOT like that.
ReplyDeletethe press do what the hell they want not even thinking if it destroys the police work (bad police they just write then) hopefully this wont get him off.
The questions that the press should and must ask are not helped or hindred by publishing the name and picture of the suspect. Therefore publishing them is pure sensationalism.
ReplyDeleteYes Vampi, Aftonbladet has done so also.
In this case, there is a clear justification for the name of the publication. The detainees are members of a relatively small RIFLE CLUB. There are a few 9mm shooters in the club. All the innocent members should not be singled out.
ReplyDeleteThe rules currently used by the media regarding the name of the publication is obsolete. -You should wait for the judgment in the District Court and then publish the name of the person becomes when freed in the court of appeal, the damage is already done. For adaptation to reality may be to decide to either publish your name from the beginning, as in Norway and England, or wait until the judgment become final.
Sorry Buddy, although I agree with your main point, the fact is that the press is a biz like any other. They will publish whatever they think the readership wants to read. Thats why hello! rag exists.
ReplyDeleteOf course, justice must be seen to be done, but the public want it done now now now .Look how quickly they dropped the story when poor pc plod didn't do a CSI and give the perps underwear size within 20 minutes - boring, so lets see what naughty kingy is up to, always a good way to shift some garbage.
And of course, now we know (some how) that the suspect (oooh remember that word) is some kind of nutbar (and I have a license to use the term haha) so thats alright then. Wrapped up, packaged, cue film of the week and spinoff books, until the next *crime/scandal/fad/hopefully with xmas merch tiein* of the millenium happens.
That public appetite for dross never gets sated.
Vanadis, I see your point but I still don´t agree with you.
ReplyDeleteBuddy, I don´t think that it is the fact that the suspect in this case is mentally handicaped that has made the two gutter rags publish his name and picture this early, thus perhaps fouling up the court case and possibly leading to an acquittal through lack of suffivient evidens because a line up or photoconfrontation has been compromised.
This has become an ever greater problem over the years, it possibly started after the assassination of our Prime Minister Olof Palme when all journalists suddenly believed themselves to be somekind of Sherlock Holmes or better.