Radio and TV Journalism RTV 303 lecture 10

1. Radio and TV JournalismRTV 303lecture 10 Mrs. Sarah Amin

2. Lecture Objectives The student should be able to discuss: What makes crime newsworthy. Basic principles of reporting crime and tell you how to become an effective crime reporter.

3. Why report a crime? Crime reporting has long been a central part of news coverage in free press societies, because crime stories are usually newsworthy. There are several reasons why you should report crime and why people want to read about or listen to stories of crime: 1-Readers or listeners often want an explanation of why crimes happen. They ask: "Could it happen to me?" They may want to know so that they can prevent a similar thing happening to themselves.

4. Cont. 2-Your readers and listeners need to know how laws are broken, and how people who break laws are caught and punished. This helps them understand what laws are and what are the penalties for breaking them. 3-Most people obey the law, so crime stories are about unusual events - one of the criteria for news. 4-Criminals take risks and face punishment if they are caught. This may make them fascinating to read about.

5. Cont. 5-Some people are interested in the way criminals get something without much effort. For example, although a gang of crooks may spend weeks or months planning a robbery to net them $100,000, it might take ordinary workers many years of effort to earn that much legally. Some crimes may fascinate people who obey the laws but who wonder what it might be like to break them.

6. Reporting techniques 1-Making and keeping contacts • Establish good contacts - people who will tell you about events as soon as they happen. • Although your most reliable contacts may be on-duty police officers such as the police commander or duty officer, do not limit yourself to these. Get to know other sources within the police force. This may be officially discouraged by the police commissioner (who wants you to work only through official channels), but good confidential sources can often give you an off-the-record tip of something which you can then check through official channels. For example, you may be officially told to contact the duty sergeant for all details of who the police are prosecuting in court each day. However, if you have a good contact in the prosecutor's office or in the court administration, they may be able to give you information on cases which will be especially interesting.

7. Cont. Contacts outside the police force can be just as valuable. The best are people whose work or social life bring them into regular contact with crimes or criminals. Ambulance drivers, for example, are called to crimes where people are hurt. Individual ambulance officers are useful sources, but the radio controller of the service is in the best position to know everything that is going on. Nurses see victims of violence brought into their hospital, but nurses on intensive care units see the worst cases. Many barmen or hotel keepers either know criminals and victims or hear the gossip about what is going on.

8. Cont. 2-Observation and monitoring All journalists should develop their powers of observation. On the crime round, you must always be aware of what is happening and what is not, what is said and what is not said. For example, if all of your contacts in a police station are suddenly unavailable when you call, you should suspect that something big is happening. It could simply be that they are all in the same meeting, but when you are told that no-one has time to talk to you at the moment, get suspicious.

9. Cont. 3-Documents and reports • You should take an interest in any documents about the police or crime, whether or not you are on a special crime round. The annual crime statistics always make news, whether there is more crime or less.

10. Cont. 4-Keep a filing system and diary Crime reporters are usually busy and deal with a large number of different stories. Although there may be a few long-running major criminal investigations or court cases, most of the stories come and go quickly. Because of this, it is very easy to lose track of what has happened. Crime reporters need a good system of filing information for future use. This is especially important for stories which run for a long time, with occasional bursts of activity separated by long periods when nothing seems to happen.

11. What information do you need? • The crime What is the exact nature of the crime the police are investigating? Until they arrest and charge someone, the police will often be vague about the exact nature of the charges they will bring. You will also need to know exactly where and when the crime was committed, even the time of day or night. You should try to find out how it was committed, but take advice on how much you should say in your story. The method the criminals used is often the most newsworthy aspect of the crime, even when it was not successful.

12. Cont. • Victims and suspects Get as many details as possible about any victims. This should include their names, ages and addresses (although not always for publication), possibly their occupation and certainly details of any injuries they suffered. Get details of any witnesses, so that you can talk to them.

13. Cont. • Unusual circumstances • There may be some special circumstances which make the crime more newsworthy. • For example, your intro may be that this is the fifth time that a certain office has been broken into in a month or that the landlord is a cabinet minister.

14. Cont. • Quotes and actuality • If you are writing for a newspaper, get plenty of lively quotes to add interest to the story. If working for radio or television, record people talking about the crime. Beware of quoting police officers who sound very official, their quotes will sound unrealistic and boring. Instead of quoting a policeman who says "The assailant then struck the victim several blows about the head", find a witness who can tell you things like "Then this big man started beating the little fellow, who screamed and screamed for mercy".

15. Cont. • In all the information you gather, you must always aim for accuracy. Not only do you risk legal action by being inaccurate, but your reputation with your readers or listeners, as well as with the authorities, will suffer. Double-check that you have understood what you were told and have made an accurate note. Cross-check with another source if you have any doubts about information you have been given.

16. To summarize • Write crime stories about people - the criminals, the police and the victims • Develop good contacts and protect them if you have to • Use your diary to keep track of likely developments in continuing cases; organize a filing system to keep your information readily available • Get good quotes or actuality

17. Assignment • Write a crime story about people - the criminals, the police and the victims • Consider the news value of the events on which you report • Fetch a police report to help you in this mission.