Today, WHAS posted on their website a story about a body being found in a duffle bag in Indiana, which authorities are now investigating. While this article tells citizens what's going on around them and it tells the truth, it is not newsworthy for numerous reasons. There is not a clear goal of telling people of the crime, it does not impact a lot of people for a long time, and the article only has quotes from the police, no witnesses, family members, or anybody else, making it one sided.
While the death of the man found will most likely have a tremendous impact on his family, it does not impact the whole city. Furthermore, while there is freedom of speech, what if the family of the man, or the man, did not want his death publicly announced; especially considering the circumstances? Small crimes like these get reported all the time but are rarely remembered by people. They momentarily remind people of the daily dangers our world presents and for many people, crime is entertainment when it does not effect them, which is why we have shows like criminal minds and law and order.
The article also is made up of only quotes from police officers. This is very common, and because police are the trusted ones in these situations, it's what we expect to hear. However, the story would be more relevant if there were more sides of it told, or if we, the readers, were informed of some reason other people couldn't give a statement.
To read the article click here.
While the death of the man found will most likely have a tremendous impact on his family, it does not impact the whole city. Furthermore, while there is freedom of speech, what if the family of the man, or the man, did not want his death publicly announced; especially considering the circumstances? Small crimes like these get reported all the time but are rarely remembered by people. They momentarily remind people of the daily dangers our world presents and for many people, crime is entertainment when it does not effect them, which is why we have shows like criminal minds and law and order.
The article also is made up of only quotes from police officers. This is very common, and because police are the trusted ones in these situations, it's what we expect to hear. However, the story would be more relevant if there were more sides of it told, or if we, the readers, were informed of some reason other people couldn't give a statement.
To read the article click here.
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