NCJ Number
86146
Date Published
1982
Length
11 pages
Annotation
The news media should establish their own standards of conduct in terrorist incidents, while the police should be wary of issuing requests for self-regulation to the news media.
Abstract
The police should not attempt to restrict the media's job of covering terrorism, because this not only threatens first amendment rights, but by enabling the media to do what they have been trained to do, i.e., to collect and report information accurately, rumors and excessive fears tend to be dispelled. Further, if the media were to be formally restrained from covering certain aspects of terrorist incidents, the police would be engaging in censorship, something for which they are not and should not be prepared. This does not mean that, when asked by the media, the police should not explain the issues involved in dealing with terrorism. There are several things the police can do to promote responsible coverage of terrorist incidents. Police agencies should develop clear guidelines that govern the news media's access to the scene of terrorist incidents and clear rules governing police lines and press identification passes. The media should be informed of these guidelines and conditions before terrorist incidents and similar events occur. The burden of using common sense in the handling of terrorist incidents lies equally with the police and the media as each is expected to perform responsibly in performing the tasks each has been trained to do. Four footnotes are listed.