NCJ Number
95372
Date Published
1984
Length
5 pages
Annotation
Guidelines to aid police officers in projecting a positive image on television are presented.
Abstract
Because television relies on pictures and sound and often conveys more information through pictures, viewers may get a distorted message. TV crews will often be present in tense situations involving crime or disaster, so police must take measures to prevent overreaction, set conditions of coverage which permit effective police action, and develop advance plans with local media for the handling of major emergencies. Police officers have no responsibility to protect the privacy of individuals in public places. Time and audience attention span are extremely important in TV, and the interview has become a standard technique for fleshing out a news story. The officer's first television interview often is frightening. The experience can be less frightening if the officer talks to the reporter before the camera is turned on. Normal conversation should be used, and the officer's remarks should convey feelings, analysis, graphic details, and energy. Similar rules hold for press conferences. The site of the conference should complement the story. For television, the written press release in newsstory form is obsolete. A better form is a fact sheet which provides the assignment editor with needed information: when and where to send the camera crew, whom to interview, and what will be covered. Advance notice, too, is necessary to obtain the best possible coverage.