The Associated Press announced on Tuesday that “it will no longer name suspects or transmit photographs of them in brief stories about minor crimes when there is little chance the organization will cover the case beyond the initial arrest.”
The wire service “will also not link to local newspaper or broadcast stories about such incidents where the arrested person’s name or mugshot might be used. The AP will also not do stories driven mainly by particularly embarrassing mugshots.”
John Daniszewski, the Associated Press’s vice president for standards, argued that even if charges are dropped, the charged person’s name will be associated with the arrest when their name is searched online. In turn, this could hurt said person’s future chances at employment, being admitted to a club, or running for public office.
Let’s be clear, this is journalistic malpractice. The new policy goes against one of the “five Ws” of journalism rules: Who. Identifying the “who” is central to the accurate reporting of a story. It most certainly is not the job of the media to protect individuals against their jeopardizing their future opportunities. It is up to people themselves to think before doing and make good choices.
Regarding future employment, it is illegal for employers to ask prospective employees if they have been arrested. The Associated Press’s latest move is just another example of how it, like many of its peers in the media, have gone “woke.” They preference the absence of controversy more than they do the pursuit of reported truths. Consider how the Associated Press earlier this year instructed its journalists not to use the word “crisis” in coverage of what is happening at the U.S.-Mexico border. But what is happening is obviously an actual crisis. Last year, the Associated Press announced that the “w” in “white,” as in “white people,” would remain in lowercase, while the “B” in “Black,” as in “Black people,” would be capitalized.
Journalism is supposed to occur without fear or favor. The accurate reporting of what has occurred should itself occur whether said reporting involves a powerful figure or an everyday person. The Associated Press has made a very poor decision.
Jackson Richman is a journalist in Washington, D.C. Follow him @jacksonrichman.
