So last week I was out of town watching one of those local news stations that have no network affiliation. All news, all the time. They need to make it interesting.
Seems a baseball player was arrested for prostitution. Ho hum. A semi-famous person arrested for picking up a prostitute. What is this world coming to?
Three things about the story caught my attention:
[1] The first line of the story: “We were the only news station outside the jail when the defendant was released.”
This was not a defendant arrested for killing someone, hurting someone, stealing from someone, a defendant who the police were looking for, or a household name. Are you proud you were the “only” news station standing outside the jail waiting for this misdemeanor defendant to post bond and walk out? Am I supposed to watch you from now on because you are on the cutting edge of important news? Of course the point is exactly that – watch us, we will give you news no one else will (because they don’t care and think you as the audience don’t care, but we will make you care.)
[2] The reporter said the defendant “ran away from our camera.” As this is stated, a video is playing showing the defendant normally walking down a sidewalk. No running. No running away.
But “ran away” sounds better. Even if it’s not true.
[3] At the end of the story the reporter becomes a PR agent for the police and in the same breath, tries to justify the reason for the story:
“Police say that crimes like prostitution often lead to crimes involving drugs and robbery.”
And driving cars often lead to fatal car accidents.
Embarrassing.
Brian Tannebaum is a criminal defense lawyer in Miami, Florida practicing in state and federal court, and the author of The Truth About Hiring A Criminal Defense Lawyer.
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