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May 11, 2005
Reporting bad news: timing is everything
I suspect the public would welcome a respite from gore, like the one
that New Yorkers got when Rudolph Giuliani became mayor. He realized
that even though crime was declining in the city, people's fears were
being stoked by the relentless tabloid and television coverage of the
day's most grisly crime. No matter how much the felony rate dropped,
in a city of seven million there would always be at least one crime
scene for a live shot at the top of the 11 o'clock news.
Mr. Giuliani told the police to stop giving out details of daily crime
in time for reporters' deadlines, a policy that prompted outrage from
the press but not many complaints from the public. With the lessening
of the daily media barrage, New Yorkers began to be less scared and
more realistic about the risks on their streets.
-- John Tierney
[via NYT]
Posted by omor at May 11, 2005 05:39 AM
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