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What is
'Too Far'
for the Media
One of the Most Flagrant
Attacks on an Officer by a Media Outlet
Police and Law Enforcement News
Monday, March 27, 2006 1:21 a.m.
 A
weekly rag posing as a serious newspaper moved the bar even lower
for the journalism industry last week.
The San Antonio Observer, a Texas
based newspaper, doctored an image of a San Antonio police officer
which they apparently had on file.
Using computer imaging
software, this "newspaper" placed a Ku Klux Klan hood over the head
of the officer. They also added a more menacing touch
to the picture by digitally placing a firearm in the hooded officer's hand.
The paper ran the photo
on their front page without any mention that the photo was a fake.
They didn't even bother
to tile out the badge number (which is, reportedly, clearly visible
in the picture) of the officer in the picture.
The officer depicted in
the photo is reported to be very upset over his image being used.
He would later tell reporters, "If this shock value image causes
injury or death to my family, or any officer here, does that make
your paper happy?"
The photo was apparently
created in response to a string of recent police-involved shootings in San
Antonio.
Ida Brown, a
spokesperson for the newspaper, described the picture to KENS
Eyewitness News as "extremely bold."
She further added, "The cover typifies the relationship between the minority and police
department, historically, since the civil rights movement."
When asked about how the use of the
photo would affect the officer depicted in the picture, Brown said,
"I don't see anything
inflammatory to this officer."
Needless to say, street cops and the San
Antonio Police Officers Association are not at all happy with this
bit of journalism.
Our Take
Ladies and gentlemen,
Ida Brown and the others responsible for this disgrace are part of
the reason we still have racial tensions in this country.
People like her don't
offer solutions. They can't. It would put them out of
work.
Instead, they stir the
pot at every possible opportunity and revel in the power given to
them by those that line up and follow.
They are snake oil
salesmen pushing a product that will do no one any good except
themselves. They promote anger and hostility, and their
lifeblood is the undercurrent of discontent that runs through too
many cities in our nation.
What we will never see
offered from people like Ms. Brown are ideas.
As far as this
newspaper, what can you really say?
They seem to feel an
obligation to spotlight where our ethics (in their opinion) fall
short, yet they obviously do not subscribe to their own industry ethics.
The American Society of
Newspaper Editors offers a
Statement of Principles outlining the accepted ethics of
journalism. You would think that such a list would be posted
in the editor's office and at every reporter's desk.
I guess not.
By
our count, the San Antonio Observer violated at least four of the
six accepted principles.
The other disturbing
part of this is that people tend to believe what they read and see
in the newspaper. There will be some who just take a quick
glance at the picture and believe it is real. And, there is no
disclaimer to tell them otherwise.
I can think of no
legitimate reason for a newspaper to put a doctored image on their
front cover.
By now, officers with
SAPD have, most certainly, already heard the comments from the
street accusing them of belonging to the Klan.
I suppose Ms. Brown
and her colleagues have accomplished what they set out to do: make
things even worse.
The law enforcement
community in San Antonio is and should be outraged.
Hopefully, they will
start contacting companies which advertise in this rag and asking
them to pull their accounts.
The one thing they
should not do is take this lying down.
As far as Ms. Brown's
statement about the officer depicted in the photo, "I don't see
anything inflammatory to this officer."
Ms. Brown, I hope his
lawyers prove you very, very wrong.
Police and Law Enforcement News
Monday, March 27, 2006 1:21 a.m.
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