When the police give the media descriptions of wanted criminals like murderers, armed robbers and the like, the News Journal newspaper likes to conceal the identity of the wanted individuals by censoring the complete description.  The recent murder in the Rehoboth Beach area is a perfect example of this misguided newspaper policy. 

 The police told the public to be on the lookout for two killers, one in his 20’s, one in his 40’s.  We were told of the height, and the approximate weight, we were told about the type of footwear, the color and type of clothing, the hair color, and even about a distinguishing tattoo.  We were also told the alleged killers were white.  The News Journal doesn’t want it’s readers to know the perpetrators are “white” and edit out that part of the description.  Even more baffling is that fellow Gannett publications, The Salisbury Daily Times, and the Delaware Coast Press have no problem telling the public these were white males, only the News Journal edits out this crucial information.

     Roger Hillis a Gannett reporter for the Coast Press wrote a great article following up on the murder and it appeared in the Coast Press and the News Journal on the same day with one very telling difference; Rogers paragraph about the race of the suspects:

One intruder was described to police as a white male, 20 to 25 years old, unshaven, 5-foot-7, weighing about 165 pounds, wearing a wool hat, a hooded jacket and white gloves. The other suspect was described as a white male with a small tattoo under his left eye or on his left cheek, approximately 40 years old, about 5-foot-6, 200 pounds, wearing black overalls, brown construction boots and dark gloves. Papili refused to elaborate on the type of tattoo. Papili said that the race of the suspects was released by police the day of the crime, yet some media chose to censor that information.

That excerpt came from the Coast Press.  Here is the way the News Journal ran the story from the same reporter:

One intruder was described to police as 20- to-25-years-old, unshaven, 5-foot-7, weighing about 165 pounds, wearing a wool hat, a hooded jacket and white gloves.The other suspect had a small tattoo under his left eye or on his left cheek, is approximately 40 years old, about 5-foot-6-inches tall, 200 pounds, wearing black overalls, brown construction boots and dark gloves.
Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at (800) TIP-3333.

No white males, and no word from the police about the media (News Journal) censoring descriptions.

Roger Hillis complete Coast Press story here. (uncensored)

Roger Hillis complete News Journal story here.  (censored)

This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 6th, 2007 at 9:38 am and is filed under Crime, Media. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.