Gone Too Far?

Photo by Paul Koehnke, KREM.com

This seemingly innocuous situation in Spokane, Wash., turned into a big debate for local journalists. The story is about a homeless man and his dog living in his van near an elementary school. Neighbors called police, but all they did was suggest the man move, perhaps to a homeless shelter. Some time later the police went back and ordered the man to leave. It was the last time he was seen, but he left his van.

KREM-TV, the local television station that reported the story, said they contacted the Abandoned Vehicle Unit within the Spokane Police Department. An officer came out to tag the van for towing.

Doesn't seem too major, but Dave Laird of the Spokesman-Review newspaper thought that by calling the Abandoned Vehicle Unit, KREM-TV overstepped their journalistic bounds, getting too involved in the story.

"At first glance, I had mixed feelings about the fact that KREM chose to contact the Abandoned Vehicle Unit, as it demonstrates a lack of compassion to me, and that action appears to have violated at least one of the terms of ethical journalism, that being, report the news, but do not become part of the news itself," he said in an SR blog.

I'd have to agree with him. It's the job of journalists to stay as unbiased as possible in reporting the news. By contacting the AVU, not only did it show a lack of compassion and understanding for the homeless man, but the TV station unnecessarily injected itself into the story. They should not be acting as the police in this case, and should have left it up to local citizens to call in or the police themselves.

Report the news, don't make the news.