There is tremendous public interest in crime stories and no newspaper can afford to ignore them without damage to its circulation and credibility. Crime is a part of life and it is news paper’s duty to inform the readers of what crimes are going on in their city, state or country. Crime reporting is a highly responsible and specialization job. The reporter should not only have the ability to shift the grain from the chaff, and the truth from lies, he should also have good contacts in the police and other departments of the administration as well as working knowledge of the penal codes and law on libel and other relevant matters. Besides, he must observe a code of honor.
He should not suppress news of public interest nor should he seek to settle personal scores with police officers or lawyers or judges. And he must be careful that in the course of this work he doesn’t necessarily invade a citizen’s privacy. The crime reporter must never violet standards of decency and good taste.
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