Crime reporters and camera crews need sensitivity training because they are cold to the plight of grieving persons at death scenes, says a study conducted among media workers.
Claude Robinson, senior research fellow at the Mona School of Business, revealed the findings of the study conducted by the Institute of Media and Communication, at a symposium on the Coverage of Crime and Violence in the Jamaican Media, held at the University of the West Indies (UWI) Mona campus recently.
"A smaller majority supports the view that reporters and camera crews are not sufficiently sensitive to grief and privacy of victims," said Robinson. "The overwhelming majority view is that reporters and camera crews could benefit from sensitivity training."
According to Robinson, local media practitioners also disagreed with the prominence placed on graphic footage depicting blood, gore and weeping relatives on local television news.
"Significant majorities seem to support anecdotal complaints about TV news placing too much emphasis on blood, death and murder," said Robinson, who also claimed crime reporters were too dependent on releases coming out of the police information arm, the Constabulary Communication Network.
The survey was done among 65 print and electronic media workers who were asked seven questions on the actual coverage of crime and violence.
Dr Audrey Pottinger, child health expert, was also critical of the format of the coverage of violent crime on local television.
"There is a feeling of helplessness and hopelessness when watching the local news," Pottinger commented.
Dr Maureen Samms-Vaughn, who looked at the impact of violent footage on children, said the constant exposure to images of violence has had a negative impact on the development and behaviour of children.
"The media must be cognisant of its powerful role in children's development and behaviour through education programming content and other interventions."
Among media notables who spoke at the symposium were: CVM-TV's director of news, Milton Walker; Observer editor-in-chief, Paget deFreitas; Moya Thomas, head of news for the RJR group, Press Association of Jamaica president, Desmond Richards; and Anastasia Cunningham, editor of the XNews.
Walker explained that his station was making a conscious effort to tone down the amount of violence portrayed during that station's news broadcast.
"We have a policy that says murder must not always be in our newscast. It has to be something exceptional, like a multiple murder," Walker said.
Thomas, who has been at the helm of the RJR Group News department for a month, indicated that she would be working at providing a softer news package for TVJ.
"I think if you examine it, in a year you will see the difference," Thomas said.
The symposium also featured workshops designed at developing standards, guidelines and a code of practice for covering violent crime. It is being proposed by members of the Mona School of Business that the guidelines be filtered to media bosses and members of the press and media associations, for distribution to newsroom staff when it is completed.

Source: The Jamaica Observer