Mark Grabowski has a new article in the latest edition of the University of Baltimore's peer-reviewed Journal of Media Law & Ethics.
The piece examines the so-called “mugshot” websites through the lens of the Society of Professional Journalists’ Code of Ethics.
"As the national conversation on criminal justice shifts following the police killing of George Floyd, newsrooms are beginning to reevaluate their mugshot galleries and several have decided to discontinue them," he writes. "With the law providing little, if any, help, according to First Amendment scholars, the issue is primarily an ethical one."
Grabowski — a former journalist who teaches "Cyber Law & Ethics" at Adelphi University — concludes that, while mugshot sites are not an inherently unethical journalism practice, many news outlets present mugshots utilizing ethically dubious methods that urgently need to be reformed.
The piece examines the so-called “mugshot” websites through the lens of the Society of Professional Journalists’ Code of Ethics.
"As the national conversation on criminal justice shifts following the police killing of George Floyd, newsrooms are beginning to reevaluate their mugshot galleries and several have decided to discontinue them," he writes. "With the law providing little, if any, help, according to First Amendment scholars, the issue is primarily an ethical one."
Grabowski — a former journalist who teaches "Cyber Law & Ethics" at Adelphi University — concludes that, while mugshot sites are not an inherently unethical journalism practice, many news outlets present mugshots utilizing ethically dubious methods that urgently need to be reformed.
RSS Feed