Member Submission: Newspapers to stop publishing mugshot galleries
The Tampa Bay Times will stop publishing its online mugshot gallery, which features people who have been arrested in the newspaper’s coverage area.
The Times made the announcement on Monday.
“The galleries lack context and further negative stereotypes,” said Tampa Bay Times Executive Editor Mark Katches. “We think the data is an important resource that our newsroom will continue to analyze and watch carefully, but the galleries alone serve little journalistic purpose.”
Katches added that the newspaper will still publish individual mugshots with stories when arrests have been made.
The Tampa Bay Times isn’t the only Florida newspaper to stop publishing mugshot galleries. The South Florida Sun-Sentinel announced it would get rid of its mugshot gallery on Friday.
“We’ve come to realize that without context, the galleries have little journalistic value and may have reinforced negative stereotypes,” the newspaper wrote.
The newspaper chain Gannett also opted to stop publishing the arrest photos, The Hill reports.
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IMO: Interesting how the concept of “context and furthering a negative stereotype” is lost upon those who think citizens should be subjected to a registry…
Registries are punitive! Ugh!
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Source: https://www.newsmax.com/us/mugshot-newspapers-arrest-tampa-bay-times/2020/06/15/id/972301/
Since registrants always seem to be in a class by themselves, does this include them too?
Except for sex offenders…
I’ve never understood how we can allow the news to even show people’s faces when they are first arrested on the “allegations” that they committed a crime. It’s common knowledge among everyone, including the courts, that once a person is shown on the news or in newspapers, the general public already convicted them in their own minds. How can we have blasted people’s faces all over news media and then expect a “fair trail” from a jury made up of the very people who watch and read news articles?
Why hasn’t this type of so-called journalism ever been challenged based on this?
They expect people to watch and read news every October when new laws are passed so they can say “ignorance of the law is not acceptable” but yet they also expect to get these very same people to be impartial on a jury? The fuckery here is beyond comprehension.
Since when was lack “journalistic value and integrity” a factor in whehther or not to publish something? If it bleeds it leads, right?
True journalism has been gone since Walter Cronkite.
He used to say “and that’s the way it is on (day, date, year).
Now, the proper phrase that should be said at the end of all local and national newspaper articles and news broadcasts is “and that’s the way it has been embellished it or twisted to be to make ratings on (day, date, year)”.
Never is there a story about a registrant who turned their life around; but numerous stories if they get arrested on a technical violation. If it’s sex related It leads; bleeds and used to paint every negative stereotype of any person that has been convicted of a sex crime. Our society is like a teenager on one hand it’s obsessed with sex and the other it’s repulsed by it. If the laws of today were on the books long ago we’d all be registered.
Speaking of the Tampa Bay Times, the following was published in their Sunday paper:
Tampa man avoids fine, sex offender label | June 10
This doesn’t keep kids safe
Florida law states that anyone with a sex crime who comes to Florida for three days or more has to register at a Sheriff’s Office, including being fingerprinted, photographed and turning over a great deal of personal information. How does putting someone on the Florida sex offender registry, someone who comes to Florida for a 4-day vacation at Disney World and returns to their state of residency, keep children safer?
Florida is one of the few states that requires lifetime registration. Many of these out-of-state visitors are no longer on the registry within their own state and are living lives as law-abiding citizens, but they will remain on Florida’s registry for the remainder of their lives. How is keeping these names on the Florida registry making children safer?
Why does Florida keep these different groups of people who are not living in the state of Florida on the registry? The revenue it brings in. Florida, as well as other states, receives federal, grant and private monies for each name on its registry.
The writer is the media chair for the Florida Action Committee.
This was the actual letter sent in to the Tampa Bay Times:
Concerning the recent Tampa Bay Times’ coverage of Ray La Vel James’ successful court ruling that allows him to avoid sex offender registration, Hillsborough County State Attorney Andrew Warren says, “We require sexual offenders to register so moms and dads can see if any live on the street. The ruling conflicts with the spirit of the law.”
If Warren is correct in saying this is the spirit of the law, then why does the Florida registry include people who have left the state, were deported, are in prison or are dead? In December of 2018, the Florida legislative auditor’s office released a report noting that 60 percent of those on the Florida registry live out of state, are in prison, or have been deported. At that time, there were more than 28,000 people on the registry that actually lived in a Florida community, whereas the registry contained the names of 73,000 people.
Florida law states that anyone with a sex crime who comes to Florida for three days or more has to register at a sheriff’s office, including being fingerprinted, photographed and turning over a great deal of personal information. How does putting someone on the Florida sex offender registry, who comes to Florida for a 4-day vacation at Disney World and returns to their state of residency, keep children safer? These out-of-state visitors will leave Florida before these “moms and dads can see if any live on their street.”
Florida is one of the few states that requires lifetime registration. Many of these out-of-state visitors are no longer on the registry within their own state and are living lives as law-abiding citizens, but they will remain on Florida’s registry for the remainder of their lives. How is keeping these names on the Florida registry making children safer?
How is keeping the names of deported or deceased registrants on the Florida registry making our children safer?
Why does Florida keep these different groups of people who are not living in the state of Florida on the registry? The revenue it brings in. Florida, as well as other states, receives federal, grant and private monies for each name on its registry. Florida differs from other states, though, in its padding of the numbers.
Sixty percent of the Florida registry brings in revenues while doing nothing to protect children. Is this the intent of the spirit of the law?
Media Committee for Florida Action Committee
As Zechariah said, “Who hath despised the day of small things?” Not me. I will take anything I can get. Over time, these small things all add up to one BIG thing.
This is exactly why I decided to move out of Florida and if know anyone that has to register; I tell them and their families not to spend any money that benefits Florida’s economy. Florida needs a good swift kick in the butt when it comes to corruption and justice. Keeping people on the registry for life that visit; move away or have been crime free does nothing to protect people. Politicians say we shouldn’t brush law enforcement with a broad brush; same goes for registrants most are not a threat to society. It prevents people from healing and moving on with their lives making communities less safe.
Adios Florida
THANK YOU MEDIA CHAIR!!!
Even with all the edits, glad to have it out there.
Yeah, glad to have all the fake news out their right?
Glad to see Fox news ‘edit in’ assault rifles in their photographs that didn’t exist in the originals in the protests right?
Someone once said “Beware of half-truths, because chances are you are going to believe the wrong half”
I have asked the Miami Herald if they will also stop publishing mugshot galleries.
Sarah,
We need more women like Super Sarah to fight for our cause.
I think having women on our side helps especially if they have a talent to fight for registrants. Several women I know have asked me what they can do to help fight. Sarah is a huge asset to FAC media chair.
If I ever get off the registry, I will avoid and boycott any state that would make me register with them for a visit (Not sure how they would know anyway).
Fight the good fight to get off then some other states adds you back on to theirs.
Kudos to Gainesville City Commissioner Santos for pushing to have the Alachua County Jail website stop publishing mugshots when the individuals have not yet been found guilty–the idea of innocent until proven guilty. So far the sheriff’s office has not shown any opposition. Santos wants a stop to the Gainesville Police Department media walk-throughs and the release of mug shots with press releases. Santos also said that the past procedure is not due process and makes it difficult to get an untainted jury pool. Again, no opposition is currently being heard.
I wonder what he feels about people accused of sex crimes or FTR and their due process rights.