Ethics in Journalism - Article 2

Issue 2 - Juvenile Suspects
Click on this link for the story:
http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/02/25/teen.pimp/index.html

This article covers the recent indictment of two Arizona teenage girls who are accused of recruiting and pimping other teen girls. They are only 16 years old.

The issue this article raises concerns the actions of both the prosecutors and the journalists covering the story. The accused girls are only 16 years old, to be tried as adults, and the prosecutors made a conscious decision to release their names to the press. This case is one that will be following those girls for the rest of their lives, no matter the outcome of the case, and the decision to reveal their names is one that should be thought about before making, as it will most definitely impact the rest of their lives. Not only did the prosecutors use the names, but the journalists made the decision to reveal their names in their article. The pictures and names provided will make it easy for anyone to identify these girls and link them to the criminal behavior they have been accused of. A journalist must consider the harm they are exposing these girls to by providing this information to the world. This is an online article, not a community journal, and that means the normal geographical limitations would not apply on the internet. Anyone can access these articles. Two guidelines from the SPJ Code of Ethics best illustrate this issue: "Show compassion for those who may be affected adversely by news coverage. Use special sensitivity when dealing with children and inexperienced sources or subjects." The second reads, "Be cautious about identifying juvenile suspects or victims of sex crimes". Clearly, age can make a big difference when writing a story, and young children or teens, whether suspects or victims, should be made a priority when determining what informational elements should be included in the article.