When journalists help to solve a crime
In my last post, I criticized the power of media. Because of journalists publishing information on the terrorist attack which happened in Berlin last December too fast, readers got confused. At first they thought the guilty man had been caught immediately, and then, all of a sudden, journalists took back their statements. This might have not only caused confusion, but also time for the real suspect to escape. This means that, when reporting about crimes, journalists can have a huge impact on the outcome of the consequences.
The power of media — a curse or a blessing?
Even though journalists might have slowed down the police’s chances of catching the terrorist in the case of Berlin, they can also cause the opposite. Just a couple of days ago, it has been proven that media have the power of helping to solve crimes, fast and reliable.
In cooperation with the police, all different kinds of media — TV channels, radio channels and newspapers — published a photo of a wanted person. On the darknet, the police found proof of the man in the photo sexually abusing an eight-year-old girl several times. In order to find that man, a photo of him was spread all over the internet.
The photo was published on Thursday morning. Thousands upon thousands of people shared all kinds of newspaper articles that contained the photo on social media websites as for example Facebook or Twitter. All of a sudden, everyone in Germany was involved, everyone was trying to help, everyone was trying to find that man. And, in the end, they were successful:
The man was caught Thursday evening, a couple of hours after the picture of him had been published. This shows that the power of media does not have to be a curse, but can also be a blessing. In this concrete example, journalists helped to solve a crime, they helped to stop a man from doing evil. And, eventually, they have proven that the power of media provides a lot of advantages.
