IT ALWAYS helps when you launch an attack on the media to get the facts right: after all when journalists get it wrong the response, quite rightly, is painful and even expensive.
So when Sir Ian Blair pointed out this week that the media had devoted extensive column inches to the death of Tom ap Rhys Price — the white City lawyer who was stabbed to death by muggers — but had taken little interest in murders involving black or Asian victims, he should have been sure of his examples.
He singled out the murder of Balbir Matharu in East London, run over by car thieves, the death of Rochelle Holness, a black schoolgirl, who was dismembered and left in bin bags in South London and the shooting of a young man in a black-on-black killing.
These were the sort of cases that rated “a paragraph on page 97”, according to Sir Ian.
Not necessarily, Commissioner. A check of the national press reveals that the Matharu case had attracted 4,443 words against 5,525 for Mr ap Rhys Price. A newspaper paragraph rates anywhere between a few words and 50. Then there is the case of Rochelle, 15. In fact, it would be hard to devote too many words to that case because a man was arrested within hours and is now charged. The laws of contempt prevent any detailed reporting. In fact national and mainstream newspapers have devoted 4,421 words.
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As for the death of Lesley Adams, 26, who was shot in the head a few days after the deaths of Mr ap Rhys Price and Mr Matharu, four men were arrested two days later and are now on bail. The courts and the police rightly come down heavily on any reporting that would jeopardise a court case. In reporting his comments at the Metropolitan Police Authority, Sir Ian again got a little confused. His remarks were not made at the end of the 3.5 hour meeting but earlier. Nor was there a lively discussion.
He was asked a question and replied. The MPA members did not notice the reference to Soham. Now Sir Ian has a very good point about the news values deployed by the media and many journalists would agree that judgments can be and are slewed. Newspapers are also commercial. They have to sell to their audiences and they have to be interesting and fresh.
In fact, there were six press notices totalling 868 words from Scotland Yard on the death of Mr Adams, but they offered very little that would inspire a reporter to take up the story.
It’s a matter of information. While the media is anything but perfect, there are equally lessons for the police over their relationship with what Sir Ian acknowledges is a valuable tool in investigations.
Sir Ian claims to have made his point about the racist media before but has he made it to editors or journalists? It has not been made to the group of reporters who specialise covering Scotland Yard and crime. The sad fact is that after endless calls by a succession of commissioners for greater openness, there are still officers who refuse or are unhappy dealing with the media.
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Do senior investigating officers consider how the media can help them or do they still regard journalists as an irritant or worse still, the enemy? During a national course for detectives on major incidents, one officer admitted that he would never talk to reporters.
During a mock press conference another lied to journalists who were taking part and was defended afterwards by colleagues. Outside London few forces keep a press office open beyond late afternoon and many refuse to rouse a press officer to answer queries after dark. Not surprisingly stories get lost or ignored.