Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should.
Just because the second amendment allows you to have a gun, doesn’t mean you should use it.
Just because the first amendment gives you freedom of the press doesn’t mean you should print it.
Since the tragedy in Newtown, Conn. print media, broadcast media and social media has been saturated with talk of gun control - for and against. There’s probably more of this talk (and more talk of the monster that caused this) than talk of the victims, babies really, that perished.
I tend not to talk about gun control. At a young age I was taught a few things about guns - particularly I was taught not to discuss what I do or do not have.
So, I’m not going to talk about gun control. I’m going to talk about reckless journalism - if you want to call the now infamous interactive map created by The Journal News actual journalism.
This handy-dandy map gives the names and addresses of individuals who had been issued pistol permits in Westchester and Rockland counties in New York. The map doesn’t indicate whether these residents actually have handguns, just that they have a permit.
The information is indeed public record and was obtained through the Freedom of Information Act. Sure, like information from a police blotter, it can be published. Whether it should be published is debatable.
Mostly what it appears to be is busybody gossip. Publishing a laundry list of names and address of people that *may* have a pistol doesn’t prove or solve anything. Perhaps some of these names and addresses are out of date and the potential gun owner has moved away.
This list also looks a lot like a catalog for crooks who may be in the market for weapons - ones they’ve stolen that is. So what’s the real loaded gun in all of this?
An article from the Poynter Institute called out The Journal News for this. The phrase “it is journalistic arrogance to abuse public record privilege...” was used.
Perhaps the paper should have considered a few points from The Society of Professional Journalist’s code, particularly those about minimizing harm:
•Recognize that gathering and reporting information may cause harm or discomfort. Pursuit of the news is not a license for arrogance.
•Recognize that private people have a greater right to control information about themselves than do public officials and others who seek power, influence or attention. Only an overriding public need can justify intrusion into anyone’s privacy.
If this kind of reporting is OK, then here’s a thought: Why don’t we print the names and address of bad drivers? I’m threatened by inept and careless operators of two-ton weapons -er vehicles- multiple times a day.
