Media must put lives before stories

Since Oct. 2, seven people have lost their lives in Maryland and Virginia sniper shootings…. Since Oct. 2, seven people have lost their lives in Maryland and Virginia sniper shootings. Two others have been wounded, and though police are working with more than 1,700 credible tips, they have yet to announce any suspects.

The media reported on all of it. And in doing so, media outlets raise awareness about a frightening, but important issue. Although news of the shootings might instill fear and panic in Washington, D.C.-area residents, information about these attacks could prove critical to catching the culprit.

But on Thursday, the media overstepped its bounds.

When police found a tarot card with a handwritten message – potentially from the killer – near the Bowie, Md., middle school where a 13-year-old boy was critically wounded Tuesday morning, they decided not to share that message with the press. This was for a good reason – the message contained a specific request that police not reveal its content to news media.

But the note was leaked. By Tuesday, almost every major newspaper and television network in the country reported the message: “Mister Policeman, I am God.”

It’s a single sentence that can’t possibly do much to boost television ratings or newspaper readership, but its inclusion in Thursday’s newspapers and news programs seriously threatened the investigation and put more innocent lives at risk.

Because the information was leaked and reported, the killer knows that he can’t trust police to keep his communications with them in confidence. This communication was an important piece of the puzzle that might allow police to create a profile of the killer. When the message was leaked to the media, the likelihood that the killer will continue communicating diminished greatly.

The leaked information also creates the possibility of copycat killings with accompanying tarot cards, and makes it more likely that someone other than the killer – in an unstable state of mind – could convince police that he is the guilty party.

Ratings, politics and the excitement of breaking a story aside, the decision that should have been made is clear. By publishing information that could hamper the investigation, media outlets across the country diminished their ability to provide a service to their audiences. They stopped doing their jobs as reporters of news, and became newsmakers instead. Indeed, they provided a great disservice and risked lives in the process.

The media are forced to make difficult judgment calls every day. Often times, these decisions are made in the face of a force – such as the police – that rarely wants any information to be available. But in cases of life or death, it’s essential that news outlets work with, rather than against, police, as everyone cooperates in an effort to find the killer.