Name and Shame?{updated,again} (News of the World)

Member Name: jimblob

Product:	News of the World
Date:	03/08/00 (105 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Good for celebrity gossip

Disadvantages: Poor quality journalism

The News of the World is running a campaign on naming and shaming known phedophiles,
Is this a helpful campaign, or will it drive these beasts further underground and out of the control
of the social services and police?
I think that the News of the World, however justified they may think they are, will do more harm than good with this emotive subject.

There have already been ugly repercussions, one man in Manchester has had an angry mob damage his property, all because he has the same name as one of the paedophiles named by the paper, and another was targeted because he LOOKED like one of the men named. Where will it end?
I am worried that ultimately an innocent person could be seriously harmed, or even killed, as a direct result of the campaign.
At first I was very sceptical as to the papers motive, but they have actually reduced the amount of the paper going to press, but if you think about it, not every paper printed is sold every Sunday, but add a sensational story, along with all the media attention they have cultivated, and I am quite sure that there will be very few papers unsold come Monday morning.



If the News of the World had been a bit more responsible, they would have consulted with the relevant agencies who deal with these sex offenders, and if a sex offender was found to be living near vulnerable children, then local groups, schools, youth organisations and the like could be warned, thus giving them the chance to be extra vigilant.

Will the News of the World hold itself responsible if there is a miscarriage of justice due this form of journalism? or will they distance themselves, by saying that what Joe public do with information fed to them by this paper is not their concern?
On the whole the News of the World is a relatively harmless Sunday tabloid, it usually informs us of the shameful wrongdoing of the rich and famous, I just wonder if they will be as quick to report their own shortcomin
gs!

UPDATE:.....

I have just heard on the evening news that the Police had asked the News of the World,prior to last weeks naming and shaming, to with-hold on naming a man who was the subject of an on-going investigation. They refused and the consequence of their action was that the man, under investigation, almost slipped the net. He was apprehended after he bought an airline ticket to flee the country.

Would the News of the World have felt responsible if the man had managed to get into another country and started to abuse children there?, or would they be pleased that they had driven a problem out of our country, regardless of what damage he could have done in another.

This is not responsible journalism, it is purly a knee-jerk reaction to the sad demise of little Sarah Payne, and while every parent feels for Sarah's family,( I have a daughter the same age), I cannot condone this policy they have adopted, it is fraught with danger as I have already intemated earlier in this opinion.

Update No2: It seems the News of the World has come to an agreement with the professionals,(police, probation services etc), and are now working with them to make changes in the law, instead of undermining all the work that these people put in, trying to do the best they can, with the less than adequate laws as they stand at the moment.

Update No3: After witnessing the shocking scenes in Portsmouth, can any one be in any doubt as to the acual harm this campaign has caused?. I saw mothers dragging their kids through the streets with banners saying "Kill the beasts", one young mother confronted the mob because her sister was forced to flee from her home, she had the same surname as one of the alleged peadophiles, a cache of molatov cocktails was found, and several homes were attacked. The police were more or less powerless to do anything because there were so many children among the demonstrators.
When asked how the
y knew where the peadophiles were living, one mother said " well we all heard someone saying they was!", what if that "someone" was wrong?.
How many innocent families are going to be destroyed by this type of mob rule, and how many peadophiles are going to ground, where no one will know them and they will get no help, it will only be a matter of time before another child is abducted by a beast on the run, and out of contact by the police etc.
Last word on the subject,(by me anyway), most peadophiles abuse only their OWN children, or direct relatives like nieces, nephews, grandchildren etc, so it may be wiser to let the authorities deal with them, and get the polititians to improve the laws and give the probation service and social workers more support in dealing with known offenders. Perhaps a permanent electronic tag would help keep them in check, and so prevent them going underground again.

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