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Discussion

April 13, 2007

Does media empower the perp?

By Amy Moore

BEAUMONT — Focused on bringing the most accurate news to local communities, The Press Club of Southeast Texas met to discuss whether local media helps or hurts emergency responders during crisis situations.

With representatives from local media outlets present, the panel discussed their views on how to handle hit lists, bomb threats and other events that involve local communities and schools.

Anne Figueiras, a special agent with the Beaumont office for the FBI, said the problem her office deals with most often are copy cats after initial threats.

“Copy cats will peak in seven days and be done,” Figueiras said. “It gets annoying because we have to treat each one seriously.”

Specializing in school violence and threats, Figeuiras said it is important for media to project the serious consequences tied to hit lists and bomb threats.

“The laws have changed since 2001 and these kids can be charged as terrorists,” she said. “It’s an issue of getting the word out about the seriousness. It’s not a joke, it’s not a game and it’s not tolerated.”

Concerning hit lists at local schools, Miles Resnick, news director for KBMT News, said his problem comes when determining which threats are authentic.

“You just do not know when they’re real,” he said. “Rather than take a chance and cover some but not all, be safe rather than sorry and cover them all.”

Nods of agreement came from other media, including Harold Mann of news radio station 560-KLVI who said it’s the responsibility of the media to let parents and community members know what is going on in the schools. Mann asked, though, at what point should the media stop covering threatening incidents.

Clydell Duncan, the recently named police chief for Beaumont ISD, said his role is to minimize incidents. Duncan said typically, bomb threats come in around test time as students try to get out of school, but general situations at schools place the media and police in peculiar situations.

He also said that when dealing with gangs, police and school districts generally prefer not to mention the word gang as to not give the group any respect.

“Just because the media knows something, that doesn’t mean it will make the news,” David Lowell, news director for KFDM news said. “Only proper investigation will lead to answers.”

Lowell said he always defers to the authorities before moving ahead with a story to determine first if the story is worth reporting. He said it’s important to find out whether the situation concerns the public’s safety and could result in panic.

According to Loren Coleman, author of The Copycat Effect, the most important role for media is not only to report the violence, but also solutions. Reading from an excerpt from the book, Paul Bergen of KBTV said it is imperative for local media to highlight survivors of violent acts and alternatives to violence.

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