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The media and public safety professionals have never had the friendliest of relationships. But as the recession continues and police wages and benefits have become the targets of local newspaper editorials an already tense relationship seems to be rapidly deteriorating. Take Worcester, Massachusetts for example. The local paper, the Worcester Telegram & Gazette has been bumping heads with the city's Police Department over a wide variety of issues.
Among other things, editors and reporters want increased access to records of police disciplinary investigations. For their part, local law enforcement officers are furious about the paper's reporting on the overtime earned by the police chief's brother, a department officer as well as the academic credentials that officers cite to increase their pay.
Just recently the Worcester Police Department issued a news release declaring that it was "compelled to alter the existing media policy," in part by "getting relevant information in a timelier manner" to radio and television stations. But that initial response to the request for better access to police records was not the part of the press release that caught people's attention.
What generated the most discussion was the fierce and detailed criticism of The Telegram & Gazette, which police said, it said "now places a premium on hyperbole over reality, fiction over fact, and innuendo over truth." That characterization has become a growing refrain among public safety professionals regarding the media in general and newspaper's specifically.
In a sort of tit for tat, the newspaper printed a story saying that the release from the Police department essentially meant that the department was shutting out The Telegram & Gazette. The situation in Worcester mirrors a growing dynamic nationally when it comes to public safety agencies and the media.
For instance, in Maricopa County, Sheriff Joe Arpaio is so displeased with the coverage he's received in the local newspapers he's started a blog on the department's web site to "get the real story out." Other law enforcement professionals say there is a growing discomfort among police officers regarding the amount of information newspaper release regarding specifics that may give lawbreakers a tactical advantage.
In Worcester, the police chief, Gary J. Gemme, was quoted in local news media as saying that in fact there was no new policy and that the release was meant as a criticism of the paper. The police press release was written in the first person but there was no author listed. Add this page to your favorite Social Bookmarking websites        
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