Poynter Makes "A Case for Airing Fatal Police Dashboard Video"

Courtesy the Dallas Police Department I see Sam's Friday-afternoon breakdown of the local network affiliates' decision to air Dallas police dashboard-cam footage is the subject of an ethics posting on The Poyner Institute's site today. There, Kelly McBride hails Mr. Merten's dissection of the issue -- which was, should Channels...

By Robert Wilonsky

October 29, 2008

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Courtesy the Dallas Police Department

I see Sam's Friday-afternoon breakdown of the local network affiliates' decision to air Dallas police dashboard-cam footage is the subject of an ethics posting on The Poyner Institute's site today. There, Kelly McBride hails Mr. Merten's dissection of the issue -- which was, should Channels 4, 5, 8 and 11 have run any or all of the footage in which Sr. Cpl. Michael Vaughn strikes and kills 10-year-old Cole Berardi? -- while offering her own take on the subject. Which is, in short: "I'd like to argue for running the entire video online, an option no one chose. I realize that in the context of the evening news, the video is too long and needs other information. But online, as a supplement to a story, it's the best form of truth-telling." --Robert Wilonsky

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