Hartley Neita, Contributor

It is very, very sad to see and hear in the television news the reports of murder and rape and other brutal deeds being perpetuated in Jamaica. It is worse when the victims are little boys and girls.

I grieve for the families.

I am angry, however, at the way these incidents are treated by my colleagues in the news media. And I include the newspapers. The cameramen and reporters are not satisfied unless they shoot at close range the weeping and the wailing of families and friends.

Should be a private matter

Sorrow and the way it is expressed should be a private matter. There is no need to include in their news reports the bawling of the bereaved. It reveals a lack of imagination and the inability to find the words to describe how the bereaved feel. It is worse, too, when the blood of the victims is shown on the television screen.

Not only do they show these scenes at the site of the incidents but they go inside the churches and at the graveside to show the agony of the sorrow. I beg you to stop this practice.

There is another aspect of the news which worries me. It happens when there are accidents and police officers are asked to comment on what took place. They are never there when the accident occurred, but they pontificate in detail about how the accident happened. They accuse either one or both drivers involved of speeding, or of overtaking when they should not.

I often wonder when they will find themselves in court and are reminded about what they said, and asked for proof. I have always believed that police officers should not express views about these incidents until after there is a thorough investigation. What I see and hear constantly are remarks made off-the-cuff.

I also think the reporters are exposing their editors to legal action.

My final concern is the taking of photographs of persons who are before the court on criminal charges. In earlier years this was not done.

Journalists have an awesome responsibility and they should be careful how they perform their functions. The problem, of course, is that today everybody who writes for newspapers and magazines, and everybody who hosts radio and television programmes consider themselves as journalists. Some of the latter are rude to their guests on their programmes under the guise of being investigative journalists.

You can get more from a guest by being polite instead of being abrasive.