Shotgun Marriage: A Study of Tennessee Law Enforcement,Reporters and Sources

Abstract

This study is based on in-depth interviews with 23 police reporters and 30 law enforcement officials located in the cities and counties of Tennessee's 11 major newspapers. The study finds that reporters are far younger than their source counterparts and less likely to have much experience or come from the local community. Law enforcement officials complain: Reporters are passing through the beat toward greater glory. Reporters, hardpressed to meet deadlines, often have to rely on the telephone, and find it difficult to deal, on occasion, with the bureaucracy. In evaluating such areas as “honesty,” “fairness,” “knowledge,” and “effectiveness,” law enforcement officials evaluated reporters slightly higher than the reverse evaluation. Police complain about “training” young reporters over and over.