Court decision a victory for public information

When a major crime occurs and law enforcement agencies call a press conference, news reporters attend with the goal of getting accurate information to the public in a timely manner.

Good journalists do not take the responsibility lightly. Lives of victims and lives of the accused are forever changed when stories break about major crimes.

In the case of a murder investigation, law enforcement typically controls the flow of the information to ensure the case is not jeopardized in any way. So when they hold a news conference or release official statements, the media take that step seriously, trying to accurately report what happened and attributing those details to police.

A recent state appeals court decision emphasizes just how important it is that media organizations are protected when they report information released by law enforcement agencies. When a Cold Spring police officer was murdered in 2012, authorities announced they’d made an arrest. But that suspect was released days later without being charged and was later cleared. The man sued news outlets that had reported he’d been arrested in connection with the murder.

The appeals court dismissed the lawsuit, reinforcing that the “fair report privilege” did apply in the case.

The fair report privilege is a must for media to do their job. It protects from liability when publishing an accurate and complete report of an official action or proceeding. What good would it do to cover news conferences if none of the information could be shared with the public?

It’s difficult enough to get details about serious crimes before criminal complaints are filed in court. Without the ability to quote law enforcement officers who have access to the details of a case, the public could be kept in the dark for far too long about a deadly crime that occurred in their community.

It is, of course, unfortunate that law enforcement arrested the wrong man in the Cold Spring case. But that doesn’t indicate the media were wrong in reporting the arrest, which was public information even without a news conference announcing it. Under state law, arrest information, including age, gender, address and other such details must be released immediately by the arresting agency.

Media must strive to report as accurately as possible. That, however, doesn’t mean news stories can’t evolve as more information comes to light. The appeals court made the right decision in the Cold Spring case by supporting the fair report privilege so that journalists can do their jobs of keeping the public informed..

— Mankato Free Press