Writing about crime: Foreign press does not describe the case in detail

While Western media reports in a reconstructed manner – the behavior is accurate but the suspect and victim are not revealed, Vietnamese media describes it “nakedly and thoroughly” down to every detail.

No news of "robbery, murder, rape" on weekends

Discussing this issue, Dr. Bui Chi Trung, lecturer at the Faculty of Journalism, University of Social Sciences and Humanities (Vietnam National University, Hanoi) said: In the history of Western journalism, there were also periods when it focused on "sensational" topics (robbery, murder, rape).

The reason is that the economy and society have changed. Therefore, many tragedies and conflicts appear in society but are not fully controlled by institutions and laws... this causes the boundaries of humanity to blur. And the press is the "mirror of society" so it will also reflect those phenomena.

Dr. Bui Chi Trung

So does the Western press today report on murders? In response to this question, Dr. Trung said that it is still a hot topic for news agencies to exploit. Some media agencies even send planes to hover over the scene to broadcast live.

“However, they have invisible thresholds to communicate to the public as well as readers. You will never find a short news item with the full name of the victim in a murder case, and you will never find the identities of those involved in Western newspapers,” Dr. Trung emphasized.

Even with a strongly developed press "industry" like in the US with hundreds of news agencies, magazines, and websites, according to Dr. Trung, channels specializing in entertainment and family only publish cases of "robbery, murder, and rape" on the first days of the week (Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday).

Why do they do this when no governing body “forbids” them from posting only on those days? Simply because the producers themselves have a very clear intention, they think that weekends are for relaxing issues, bringing relaxation to their readers.

Never describe the incident in detail

On the other hand, their way of reporting is also very “humane”. That is, with serious crimes, or “massacres” as the Vietnamese press has been mentioning recently, the way they describe barbaric behavior is also worth learning from.

Western press never describes in detail the scenes of shooting, throat-slitting with blood everywhere (not in the "naked" way like we do today); and even less so, there is no display of photos, names, detailed addresses of the suspects, the victims, and even those associated with the victims.

For example, in the massacre in Binh Phuoc, many newspapers have thoroughly exploited the "creepy" testimony of the perpetrator: "Before attacking his ex-lover, who was also the last victim, Duong forced Linh to sit in front of him, next to To Nhu's body, and confided his feelings as a sick lovelorn man. Despite Linh's fearful pleas, Duong coldly stabbed her in the neck after "saying everything".

Or most recently, the massacre in Yen Bai, most newspapers described every detail of how the perpetrator murdered the 4 victims and the neighbors' families. From the details of the perpetrator arguing with the neighbor and then fighting, to the victim's wife trying to stop them, calling for help but failing, and the "crime scene" being shown to millions of readers.

Dr. Trung said that, surely reading these lines, readers will have a basic idea of ​​the incident: “Seeing her husband being beaten, Ms. Hoa called her family to inform them. Meanwhile, Mr. Long ran away and was slashed in the back by Hung with a machete, causing the knife to break. Not stopping, Hung continued to chase and slash Mr. Long until the victim collapsed. At this time, Ms. Hoa was scared and shouted "Why did you slash my husband?" Then Hung took a knife and chased and slashed Ms. Hoa, causing her to die on the spot. Hung continued to run to Mr. Long's shack, saw Ms. Ha in the shack, Hung used a knife to slash Ms. Ha's shoulder and neck many times until she collapsed. Seeing Tuyen standing on the bed, Hung continued to kill the child."

Dr. Trung emphasized that in cases like this, the Western press will use reconstruction methods. They describe the behavior accurately, but the images of the victim and the suspect are never shown in the newspaper or on television. For example, when reporting a murder case (in which the victim was shot dead on the street or in an office), they will never film a close-up of the victim covered in blood; instead, they will film the chalk marks of the victim's death as the investigating agency examines the scene.

“The trend of journalism in developed countries is that each journalist will be an expert in analyzing a social issue, not chasing sensational, attention-grabbing incidents… They aim for human values, promoting the good values ​​of people” – Dr. Trung shared.

According to Infonet