Bits and pieces

Piriz Mariana’s essay:

The influence that the mass media exerts over criminal issues has been the subject of research, speculation and commentary throughout the twentieth century. Such influence has more drawbacks than advantages. Even though the press represents an aid to the police in certain circumstances, it is also true that because of the press manipulation an array of criminal issuesended up unsolved or with a dreadful end such as the death of the victims. Yet, my opponents argue that neither the mass media nor the criminal justice could operate effectively without the other. Besides, they sustain the police and the press should always work together so as to disclose the truth and come across with a solution to each crime. While it is true that by working in teams the policeand the press might get better outcomes, the fact is that in seventy per cent of the cases of ‘kidnapping’, in which the press became involved the kidnappers made the call of killing the victims. Undoubtedly, that occurred because the criminals felt cornered. Therefore, the role of the mass media instead of aiding the police had just the opposite effect putting the security and welfare of thecitizens at risk. As long as the press keeps playing roles in issues that should concern the authorities, the security of the population will continue to be jeopardized.

One of the aspects of the mass media that is under scrutiny is that certain news programs give tips of how to kill without leaving proofs or what actions should be taken to reduce the punishment. Certain TV channels such as Americaand Telefé are always giving tips of what actions should be taken into account in order not to leave proofs of the crimes committed. Moreover, when a particular crime takes place such as the theft of banks they report the equipment that the thieves should have used in order to cheat the security of the banks. Even though journalists are just trying to inform us, I consider that in so doing they donot see that they are giving thieves plenty of ideas of how to break into a bank without leaving proofs. What is worse is that in these channels, journalists not only give ideas of how to break into banks but also portray the different alibis that criminals can use to reduce their punishment. One of the hundred ways to do so is by alleging that you were not conscious of your acts when youmurdered someone. If you want more information you only have to watch America News or the news programs of Telefé. In my humble opinion the role of the mass media is not only provoking more crimes but also diminishing the citizen’s security.

Similarly, kidnappers felt cornered due to the news that journalists report and ended up killing their victims. During the last decade kidnapping was andcontinues to be a trending topic in TV news. In Argentina a great array of cases can be found. One of them is the case of Alex Blumberg, a twenty-three-year-old boy who was kidnapped and murdered by his kidnappers after escaping of them. The mass media played an important role in this dreadful ending, due to the fact that they gave clues of the exact places where the police was looking into. Thus, whenthe kidnappers found themselves threatened by the police and Alex’s escape, they made the call of ending with the victim’s life. This terrible event took place in the year 2004, and more than 150.000 inhabitants of Argentina claimed for justice and security. Yet from that moment onwards, similar cases took place in our country. The most striking one is undoubtedly, Candela Rodriguez’s kidnapping andsubsequent murder. In this criminal issue, the role of the press was influential since they gave clues to the kidnappers of the places that the police was investigating and they pressed on the kidnappers to such a degree that the result was the brutal murdered of the eleven-year-old girl. Candela Rodriguez was found killed, stark naked and with her face completely destroyed in Hurlingham’s...