Friday webinar to address issue of unpublishing crime news to limit long-term impact on people identified as suspects

A free, one-hour webinar at 11:30 a.m. ET Friday, April 9, will discuss the long-term consequences for suspects who are identified in crime news, a growing issue for newsrooms. From the event page: 

People identified in crime news often face long-term effects that can last a lifetime. As newsrooms grapple with cultural shifts to address racism, social inequity and the damage a "long tail" of publishing can cause, they're fielding more requests to unpublish crime reports online. Even traditional crime reporting practices such as using mug shots are increasingly under scrutiny in newsrooms across the country.

News leaders Greg Lee Jr. (The Boston Globe), Margaret Holt (The Chicago Tribune), Alison Gerber (Chattanooga Times Free Press) and Chris Quinn (Cleveland.com) will share their newsrooms’ editorial policies and the philosophies driving them — including managing requests to remove, de-index or alter "the first draft of history."

Deborah Dwyer, a fellow with the Reynolds Journalism Institute working on tools to help newsrooms address unpublishing, will moderate the discussion and facilitate an audience Q&A.

The webinar, presented by Reynolds and the News Leaders Association, is free, but they offer the opportunity to donate to support NLA programs. Click here to register or for more information.