Mugshots Can Turn into Gossip

Seeing newspapers publish every mugshot makes me cringe. (“Critical Thinking: As More News Outlets Stop Posting Mugshots of People, Should Other Newsrooms Follow Their Lead?” April 2020) Publishing the pictures of every person arrested in a specific area does not require thought or effort. I agree that unless you plan on following the story from beginning to end, it is not journalism, it is gossip. Most police departments publish all of the mugshots in real time. People can look them up if they wish. There will always be the “frequent flyers” who are arrested for petty crimes over and over. It has become a form of entertainment in many small towns. Don’t republish what is on the sheriff ’s website just to fill pages. It could ruin someone’s life if not followed up correctly. One of my favorite professors always told me, “It’s not always about what you put on the page, sometimes it is about what you do not.”