True crime is popular. But is it ethical?

An article from Jana G Pruden’s speech at the Lougheed College Lecture Series. Pruden is one of my favourite journalists writing about crime – you can also follow her on Twitter.

True crime is popular. But is it ethical?

Lots to chew on in this article (plus some good gags), but I particularly like this:

Done properly, crime reporting can be profound and powerful. It can be a way to give a voice to the voiceless, or to help someone find their voice. It can do what all good journalism should: Tell interesting, important stories that matter. What many have actually said is journalism’s duty, “to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable.”

How to spot a psychopath

Last year Richard Fidler interviewed David Gillespie about his book Taming Toxic People on ABC Radio’s Conversations show. Gillespie isn’t a psychologist but has read all their research and has a few opinions to share. He focuses on the non-criminal type, but I think a lot of what he says applies to criminal psychopaths equally well. I listened to it as a podcast, but you can also stream or download it from the ABC link (no transcript, sorry!). I’m going to read his book and will review it here eventually.

Why some murders don’t make the news

ABC Radio’s show The Signal discusses which murders and crimes make the news while others are not reported on. As they note in the introduction, Eurydice Dixon received a lot of public attention but other women like Qi Yu are often forgotten about quickly.

They speak to journalists and court reporters to get their opinions and experiences. Sadly there’s no transcript, but there is a download if you would like to listen to it on your own device instead of from the web stream.