Why Give Interviews.docx

8/20/2019 Why Give Interviews.docx

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Why Give Interviews?

Interviews require giving up a certain amount of control, which is why they make most people

uncomfortable. The tips in this chapter are aimed at helping you feel comfortable, confident, and incontrol of your message. Most of these principles apply regardless of the type of interview (e.g., print,

radio, or television). In fact, most of them apply to any kind of public speaking.

Pre-Interviewing Basics

Never take the call cold. If a reporter calls -- or shows up at your emergency

department with a camera -- never agree to do an interview on the spot. Deadlines are

tight for most reporters because news is valuable when it's fresh. However, nd out as

much information about the interview as possible and set a time to do it later.Ask questions. As about the sub!ect of the interview, who the audience is "and what

type of media#, who else the reporter has taled to, and when the story will run. As how

long the interview will tae$ be careful with interviews, especially those on controversial

topics, which are scheduled to last longer than %& minutes.

Defne your messages. here is only one reason to give an interview( to communicate

your messages. hose messages may be about facts from a new study, a public health

concern, a medical crisis, your personal reputation, or regarding the specialty of

emergency medicine. )egardless of the issue, before you agree to do an interview, you

must clarify your messages and decide whether an interview is the best way to

communicate them. A*+ has ey tae-home message points on many topics, available

on A*+.org.

nce you decide your main tae home messages, identiy a personal experience to

support the messages, and a few statistics to accentuate your ey points. During the

interview, your primary mission is to deliver these ey messages while answering the

reporter/s 0uestions.

Call ACEPs or your hospitals pu!lic relations department" or your *hapter.

A*+'s ublic )elations Department has taling points and bacground materials on a

variety of emergency medicine issues. In addition, the public relations sta1 monitors

coverage of emergency medicine throughout the country and often can provide

information on how other emergency physicians have handled certain sub!ects. A 0uic

call to one of these sources can help you learn more about the reporter. If you/re ased to

spea on behalf of your *hapter, A*+, or your hospital, call the organi2ation rst.

Dos & Don'ts of Interviewing

D# keep ans$ers short. 3ou may do a television interview for 4& minutes, but the

average soundbite is 5& to %& seconds long, so be clear and concise.


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D# communicate your messages. Answer 0uestions, but don/t be distracted from

communicating your messages.

D# use frsthand examples and descriptive language. *ommunicating personal

e6periences can be dramatic and powerful. 7se them as often as possible. Describe an

e6perience with a patient or e6plain what in8uenced your position on an issue. ut

statistics in meaningful terms, such as two thirds instead of more than 9& percent.

D# use plain English. :eep the audience in mind, and spea in terms familiar to them.

Avoid medical !argon, such as prophyla6is, and present to the emergency

department. Don/t use 0uestionable humor "self-e1acing humor is best#, profanity, or

any ind of derogatory language.

D# pause !eore ans$ering. ae a brief moment to consider your response. +ven for

radio and television, this pause will seem thoughtful and natural.

D# ans$er the questions. It's best to answer even tough 0uestions, or your credibility

with the audience may be damaged. ;ut remember, you're not obligated to agree to the

interviewer/s statements, and your mission is to deliver your messages.

D# take the high ground. Always respond in a positive way, and turn negative

0uestions or comments into positive statements. )eporters often will as a negative

0uestion or plant a bu22word in a 0uestion to get you to repeat it, if only in denial. his

maes for colorful 0uotes. Always respond by answering with positive statements and

replacing ob!ectionable words with more acceptable terms.


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cross your arms or legs, put your hands in your pocets, or adopt any posture that

prevents you from moving naturally. @trive for a rela6ed, animated face. Avoid

sympathetic nodding, which could be interpreted as agreement. @mile, raise your

eyebrows, and use natural e6pressions. "@ee the chapter on .@peeches. for additional tips

on delivery sills.#

D#N)* ram!le. )eporters often wait before asing their ne6t 0uestion to encourage you

to eep taling. Deliver your message concisely then stop taling and wait for the ne6t

0uestion. ;ecome comfortable with silence.

D#N)* discuss hypothetical situations or unamiliar matters. If ased about a

situation or case of which you have incomplete information, or about a hypothetical

situation, respond by discussing the issue instead. @ay, I can't respond to hypothetical

situations, but if you/re asing about the issue of >state the issue?, it/s clear that >state

your message?.

D#N)* argue or interrupt. 3ou don't have to agree, but don/t argue either. And don't

interrupt. ther guests are another matter. 3ou may need to !ump in when another guest

is taling to correct misinformation or to comment.

D#N* lose your temper. 3ou can tell a reporter you prefer not to comment "e6plain

why#, but never get angry. In taped interviews especially, viewers may see only your

angry response and not hear the 0uestion that prompted it.

D#N)* lie or !lu(. If you don't now an answer, say so. 3ou can damage your credibility

by speculating incorrectly. If you should now the answer but don't, o1er to research the

answer, and then be sure to follow up.

Print Media

The print media includes daily newspapers, weekly newspapers, magaines, !ournals, trade

publications, and newsletters.

Face-To-Face Interviewing Tips

"rint reporters are looking for quotes, so be sure your messages are quotable. #ne of the dangers of

a face$to$face interview is that you may rela% too much. &e careful not to become too 'chatty'

because you could accidentally mention something that plants a seed for a story you dont want

printed.

*ip +& ;e prepared.


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something lie I can/t comment on the specics of this patient/s case or what the

hospital did, but I can describe the protocols for diagnosing abdominal pain. uard

against having your statements inadvertently or inappropriately used in legal cases.

*ip ,& )ela6 and be personable. :eep a good sense of humor.

*ip -& @upport your facts with written materials, if possible. rovide charts, news articles,

and data from reputable sources.

*ip & ;e honest$ avoid even the appearance of deception. Dishonesty, or the

appearance of it, can severely damage your reputation.

*ip /& 7se body language and facial e6pressions to help convey your message, even

though you're not on camera. his will help persuade your interviewer, who in turn may

persuade the readers.

*ip 0& If you want to spea o1 the record or for bacground only, mae sure the

reporter agrees. If you feel the reporter needs further clarication, and you want to be

sure you won/t be 0uoted, say this is o1 the record or for deep bacground and not to

be attributed to me or 0uoted, and is that oayB If the reporter agrees, then continue.

;e aware, a reporter does not have to honor this re0uest.

Teephone Interviewing Tips

se all the tips for face$to$face interviews and add the following*

*ip +& Don't use a speaer phone. he reporter may not be able to hear you clearly,which increases your chance of being mis0uoted.

*ip ,& @tand up. Doing this not only will help you be more energi2ed, it also will help you

spea more succinctly during the interview.

*ip -& 7se a convincing voice tone. Cary your in8ection and pause to emphasi2e points

and to mae them more persuasive and interesting.

Teevision

Television reporters are employed by networks (e.g., +&, -&, &)/ cable networks (e.g., --,

o%, $"+-, 0"-, 1o%, "&, T&-)/ or television syndicates (e.g., 2iacom and 3earst

&roadcasting "roductions). 0ach national network has local affiliates in cities across the country.

!ews Interview Tips

se the same tips as those for print interviews, but add the following*

*ip +& al in sound bites. Although the camera may lm you for 5 minutes, you will

only be on the air for about 5& to %& seconds "unless it/s a documentary#, so use brief,

concise statements.


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*ip ,& 7se memorable words. @tate your message clearly and powerfully.

*ip -& Eoo your best. ae advantage of television maeup artists, if o1ered. *onsider

having your hair professionally cut or styled. Don/t wear multiple patterns "e.g., stripes or

checers# or colors because it causes vibrating lines on the camera. =en should wear

neutral-color suits with solid-color shirts, and ties with simple patterns. Fomen should

wear businesslie dresses, with or without !acets, or suits. Gewel-tone colors wor well.

Avoid large earrings or !ewelry that could be distracting. Don/t wear e6tremely short

sirts.

*ip & *oncentrate on the interviewer, not the camera. =aintain eye contact with the

interviewer and smile.

*ip /& al to the 8oor manager and camera crew prior to the show. ne of their

responsibilities is to help you do a great !ob by maing you comfortable. Don/t be afraid

to as 0uestions or for assistance "e.g., water, face powder#.

*ip 0& Fatch your body language. @tand or sit straight. Don/t fold your arms, and appear

open and in control. Don/t let your shoulder blades touch the bac of your chair.

*ip 1& elevision tal shows. Don't be afraid to engage in discussions when there are

other people on the show with you. his is essential to communicating your message.

*ip 2& @tand-up interviews. ae command of your space by standing with one foot

slightly ahead of the other, toward the interviewer.

"e#ote Teevision Interviewing TipsIn remote interviews, you hear the interviewers questions through an earpiece and look directly into a

camera, not at a person, because you are at a remote location. 4emote interviews are more

challenging because you cant see the person interviewing you. 3owever, they offer fle%ibility and less

travel time and e%pense.

3ere are some tips for a successful remote interview*

*ip +& =ae sure to tell the camera person about any problems.

vercome any an6iety about reporting problems or asing 0uestions so you can resolve

them before the interview.*ip ,& ;efore beginning the interview, be sure the volume is checed in your earpiece.

3ou need to hear the interviewer, and it/s better to resolve the problem before the

interview begins.

*ip -& Again, sit up straight, and don't let your shoulder blades touch the bac of the

chair. If you/re wearing a bla2er, sitting on its coattails can help eep your posture in the

correct position.

*ip & nce the interview starts, loo directly into the camera. @pea to it as though it's

a person sitting across from you, or pretend you/re taling to the camera operator.


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*ip /& =aintain eye contact with the camera. Diverting your eyes away from the camera

may appear as if you/re being deceptive or avoiding the issue. Gust because you're not

speaing doesn't mean you/re not on camera. ever be caught in unattractive positions.

*ip 0& At the end of the interview, wait until you get the all-clear sign from the camera

person before you loo away from the camera. It may feel strange to continue staring

and not taling, but try to maintain a condent loo.

"adio

4adio reaches millions of people each day. 4adio interviews can be a powerful tool for communicating

news and advocating issues. Many local radio stations have news formats and drive$time talk shows.

They analye the demographics of their listening audience, which make them ideal for targeting

messages to specific groups. The radio industry also includes national radio networks, as well as

-ational "ublic 4adio, which broadcast to large numbers of people. In addition, many local radio

stations are e%panding their listening audiences through the Internet.

#rganiations use various methods to get their messages across in radio including radio news

releases, radio media tours, and radio public service announcements.

In preparing for a radio interview, find out in advance whether the interview will be live or taped.

onsider the format of the station (all news, talk, easy listening) and the program. Theres a big

difference, for e%ample, between a talk$show radio host and a reporter from the & 4adio -etwork.

Most radio interviews are done over the telephone, or in a studio. If you conduct an interview over the

telephone, minimie interruptions and turn off call$waiting. 5ont use a cellular phone. 1ollow the

same tips for telephone interviews and add the

*ip +& =ae sure you can hear 0uestions clearly. If you are even slightly uncomfortable

with the volume or connection, say so.

*ip ,& ;e sure you can pronounce the interviewer/s name correctly.

*ip -& Have facts readily available. *onsider using note cards.

*ip & 7se descriptive language to illustrate your points to help the audience visuali2e

what you/re taling about.

*ip /& If the interviewer/s voice seems distant, resist speaing louder.

*ip 0& Don/t tal over the interviewer/s 0uestion.

*ip 1& ;e careful about what you/re saying when you/re on the air live.

*ip 2& If you/re taping the interview, and you didn/t mae your points clearly, as to be

taped again.

Internet Media


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The Internet is becoming widely accepted as a credible way to communicate and track news. -ews

stories from across the world can be seen and communicated faster and reach wider audiences.

Through advances in technology, news events are being seen and heard live or streamed on 6eb

sites. "eople are posing questions online and interacting directly with political leaders and physicians

who type in responses on a computer during live 6eb chats, which are kept on 6eb site archives for

later viewing.

Many news organiations have separate staffs who write news stories for their 6eb sites. 4eporters

of some health and medical 6eb sites (e.g., [email protected], www.Feb=D.com) need

clinical e%perts to quote in articles, critique research studies, and participate in 6eb chats.

6hen responding to a request from an Internet reporter, follow the same tips for telephone interviews.

6hen doing a 6eb chat, make sure you have the technical skill to type in responses accurately and

quickly, or else designate someone to do it for you.

The inverted pyramid

"eading$ Writing for the Mass Media% chapters %

The inverted pyra#id

nderstanding the forms in which news and information should be placed in

!ournalistic writing and handling those forms with confidence is the mark of a

maturing media writer. + couple of weeks ago, we suggested that the way to learn to

write for the mass media is to do three things*

•

"ead• (nay)e

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• *#+ate

Its good to remind ourselves of that approach as we get into reporting because

reporting and writing go hand$in$hand.

The information that you get from personal sources needs to be handled correctly so

that it satisfies the source, the audience and the demands of !ournalism. #ne of

those demands is that we tell readers where information is coming from that means

attribution.

The inverted pyra#id

The inverted pyramid is an anti$narrative structure of writing about events. Instead of

starting at the beginning, the inverted pyramid structure demands that you begin with

the most important information and that you present information in decreasing order

of importance.

ome historians argue that the inverted pyramid form developed in the mid$78th

century when news was first being transmitted by telegraph wires. The wires were

unreliable 9 or during the ivil 6ar would be taken over by the military 9 so a style

of presentation had to be used that would get the most important information out

first. The outcome of a battle might be the most important thing that happened during

the battle. &ut rather than writing a narrative that delayed telling what happened until

the very end, the !ournalist had to say it at the beginning of the report.

Today the inverted pyramid structure is highly developed and widely used, not !ust in

newspapers and wire services but in many kinds of writing. Many business letters,

for instance, use an inverted pyramid structure to tell the recipient immediately what

the most important information is.


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,ead paragraph

The most important part of an inverted pyramid news story is the lead paragraph.

Most lead paragraphs should be one sentence and a ma%imum of :; to :< words.

Those are the technical requirements. The content requirement is that it tell the most

important piece of information that occurred in the event.

In addition, a lead should contain the main who, what, when and where of the story.

+nd they

• should be direct and simple/ they should have the most important information near

the beginning of the sentence/

• should not try to tell everything, but they should be good summaries of what the story

is about/

• should include specific information 9 concrete facts 9 about the story/

• should not begin with the when element because this is rarely the most important

thing you have to tell the reader/

• should use a strong verb to describe the action/

• should be accurate 9 above all else.

The second paragraph

+lmost as important as the lead is the second paragraph. The second paragraph is

where you develop some idea or piece of information that is in the lead.

=ou should not drop into a narrative in the second paragraph. Many students

concentrate on writing good leads but then have a tendency to start at the beginning

in the second paragraph.

4esist that temptation.

4emember that you are presenting information in decreasing order of importance.

0ach new paragraph should present the reader with some new information. &ut it

should be tied to the previous paragraph by the skillful use of transitions.

Inverted pyra#id checist


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+s you learn to write in the inverted pyramid structure, you should take a look at the

inverted pyramid checklist. These are some of the most common mistakes that

beginning students make in writing their news stories. This is a good list to have

beside you when you finish a story, and you should not turn it in until you have gone

over this list.

5o not fill this form out until you are told to do so

Chapter 35: Crime reporting introduction

In this and the following three chapters, we discuss what makes crime newsworthy. We

suggest some basic principles of reporting crime and tell you how to become an effectivecrime reporter. We give advice on gathering and writing stories, and how to avoid some of

the dangers of crime reporting.

__________________________________________________________

Crime reporting teaches some of the essential techniques of journalism. You learn how to dig for a

story, how to follow leads, how to interview people to extract information and how to write crisp,

clear, interesting stories under pressure of a deadline.

In small newspapers, radio and television stations, general reporters cover crime stories, while in

bigger organisations there may be a specialist crime reporter or team of reporters who cover nothing

else but crime.

hese specialist reporters are occasionally called police reporters, although this title gives a

misleading idea of their tas!. It suggests that all they do is report on what the police are doing when,

in fact, crime reporting should cover all aspects of law"brea!ing " the police, the criminals and the

victims.

In this and the following three chapters, we define crime as any action in which people brea! the law.

#hy report crime$

Crime reporting has long been a central part of news coverage in free press societies, because crime

stories are usually newsworthy.

here are several reasons why you should report crime and why people want to read about or listen

to stories of crime%

• &eaders or listeners often want an explanation of why crimes happen. hey as!% 'Could it

happen to me$' hey may want to !now so that they can prevent a similar thing happening

to themselves.

• Your readers and listeners need to !now how laws are bro!en, and how people who brea!

laws are caught and punished. his helps them understand what laws are and what are thepenalties for brea!ing them.

• (ost people obey the law, so crime stories are about unusual events " one of the criteria for

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news.

• )ome people are interested in the way criminals get something without much effort. *or

example, although a gang of croo!s may spend wee!s or months planning a robbery to net

them +--,---, it might ta!e ordinary wor!ers many years of effort to earn that muchlegally. )ome crimes may fascinate people who obey the laws but who wonder what it might

be li!e to brea! them.

• Criminals ta!e ris!s and face punishment if they are caught. his may ma!e them

fascinating to read about.

You have a role to play, in providing information to counteract rumour. eople will hear about crimes

through casual conversations or rumour, or they may hear a siren as a police car dashes along the

road/ they will be only half"informed. It is your job as a journalist to tell them the truth about the

rumoured crime or explain why the police car went past. If you can establish a reputation for

reliability in this field, people will buy your paper or tune into your station as a way of ma!ing sure

they !now what is happening.

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ypes of crime

here are many types of crimes, criminals and victims. here are serious crimes and small offences.

here are professional criminals and ordinary people who occasionally brea! the law. here are

crimes which have obvious victims and there are the so"called victim"less crimes 1although, as we

shall see in a moment, all crimes have a victim somewhere2.

It is not always the major crimes which ma!e the most interesting news. 3f course, your readers or

listeners will be interested to !now about an armed hold"up which netted a million dollars. 4ut they

may also be interested in the story of a snea! thief who bro!e into a poor widow5s home and !illedher much"loved cat.

6s with all news, crime stories should be new, unusual, interesting, significant and about people.

ew " Crime reporting has to be as up"to"date as possible. his is partly because some crimes

depend for their news value on being current. *or example, a story about a violent !iller on the loose

will lose much of its impact 1and its value in alerting your audience to danger2 once he is captured.

6lso, because in some societies crimes are a regular feature of life, today5s brea!"and"enter quic!ly

replaces yesterday5s brea!"and"enter in the public5s attention. Crime stories get stale quic!ly.

!nusual " (urders or armed robbery are not everyday events in most communities, and so have

news value. 7owever, less serious crime can also have unusual elements. )omeone who snea!s on to

a bus without paying or throws rubbish on the street may be brea!ing the law, but it is not very

newsworthy. 7owever, if a person stows away on an international airliner, that free flight becomes

newsworthy. If the rubbish someone dumps fills three garbage truc!s, that too is newsworthy.

Interesting or significant " 6s we have said, most law"abiding citi8ens are interested in people

who brea! the law in big or unusual ways. Crimes which by themselves are ordinary can become

significant when placed in context. *or example, the car theft can be one of hundreds in a city, but it

may become significant if it is the hundredth car to be stolen this year.

"bout people " Crimes involve people, as criminals and victims. he so"called victim"less crime

does not really exist. he motorist par!ed in a 9o ar!ing 8one at the very least may inconvenience

other people and at worst may cause an accident. eople who ma!e false declarations to claim

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government benefits are ta!ing money which could have gone to other people.

6lways try to tell a crime story in human terms. :o not concentrate all the time on the police or the

criminals. ;oo! at what has happened to the victim. Your readers or listeners are more li!ely to be

victims of crime than they are to be either police officers or criminals.

&emember too that the person the police refer to as 'the victim' or 'the deceased' is 1or was2 a real,

living, breathing person. ry to visualise what their life was li!e before and after the crime. 7ow did

the crime affect them, their family or community$

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9ews value

(ost stories about crimes will have some news value.


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Chapter 3*: 'eporting crime

In this ) the second of four chapters on reporting crime ) we suggest some basic principles

of reporting crime and tell you how to become an effective crime reporter. In the following

two chapters we will give advice on writing stories, and how to avoid some of the dangers

of crime reporting.

_________________________________________________________

3ne of the major problems of reporting crime is that the event itself is usually over before the

journalist gets there. #hen reporting on a parliamentary sitting or the launch of a space roc!et, the

journalist has plenty of time to prepare, observe what happens and write the story in a logical

sequence, from beginning to end.

4y the time the reporter learns of a robbery, the robbers will probably have fled, the victims will be in

hospital, answering police questions or in a mortuary, while the police themselves will already have

started their investigation.

In trying to bring some order out of this chaos, you have to revert to the basics of journalism. *ind

out what happened to whom, then try to build up the story " always with one eye on the deadline.

ersonal qualities

You need a lively mind so you can thin! of ways around any problems you may come across in

reporting. You need to be sympathetic to draw answers out of people who may be upset about the

crime. You should also be suspicious of what you are told. he police and witnesses may not intend

to mislead you, but victims and witnesses are often shoc!ed and unclear about what happened, while

the police are more interested in catching criminals than in answering journalists5 questions. he

criminals themselves will usually lie.

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)ources of information

o limit the ris! of inaccuracy, try to get information from as many sources as possible. If it is a small

story about the theft of a car, you might get enough information from the police report. he police

report can be a written report submitted by the investigating officer to his superiors or a press

release summarising a case.

#ith more important or complicated stories, use a variety of sources. You may want to start with the

police report to establish that a crime really happened, then go on to question the officer dealing

with the specific case.

ry to interview any victims for a first"hand account of what happened or what was stolen. If the

victim is not available, try relatives or friends 1we will consider some of the ethical problems of this

later in this chapter2. Interview any witnesses, but be aware that they will not usually be trained to



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observe things as accurately as police or journalists.

>isit the scene of the crime so that you can add important details to your story or get pictures for

publication or broadcast. >isiting the scene will also help you to visualise the event when it is

described to you. It is much easier to understand a description of how the robber 'disappeared round

a corner' when you can stand at the scene of the attac! and see the corner itself.

#ith big or unusual crimes, you will need to provide some bac!ground to help your readers or

listeners to understand what happened or what the consequences of a crime might be. You can

approach independent sources even though they have no !nowledge of the crime itself. *or example,

a psychologist at the university may be able to explain a spate of arson attac!s, a naturalist may be

able to give you bac!ground on why certain animals are being smuggled out of the country.

&emember, though, that there are legal limits on comment once a person has been arrested for a

crime and while the trial is ta!ing place 1see Chapter 64: The rules of court reporting2.

3nce you have gathered all the information, you should sort through it carefully, double chec!ing any

doubtful or conflicting information where necessary.

Identify those facts which are reliable and those which are not. If it is agreed that the crime too!

place in 6voca )treet, you can state this without attribution. 7owever, if one witness says it was

brea!fast time and another says it was just before lunch, say 'in the morning'5. If one person says

the car was red while the other says green, you have to say that the car was either red or green. If

the victim says the attac! was 'horrifying' while the police officer describes it as 'minor', quote both

of them.

6lthough police reports are usually quite accurate, they are seldom entirely reliable, so you may have

to cross"chec! some of what they say. It is a useful practice.

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&eporting techniques

In practical terms, there are many things you can do to ma!e your job as a crime reporter easier and

more interesting. he most important of these is to establish good and reliable contacts.

(a!ing and !eeping contacts6lthough the police may be busy all day investigating crimes, many crimes never become news

because no"one thin!s to tell journalists. =nless the police want to appeal to the public for help in

finding someone or something, they may not tell the media about crimes. In some cases, publication

of a report may actually frighten off a suspect and ma!e the job of the police harder.

It is your tas! to establish good contacts " people who will tell you about events as soon as they

happen.

6lthough your most reliable contacts may be on"duty police officers such as the police commander or

duty officer, do not limit yourself to these. ?et to !now other sources within the police force. his

may be officially discouraged by the police commissioner 1who wants you to wor! only through

official channels2, but good confidential sources can often give you an off"the"record tip of something

which you can then chec! through official channels. *or example, you may be officially told to contact

the duty sergeant for all details of who the police are prosecuting in court each day. 7owever, if you

have a good contact in the prosecutor5s office or in the court administration, they may be able to give

you information on cases which will be especially interesting.

Confidential sources, even in the police force, often ta!e pleasure in a discreet relationship with areporter they can trust. 4ut remember, if you reveal the identity of a confidential source, you will



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land that person in trouble.

Contacts outside the police force can be just as valuable. he best are people whose wor! or social

life bring them into regular contact with crimes or criminals. 6mbulance drivers, for example, are

called to crimes where people are hurt. Individual ambulance officers are useful sources, but the

radio controller of the service is in the best position to !now everything that is going on. 9urses seevictims of violence brought into their hospital, but nurses on intensive care units see the worst cases.

(any barmen or hotel !eepers either !now criminals and victims or hear the gossip about what is

going on.

9ever waste an opportunity to encourage contacts. &egular visits or telephone calls remind them that

you are still interested. 6 few minutes spent tal!ing to a pathologist at the scene of a murder could

establish him as a future source of information about deaths and post mortems.

You must wor! hard on !eeping contacts. (a!e sure that they have telephone numbers where they

can find you. If you leave the office, let your colleagues !now how they can get in touch with you in

an emergency if any of your good contacts calls with an urgent story. If the contact is happy to be

seen giving you information 1or if the relationship with you is officially approved by theirorganisation2, you could send them occasional greetings cards on birthdays or festive occasions. If

the contact wants their relationship with you to be !ept secret, respect their wishes and do not let

anyone !now who your informant is.

olice contactsYou should get to !now your local police well. (a!e sure that you !now their names 1and how to

spell them correctly2 and their ran!s. *ind out what their jobs and duties are within the force so that

you can go directly to the right person when you need information. a!e an interest in what they tell

you, even if there is no news story in the information at that time. )tore it away in a noteboo! for

future reference. :o not appear bored or critical if they give you information which is not newsworthy

" you will only discourage them for the future. &emember, you are the journalist, trained to judge

what is newsworthy and what is not.

:o not expect even the best of police contacts to go searching for you with story ideas. (a!e regular

visits or telephone calls at agreed times. he good crime reporter always spends the first part of any

day ringing round or visiting contacts, just to as! if anything is happening. It is good practice, on a

day when there is not much happening, to use your time tal!ing to your contacts, chec!ing for news

or simply having a chat if they are not busy.

4ecome !nown around the police station or police post, so that your presence is eventually ta!en for

granted and officers will tal! freely in front of you. 7owever, you must remember that you are their

guest. ;eave the room if you are as!ed and do not go into places where you have been specifically

banned 1such as the cells2.

You must also remember that, however much time you spend with the police, you are not a police

officer. Your job is quite different from theirs. Your first loyalty is to your readers or listeners.

)ometimes this will put you in conflict with the police. If you are too close and bound to them by

favours, you cannot do your job as a journalist properly.

olice press cardsIn some countries, the police issue press cards to certain journalists. hese are often small plastic"

covered cards with the journalist5s photograph to identify them as a journalist in the eyes of the

police. olice press cards may give journalists special access to places, such as the scene of a crime.

)ome reporters enjoy the status that such a card gives them, without realising the danger. If

journalists accept police press cards as the official recognition, the police are in a position of power to

withhold cards from journalists who write things they do not li!e. his is very dangerous indemocratic societies and should be avoided whenever possible. he alternative " a press card issued


16/27

by a professional journalism body " is usually preferable, although any system of licensing journalists

can restrict your freedom to do your job.

he police press conferenceYour newspaper, radio or television station should have regular contacts with the police on a formal

level. his is usually done through a regular daily or wee!ly press conference with a senior officer, atwhich journalists are told about crimes or developments which have happened since the last

conference. :epending on the personality of the officers or their relationship with the journalists, you

may be told everything which has happened or only the very minimum. If you want to !now more at

the press conference, just as!. If the police do not want to tell you, they will say so 1although you

should determine whether they are !eeping quiet because of their investigations or because they are

feeling la8y2.

You should try to get as much information as possible at the press conference. he police usually

hold them so that they can deal with the media at one time and then get on with their other wor!.

hey will not be happy if you come bac! later in the day and as! a question you could have put quite

easily at the conference. If you wor! for a newspaper or television station, as! for pictures which will

help to illustrate the story. his could be a photograph of a stolen statue or a hotofit picture of asuspect. hotofit or Identi!it pictures are portraits put together from facial features such as eyes,

nose, mouth, hair, glasses etc which witnesses thin! are li!e those of the suspect. he police show

the witnesses a selection of pictures of each feature then combine the chosen ones together into a

best fit.

3bservation and monitoring6ll journalists should develop their powers of observation. 3n the crime round, you must always be

aware of what is happening and what is not, what is said and what is not said. *or example, if all of

your contacts in a police station are suddenly unavailable when you call, you should suspect that

something big is happening. It could simply be that they are all in the same meeting, but when you

are told that no"one has time to tal! to you at the moment, get suspicious. )tart sniffing around for

the reasons/ ring your other contacts 1such as the ambulance service2. If you thin! that somethingbig is happening, get down to the police station straight away to find out.

In some countries, crime reporters are legally permitted to monitor the police radio using special

scanners which search the different wave bands for the emergency services frequencies. You may not

always be able to understand what is said 1in some cases you can only pic! up one side of two"way

radio conversations2, but you will be alerted if any major events happen.

4e warned, however, that monitoring police radio frequencies is banned by law in some countries

1this is to stop criminals !nowing what the police are doing2. If such monitoring is banned, you must

officially respect that ban. If you listen in illegally then turn up at the scene of a crime, you could be

in trouble unless you have a good answer when the police as! who told you of the incident. Chec!

what the law of your country says about monitoring two"way radio messages.

:ocuments and reportsYou should ta!e an interest in any documents about the police or crime, whether or not you are on a

special crime round. he annual crime statistics always ma!e news, whether there is more crime or

less.

;oo! behind the facts and figures for the human drama. If there is an increase in brea!"and"enters

you should find out why. 6re people becoming careless$ Is there a new gang wor!ing in the area$

#hat advice do the police have for preventing such crimes$ 6lways try to put a human face on the

figures/ go out and interview a victim. *ind out whether their lives have changed because of the

brea!"and"enter$ 7ow do they regard the police$

6lways be suspicious about the figures themselves. If the police are campaigning for more staff, they


17/27

may choose to highlight those statistics which suggest crime is on the increase. If the olice (inister

is standing for re"election, he may try to minimise the problem of crime.

:o not be frightened by jargon used by the police in writing reports. If it is not clear, as!. #e tal!

later about jargon.

@eep a filing system and diaryCrime reporters are usually busy and deal with a large number of different stories. 6lthough there

may be a few long"running major criminal investigations or court cases, most of the stories come

and go quic!ly. 4ecause of this, it is very easy to lose trac! of what has happened. Crime reporters

need a good system of filing information for future use. his is especially important for stories which

run for a long time, with occasional bursts of activity separated by long periods when nothing seems

to happen. *or example, a murder has its first pea! when the body is discovered and police start

their investigation. It pea!s again when the post mortem examination reveals officially how the

victim died. It pea!s again whenever police reveal a major new clue, and again when they arrest

someone. 6t this point the pace of the story is governed by the legal process " when the accused first

appears in court, when he is remanded, committed for trial, tried and sentenced or released. 6t each

stage along this process, from murder to imprisonment or release, you must !eep your readers orlisteners up"to"date on what is happening.

You need to do two things% you should monitor developments in the case and ma!e diary notes of

when further developments are li!ely to happen. #ith small cases, such as a brea!"and"enter, you

may let the police determine how often you update your coverage. *ollowing your first report, you

may not cover the story again until the police arrest and charge someone. 7owever, with bigger

stories you need to set the pace by contacting your sources regularly and as!ing what is the latest

development.

his in itself may ma!e a story, even if it is the rather wea! news angle of 'olice say they are still

struggling to find witnesses to the !illing of a AB"year"old @oror schoolteacher last month.'

3n the other hand, your chec!s may unearth information which the police have forgotten 1or

declined2 to tell you " such as they have charged a man with the murder.

In any crime story which is still active, ma!e a note in your diary to chec! developments by a certain

date, at the latest. If something happens before that date, all well and good.

he actual date will vary from story to story. If police are hunting a cra8ed murderer, you may want

to chec! for developments every day. If they are investigating a tax fraud in a big company, you may

want to call the officers concerned each wee!. If a police investigation is ta!ing a long time and

getting nowhere, you may want to note in the newsroom diary to chec! in a month5s time.

In many circumstances, the date for the next development is !nown in advance. :etectivesinvestigating a murder may decide to stage a dramatic reconstruction of the !illing at the scene at

the same time of day the following wee!. (a!e a note to chec! with them the day before the re"

enactment, so that you can ma!e plans to cover it.

In another example, the police may charge someone with murder and tell you that he is due to

appear in court at - o5cloc! the following morning. (a!e a note in the newsroom diary either to

cover the story yourself or to get someone else to cover it, possibly the reporter on the court round.

6lways !eep a file on any major running story. Your organisation should, in any case, have a system

of filing all stories so they can be referred to at any time. If you are on the crime round, start your

own filing system to !eep copies of any story about continuing cases. If you do not !now how to

!eep a filing system, see! advice from a good, experienced secretary.


18/27

00bac! to the top

#hat information do you need$

6ll the advice we have just given will help you to get information, but you must decide what

information you really want. 6lthough it is not possible to ma!e a fixed rule for writing crime stories,there are certain details which you should try to get for every story about a specific crime. hese

include details about the following%

he crime#hat is the exact nature of the crime the police are investigating$ =ntil they arrest and charge

someone, the police will often be vague about the exact nature of the charges they will bring. 6 man

may have died, but police may say only that it was an assault. hey may say that they are loo!ing

for someone 'in connection with a !illing' or say that they are 'treating the death as murder'. #e

will tal! more about this shortly, in the section on language.

You will also need to !now exactly where and when the crime was committed, even the time of day

or night. You should try to find out how it was committed, but ta!e advice on how much you shouldsay in your story. If the thieves have used a new and clever way of brea!ing into a building, you may

give other criminals an idea by describing it exactly. 3n the other hand, if you tell your readers or

listeners how crimes are committed, they may be better prepared to protect themselves.

he method the criminals used is often the most newsworthy aspect of the crime, even when it was

not successful. *or example, there are occasional stories of thieves who steal a heavy safe

then try a succession of different methods to open it. hey unsuccessfully try pic!"axes, crowbars,

oxyacetylene torches, dynamite and dropping it from a great height before eventually giving up in

disgust and dumping the safe, still with its contents intact. he journalist who says that there is no

news because the safe was recovered would miss a good story.

6s with all news, you will write a more interesting story if you can visualise what happened while it isbeing described to you. 4uild up a mental picture of the crime, as!ing for missing details when you

see gaps in your picture.

You should, where possible, as! the value of anything stolen, both individual items and a total sum.

6lways as! whether a weapon was used, particularly in violent crimes. #hat !ind of a weapon$ 7ow

was it used$ 6nd do not forget to as! how the criminals travelled to and from the crime. he police

may be happy to give you a full description of any get"away vehicle in their bid to trace it.

>ictims and suspects?et as many details as possible about any victims. his should include their names, ages and

addresses 1although not always for publication2, possibly their occupation and certainly details of any

injuries they suffered. ?et details of any witnesses, so that you can tal! to them.

he police may have a suspect or list of suspects. 6lthough you may not be able to use the actual

names, you might be able to describe them, for example as 'a man in his late forties, well"built with

a star tattoo on his forehead' or 'a convicted murderer who escaped from prison while awaiting trial'

1If you are not clear how much you can legally say about a suspect, see Chapters 64 and 65 on court

reporting.2

=nusual circumstanceshere may be some special circumstances which ma!e the crime more newsworthy. *or example,

your intro may be that this is the fifth time that a certain office has been bro!en into in a month or

that the landlord is a cabinet minister.



19/27

6ppeals for helphe police will often as! for help from your readers or listeners, particularly in finding wanted men,

stolen property or get"away cars. You should try to cooperate whenever possible, but ma!e sure that

you also get the information you want for a news story itself.

4ecause it may concern minor details, you will often put the police appeal at the end of the story,

with clear instructions to the sub"editors or newsreader not to cut it out. 7owever, the appeal may

occasionally give you the intro. *or example, if police believe that the latest crime was committed by

a particularly dangerous man, their appeal may be your intro, as in the following%

olice in *unafuti have warned women living alone to loc! their doors after dar!, following the

murder of a AB"year"old schoolteacher.

uotes and actualityIf you are writing for a newspaper, get plenty of lively quotes to add interest to the story. If wor!ing

for radio or television, record people tal!ing about the crime. 4eware of quoting police officers who

sound very official, their quotes will sound unrealistic and boring. Instead of quoting a policeman whosays 'he assailant then struc! the victim several blows about the head', find a witness who can tell

you things li!e 'hen this big man started beating the little fellow, who screamed and screamed for

mercy'.

In all the information you gather, you must always aim for accuracy. 9ot only do you ris! legal action

by being inaccurate, but your reputation with your readers or listeners, as well as with the

authorities, will suffer.

:ouble"chec! that you have understood what you were told and have made an accurate note. Cross"

chec! with another source if you have any doubts about information you have been given. You can

often use reference boo!s, maps or directories for double"chec!s. If the police say the company5s

head office is in (ango )treet, the telephone boo! should confirm it. If you are told the get"away carwas found in 4anda lace, ten !ilometres from the ban!, you can chec! the distance on a map.

3 )=((6&I)


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3nce you have gathered enough information, start writing the story in the usualinverted

pyramid style, with the most important details in the first paragraph, bac!ed"up by more

information and ending in the least important facts or comments.

@now your limits

If someone has been charged with an offence or is about to be charged, you are limited in what you

can say so that you do not prejudice the chance of a fair trial. hat does not mean that you must say

nothing about the crime, but it does mean that you should only report those details which will not be

contested in court, !eeping out personal opinions.

If no"one has been arrested and charged, you can say much more, always bearing in mind that you

could be sued for defamation by anyone involved if you do not stic! to the truth.

In many crime stories, once you have told the most important details in your first few paragraphs,

you will want to tell the story in chronological order 1the order in which things happened2. You should

already have gathered plenty of information, so now lead your reader or listener step"by"step

through the event, explaining things in detail where necessary. Your story may loo! something li!ethe following%

hieves used a bulldo8er to brea! into a city ban! and steal almost a million dollars from the vault.

he manager and one cashier were injured in the raid on the 9ational 4an! in 7ibiscus )treet, but

they have now been released from hospital.

olice say they are still loo!ing for the bulldo8er.

he bulldo8er was stolen from a nearby building site at lunchtime yesterday and driven straight at

the ban!.

)taff and customers inside were horrified when the machine crashed through the front wall and into

the manager5s office.

wo men in blac! mas!s threatened them with !nives while two others attached a heavy chain to the

vault door and tore it open with the bulldo8er.

'It was ama8ing,' said customer *red 7arang. 'hey opened the safe li!e a tin of fish.'

etc.

he main facts are established in the first three paragraphs, then the story is told in the order in

which things happened. &ight at the end you can give more details about the missing bulldo8er, in

case any readers spot it%

olice say the yellow bulldo8er, with the name Crushcorp on the side, was last seen being driven

down 3regano )treet.

he police may also as! you to give a telephone number through which people can give them

information. You should get this approved by your editor. &adio stations are less li!ely to use such an

appeal partly because their stories have to be !ept shorter than a newspaper5s and partly because a

number read once on air is not li!ely to be remembered by listeners anyway. elevision stations may

be able to show the number on the screen during the story. 7owever you do it, !eep any appeals

short and factual%

6nyone who has any information about the bulldo8er or the robbers can contact the police on

DEA.

*eatures and bac!ground stories

Crime reporting can be dull if all you do is record what has happened and when it happened " dull for

you and for your readers or listeners. You can add interest for everyone with bac!ground reports and

features. hese can be done when you have some spare time between news stories or while awaiting


21/27

further developments in continuing cases.

he simplest bac!ground stories for crime reporters are general features about crime. 4y these we

mean features 1or current affairs programs2 on such things as the rise in burglaries/ why

psychologists thin! more rapes happen in hot weather/ how people can protect their homes from

thieves during the holidays/ a new course in self"defence for women.

he wor! of the police often provides material for features. You could, for example, write a feature

on a police dog training school/ you might want to interview the new police commissioner about his

attitude to crime/ you could spend a day in the life of the drug squad or the harbour police. 6ll of

these will help your readers or listeners to understand crime and the police in context in society.

6 word of warning here% you may also want to write a feature by spending a day with a criminal

gang. &emember two things% 1a2 you could be in danger in their hands and 1b2 you could be brea!ing

the law by accompanying them on a job. #e discuss the ethics of this shortly.

You can also write bac!ground feature about specific cases. 3nce you have reported about the

murder of a lonely widow, you may want to produce a longer, in"depth report about her, interviewingrelatives, neighbours, social wor!ers and other elderly people, to discover how she lived and why she

died. his helps people to understand their society and maybe avoid similar tragedies.

If someone has been charged with a crime, you will be too limited in what you can say about the

crime, the accused or the victim to produce a feature or documentary. his should not, however, stop

you preparing material for a special feature or programme, to be run once the trial is over. If the

accused is found guilty, your feature can explain all the bac!ground to the case and the lives of the

victims and the criminal. If a not guilty verdict is reached, you may still be able to write a feature on

the angle that the police must !eep on loo!ing for the person who actually committed the crime.

4ecause people can be cleared by courts even though they actually committed the crime, you should

ta!e advice from your editor and reliable experts before using this angle in a feature.

Illustrations

6lways try to thin! of ways of illustrating your crime stories. 6 good picture is worth a thousand

words and a simple diagram can save readers struggling through lines of text of description. *or

example, if you are reporting on an armed raid on a ban!, as! your artist to draw a picture of the

inside of the ban!, showing how the thieves entered, held up the staff, shot a guard then made their

escape. If the police have retrieved the gun, get a picture of it for the page. =se a hotofit picture if

the police are sure that it is a good li!eness of the wanted person. 1)ee Chapter 46: News pictures.2

00bac! to the top

;anguage in writing crime stories

#e cannot stress enough the need for care and accuracy when reporting anything to do with crime

and the courts. 6ccuracy must extend all the way through your wor!, including the words you use

when writing your stories, whether for news, features or current affairs.

You must select each word in your story carefully then, when you thin! you have finished, you must

go bac! to the beginning and read it through, chec!ing again.

he police, criminals and the courts use specialist terms, some of them technical in nature, some of

them short forms and some of them slang. You should only ever use them for two reasons% 1a2 for

precision if no alternative is available and 1b2 for added colour.

;egal terms



22/27

he exact wording of charges causes most problems for starting journalists. You must always use the

correct terms. *or example, there is a clear legal distinction

betweenmurder and manslaughter . Murder is a !illing planned in advance/ manslaughter is a !illing

done on the spur of the moment, without any planning, or by accident. o complicate matters, some

legal systems divide !illings into three " wilful murder , which is planned in advance to !ill

someone/ murder , when someone plans to physically harm the victim and the victim actually dies/and manslaughter , which is an unintentional !illing which arises from any unlawful activity.

You must not choose your own terms. #hatever the police or courts call the offence, that is what any

accused person will be charged with and tried for. If a person is charged with manslaughter , it would

be wrong to call him an alleged murderer or the !illing a murder , which is a far more serious charge.

It is worth noting here too that in correct


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he deceased struc! his assailant a blow to the head before receiving a fatal stab wound in the

chest.

he impossibility of a dead man 1the deceased2 hitting anyone was missed by the reporter, who

should have rewritten the sentence%

he man hit his attac!er on the head before being fatally stabbed in the chest.

(ssailant is another jargon word li!ed by police but almost always better replaced by words such

as attacker , robber , gunman etc. olice reports spea! about an officer 'proceeding to the scene'

when they mean that he wal!ed, rode or drove there.

(ost modern police forces have developed a system of code words and numbers for crimes, criminals

or officers. his was done to ma!e radio messages clearer and shorter for their officers and to

confuse anyone else listening in to the messages. here is no need for you to use them, they will

only confuse. 6 '-GH-', for example, may be the code for a robbery in progress. You call it 'a

robbery'. he police may refer to a '?47', but you should use the full term 'assault causing grievous

bodily harm' in the first reference, then simply 'the assault'.

00bac! to the top

#rite simply

(any journalists believe that they add drama and life to a story by adding adjectives and adverbs.

hey refer to 'a brutal slaying', as if another slaying can be gentle. hey say that ambulances

'rushed' to the scene, as if some ambulance drivers dawdle in an emergency.

6djectives and adverbs usually get in the way of understanding, unless they add to the accuracy of

defining something, such as red car. If you choose the right noun, you will not need many adjectives.

*or example, all screams are high!pitched , all explosions areloud , all battles are fierce, so you do notneed the adjective.

In any sentence, the verb can be the best way of adding drama, if used carefully and the same verb

is not used too often. 6 man who falls head"over"heels from a building can be said to tumble. 6n

attac!er who cuts out someone5s eye with a !nife can be said to have gouged it out.

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6ttribution

he sudden and brief nature of many crimes means that you cannot always rely on descriptions of

what happened, from victims, witnesses or even the police. 3nly report as a fact what you !now to

be true. 6ll the rest must be attributed. *or example, if the police tell you that a man was attac!ed in

(ananga )treet last night, you can state that as a fact, without attribution. 7owever, if they say that

they thin! he !new his attac!ers, but are not sure, you should attribute that. here is no need to put

'police said' throughout your story, but you should include the words whenever there is any doubt at

all, as in the following%

6 D-"year"old man was attac!ed outside his home in the city last night.

&etired carpenter 6hmed )ha8i was opening the door to his home in (ananga )treet when has was

hit over the head from behind.

http://www.thenewsmanual.net/Manuals%20Volume%202/volume2_37.htm#tophttp://www.thenewsmanual.net/Manuals%20Volume%202/volume2_37.htm#tophttp://www.thenewsmanual.net/Manuals%20Volume%202/volume2_37.htm#tophttp://www.thenewsmanual.net/Manuals%20Volume%202/volume2_37.htm#top


24/27

olice believe the attac!er used a large stic! to beat (r )ha8i several times before running off.

(r )ha8i was ta!en to the &oyal 7ospital, where doctors put six stitches into a head wound. 7e was

detained overnight but allowed home this morning.

he police say they can find no motive for the attac!.

9otice from the above that we call the event 'an attac!'. here was little doubt that it happened, and

police themselves used the word. hey are still loo!ing for the attac!er 1as mentioned already, never

use the word assailant " it is not common in everyday


25/27

may as! you to give false information to trap a criminal2. You must never lie to your readers or

listeners. hey must be able to trust you.

his loyalty to telling all of your audience the truth becomes most difficult for specialist reporters,

who may spend a large part of their wor!ing life and free time with one set of people. )cience

correspondents who deal mainly with scientists may lose the ability to tal! in simple terms theirreaders or listeners can understand.


26/27

murderer on the loose, but you need to be as specific as possible. If police say the !iller has been

seen in the 9orthern rovince, include this detail. You will warn those people in the 9orthern rovince

to be especially careful, without alarming people elsewhere unnecessarily.

You also need to show restraint when reporting civil disturbances. 6 fight between four men is not a

riot. If two of them are blac! and two white it is not a race riot. 6void inflaming a situation which isalready tense. If you report that there has been a riot between two communities, more members of

those communities may join in and ma!e matters worse. here is also the danger of encouraging

sightseers, who will also ma!e matters worse, especially for the police.

)ome journalists will use dramatic language to enliven the story and add interest, but the ris!s are

too high that they will simply encourage more of the same behaviour. here is a lot of difference

between the descriptive sentence% '6 bus was burnt at 9orth 4each and a car set on fire in )outh

ar!' and the provocative sentence% 'Cars and buses were set on fire across the city.'

6s a general principle, you will not be accused of inciting fear and alarm if you stic! to the facts and

report them accurately.

#hile on the subject of reporting riots, you must always loo! after your own safety. 6lthough you

may need to be close to the action to report accurately, you will not be able to tell your story if you

are shot or arrested. If there is any danger that you will be attac!ed, arrested, shot or trampled "

move.

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&eleasing names

You should always chec! with the police before releasing the names of victims of crimes, especially

when people have been !illed. It is usually the job of the police to ma!e sure that the victim5s

nearest relatives are told first, so that they can soften the shoc!.

If you cooperate with the police, they will usually cooperate with you over this. If you !now the

names of victims but find that relatives have not been informed yet, you can agree to withhold

publishing the names on the understanding that the police tell you as soon as the relatives have

been informed.

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*alse conclusions

You must avoid drawing false conclusions. If you only report what you !now to be true and attribute

all the rest, you will be safe. If you start drawing your own conclusions and laying blame, you will getinto trouble.

Imagine that you arrive at the scene of a death. 6 man5s body has been found on the pavement at

the foot of a -"storey office building. he police can tell you that he died as a result of a fall from

the building. #as he pushed$ :id he jump$ :id he lean out to close a window and tumble to his

death$ he police also tell you that they are questioning a man who wor!ed with the victim on the

top floor.

Fust tell the facts, do not draw conclusions. Compare the following stories%

'I/#: W'$/:

http://www.thenewsmanual.net/Manuals%20Volume%202/volume2_38.htm#tophttp://www.thenewsmanual.net/Manuals%20Volume%202/volume2_38.htm#tophttp://www.thenewsmanual.net/Manuals%20Volume%202/volume2_38.htm#tophttp://www.thenewsmanual.net/Manuals%20Volume%202/volume2_38.htm#top


27/27

6 AB"year"old man fell to his death from

an office bloc! in the Central 4usiness

:istrict today.

olice believe that telephonist 6ndrew

#aiwa fell from the top floor of the -"

storey elecom 4uilding in ?arone )treet

at midday.

hey say they are treating his death as

suspicious and are questioning one of (r

#aiwa5s colleagues about it.

6 elecom employee pushed a colleague

out of a top"floor window in a city office

bloc! today.

elephonist 6ndrew #aiwa fell ten floors

after being pushed out of the elecom

4uilding on ?arone )treet in the Central

4usiness :istrict.

olice are questioning his !iller etc

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