Is A Person's Criminal Past Newsworthy When They Are The Apparent Victim?

By now you have probably seen the above footage of a woman being punched in the face by a Philadelphia police officer during the after party of the Puerto Rican Day parade.

The woman was charged with disorderly conduct though charges were later dropped. The police officer is on 30-day suspension and the police chief announced that the officer will be fired.

A few days after the incident, the Philly Post - the online component of Philadelphia magazine, reported that the woman punched in the face had a criminal record. She was busted for a DUI and related charges, including falsely identifying herself to police. She was sentenced to 82 days in jail for a theft conviction. And she was busted on a drug charge.

Is the woman's criminal history relevant to the story? Should it be published information?

Or did the Philly Post reporter overstep the boundaries of what a journalist is supposed to report?

Topless Journalist Reports on Naked Drunk Driver.

A REPORTER IN Ohio covered the court case of a woman arrested for drunk driving and speeding. The accused drunk driver was nearly naked when arrested.

This report brings about a number of questions:

• Is the drunk driver story actually newsworthy?
• Were the photographer and videographer attacked?
• Did we need to see the reporter topless in the car?
• Is it acceptable for journalists to air the surveillance video?
• Is this "story" handled responsibly?

When Are the Protesters Newsworthy?

Protesters have camped out in New York City since September 17, and more than 1,000 have been arrested so far.

During the first week of the "occupation" by a group organized under the banner "Occupy Wall Street," there was virtually no coverage by the mainstream press.

"The recent protests on Wall Street did not involve large numbers of people, prominent people, a great disruption or an especially clear objective," NPR's executive editor told their ombudsman, the person in charge of determining whether the network has performed properly.

Media coverage is beginning to pick up now that the protesters are becoming more active - 700 protesters were arrested on Saturday when they attempted to occupy the Brooklyn Bridge.

Still, little has been reported about protesters staging rallies in Chicago, Los Angeles and elsewhere.

Does it matter that the original crowds were much smaller than expected? Does it matter that the protesters lack a specific mission, or an accepted leader?

Should the media be reporting on the acts of civil disobedience?

Wake Me When the News Starts.

DURING THE PRESIDENT'S speech today about the national debt, Vice President Joe Biden closed his eyes and seemed to nod off.

The so-called snoozing (no one confirmed if the VP was sleeping) has become big news.

Is this actually a story?

Gotcha Journalism?

NBC NEWS WITH Brian Williams was nearly tricked by an Army press release stating that the new standard-issue headgear for soldiers would be a Stetson cowboy hat.

NBC ran a story despite it being an April Fool's joke.

Is it newsworthy?

Are the Royals Newsworthy?

ARE YOU EXCITED for the royal wedding between the UK's Prince William and Kate Middleton?

BBC America is planning 184 hours of related programming prior to the actual wedding. TLC has 89 hours of content ready to air. All of the US network news operations are planning to send their crews to to London and run special programming, in addition to the non-stop, live coverage of the nuptials.

An estimated two billion people are expected to watch some or all of the actual wedding and reception (the rumor is that the reception will have disco and 80s music).

CNN will have 50 journalists and staff on scene for the wedding day on April 29. CNN currently has 50 people covering the tsunami/ earthquake/ nuclear meltdown in Japan.

Is the royal wedding that big of a story?

(FYI: On Thursday, Ros Coward, a British journalist and educator will speak to the class about coverage of the Royals in the British press).

The Big Story: Kitty Burglar Gets Away Again!

WHAT NEWSWORTHINESS CRITERIA would this story qualify for? Is it even news?

Annoying? Yes. Newsworthy? Not Sure.

WARNING: WHAT YOU will see in the above video is shocking (if you are a 13-year old girl from Nebraska) and unbelievably annoying.

But the clip has been run on major news programs across the country and, sadly, around the world.

The video shows teen idol Miley Cyrus taking a hit of salvia from a bong. Salvia is not considered a drug in California, where this video was shot, but salvia is controversial - it is said to cause hallucinations. Some people have called for it to be considered a drug and banned.

Is this video newsworthy?