Diamon Addresses the Media's Role in the Al-Hamdany Arrest

Downeast media critic Al Diamon focuses on the media's role in the very public arrest of Westbrook businessman Abbas Al-Hamdany in his post today. Here's a taste:

It’s not the job of the news media to make the police look good. It is the job
of journalists to question why the bust they were allowed to cover is any more
newsworthy than the “several unrelated arrests in neighboring communities” that
took place that same day, according to the Press Herald. It’s the job of
committed reporters to follow up on this action by getting more facts. The Press
Herald story mentions that police didn’t provide such details as how much
cocaine Al-Hamdany allegedly sold. Sounds like the makings of a follow-up story,
but as of today, I haven’t seen it. Police were reported to be planning
additional arrests. If they ever happened, the information didn’t reach me.

- John C.L. Morgan