Chapter 18 True/False Self-Quiz

. The first assignment many newspaper writers have is the police beat.

. Reporters should not ride with officers in patrol cars.

. Few states allow police to withhold investigative records.

. The police blotter is a record of all calls for assistance received by the police.

. Warrants, affidavits and related documents can usually be found at the police station.

. Most crime stories have summary leads that identify the central point immediately.

. If police do not know a criminal's identity, stories should simply report that the police are looking for "a suspect" or "person of interest."

. When writing accident stories, reporters should not say that a person "suffered" injuries, but instead that he or she "received" injuries.

. Readers and viewers do not expect news organizations to report how well local governments are doing their jobs or how efficiently tax money is being spent because that is largely opinion.

. The annual budget is rarely a news story in itself, but it can be the starting point for other important and interesting stories about local government.

. Whether government records are available online or on paper is not important to journalists, as long as they are accessible.

. Salary information for school administrators and teachers is public record in most states.

. Reporters who cover the courts should remain skeptical of what police, prosecutors and judges do.

. Preliminary hearings in criminal cases are usually open to the press and public.

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