Hold the Presses: A Commentary on the Effects of Media Coverage of Fatalities on the Child Welfare System

Abstract

Child fatalities initiate a formidable exchange between the media and child welfare services. The impact affects the families involved, staff and administrators of public and private child welfare agencies, and the community. The media role to provide the public with information in a prompt manner can be at odds with the child welfare administrator's desire to improve practice for all children. In many jurisdictions, the relationship between the media and the child welfare organization is weak, if not adversarial. This commentary poses questions for debate and suggests that the media and child welfare need to have an ongoing relationship where both are focused on informing the public as a continuous process.