Several media outlets have halted the publication of criminal mugshot galleries because, according to one of the publications, they "disproportionately show black and brown faces."
The Tampa Bay Times on Monday became the latest paper to eliminate the galleries, joining the Orlando Sentinel and 26 papers recently acquired by Gatehouse from the Gannett chain.
The trend comes in response to riots and protests in many cities and towns over the death of a black man, George Floyd, in police custody in Minneapolis on Memorial Day, which some have claimed is an example of systemic racism in law enforcement.
"The galleries lack context and further negative stereotypes," Tampa Bay Times editor Mark Katches said in a story by the paper announcing the change Monday. "We think the data is an important resource that our newsroom will continue to analyze and watch carefully, but the galleries alone serve little journalistic purpose."
"Several news organizations have discontinued such galleries amid criticism that they disproportionately show black and brown faces," the paper said in its story.
The action comes three days after the Orlando Sentinel made a similar move, declaring in a three-sentence story, "the galleries have little journalistic value and may have reinforced negative stereotypes."
Both papers said they might still use mugshots to illustrate individual stories about particular crimes.
On June 10, 26 newspapers acquired from Gannett last year by Gatehouse – which also acquired the Gannett name – announced they had ended the practice of publishing mugshot galleries, the non-profit Poynter Institute reported.
The old Gannett had announced in 2018 it had stopped publishing the galleries.
"This is a positive step," Poynter's Director of Training and Diversity Doris Truong said. "We know that arrests disproportionately involve suspects of color — particularly young men."
Poynter said Cleveland.com ended the publication of the galleries last year while the Houston Chronicle and WRAL in Raleigh, North Carolina followed earlier this year.
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