Executive Overview
In the half-decade following the 2020 murder of George Floyd and the nationwide racial reckoning that ensued, American local newsrooms faced an uncomfortable reckoning of their own. For generations, the daily broadcast had relied on a familiar, visually arresting formula: sirens flashing, crime scene tape flapping in the wind, and a relentless scroll of booking photos—mugshots—flashed across the screen.
Journalists increasingly acknowledged an unvarnished truth: this daily parade of mugshots disproportionately featured Black and brown individuals, amplifying harmful and inaccurate stereotypes while warping public perception of urban crime.
Fast forward to 2026. The landscape of local crime reporting has evolved, though progress remains uneven and heavily decentralized. As part of the Indianapolis Public Editor project—a pilot program designed to evaluate whether independent editorial oversight can elevate audience trust and media literacy—recent monitoring of local morning broadcasts reveals a nuanced shift. Stations like WTHR and FOX59 in Indianapolis have updated their internal policies to minimize gratuitous mugshot use. Yet, a stark divergence in editorial decision-making remains on full display, raising profound questions about due process, racial equity, and the true definition of public safety journalism.
Detailed Chronology: A Tale of Two Broadcasts
The tension between traditional crime reporting and modern ethical guidelines was vividly illustrated on September 29, when local Indianapolis media outlets covered a sweeping multi-agency law enforcement operation.
The Hamilton County Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force concluded a rigorous three-day online sting operation. Operating out of a designated location in Westfield, Indiana, undercover investigators posed as a 15-year-old girl to draw out individuals seeking to solicit children for illicit sexual encounters. The operation resulted in the arrest of 11 men, ten of whom hailed from central Indiana, with one traveling from as far away as Texas.
How local television stations chose to present this major public safety bust revealed a chasm in contemporary editorial philosophy.
WTHR’s Restraint: Process Over Pictures
WTHR chose not to broadcast any of the 11 mugshots associated with the arrests. Instead, reporter Ashton Hackman delivered a comprehensive report detailing the mechanics of the three-day sting, incorporating fragments of chat logs and transcripts exchanged between the undercover decoys and the suspects. The story dutifully provided the age and hometown of each man arrested, prioritizing actionable, contextual narrative over inflammatory imagery.
According to WTHR News Director Cyndee Hebert, the station operates under a strict two-pronged policy governing mugshot usage.
- Formal Charges: Law enforcement arrest alone is insufficient; prosecutors must formally file charging documents. At the time of the initial broadcast, WTHR had not yet secured access to the official probable cause affidavits or formal charging paperwork.
- Commitment to Follow-Through: The newsroom must possess the institutional bandwidth and commitment to track the legal trajectory of every single suspect through the judicial system. Because charges frequently get reduced, plea-bargained, or dropped entirely, broadcasting mugshots prematurely risks inflicting irreversible reputational damage on individuals whose legal outcomes may ultimately vary.
"This was a case where there were 11 or 12 people and it was not one that we were committed to following through to find out the outcomes of every single case," Hebert explained. "So we did not use the mugshots."
FOX59’s Inclusion: Public Interest and Gravity of Offense
Conversely, competitor FOX59 took a distinctly different approach. Reporter Claire Curry’s broadcast integrated statements from a press conference held by Hamilton County Lt. Doug Baker and other participating officers, alongside the names, ages, and geographical locations of the suspects. Crucially, FOX59 chose to broadcast all 11 mugshots retrieved from the Hamilton County Sheriff’s automated booking database.
When asked about the editorial calculus behind this decision, Nexstar Media Group News Director CJ Hoyt (who oversees both FOX59 and CBS4) pointed to the singular nature of the crimes involved.
"Crimes against children are a category where we are more likely to use mugshots," Hoyt said. "Sex crimes against children often have unknown victims. That is the primary motivation. But there is also the seriousness of these kinds of crimes, where we believe there is a public interest."
Nexstar stations in Indianapolis overhauled their local crime coverage guidelines in October 2022 following rigorous internal deliberations. Hoyt readily acknowledges that dumping masses of booking photos onto a newscast makes "pretty bad television" that repels viewers and creates an exaggerated, dystopian impression of urban crime rates. Focus group research commissioned by the stations confirmed that audiences find endless galleries of mugshots repetitive and indistinguishable, ultimately eroding viewer confidence in the accuracy of local reporting.
Supporting Context & Metrics: The Mechanics and Discontents of Mugshots
To understand why a single mugshot holds such immense weight, one must examine the pipeline from law enforcement agencies to the newsroom desk.
The Source: Law Enforcement Discretion
In Marion County, the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department (IMPD) issues booking photos strictly upon formal media request, limiting releases to adults whose arrests stem directly from IMPD casework. The Marion County Sheriff’s Office operates similarly, adhering to public records laws while carving out exemptions for active investigations and federal holds.
In contrast, the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office utilizes an automated booking system that instantly populates mugshots into the public domain—the exact digital feed utilized by FOX59 to source the images for the child solicitation sting.
The Professional Consensus: Kerwin Speight and Public Safety Journalism
Kerwin Speight, a faculty member at the Poynter Institute with over two decades of experience in television news, notes that local newsrooms nationwide remain deeply fragmented in their practices. Speight helps lead Poynter’s specialized training program, "Transforming Crime Reporting into Public Safety Journalism," which challenges reporters to interrogate the foundational purpose of booking photos.
"It’s okay to use a mugshot in an emergency or breaking news situation, where there is imminent concern or danger," Speight explains. "Does a mugshot need to be used for the person arrested for stealing from a store? Probably not."
Speight urges journalists to ask critical gatekeeping questions before publishing an image:
- Is a dangerous suspect actively at large, requiring immediate public assistance to effect an arrest?
- Do investigators genuinely believe that publishing a suspect’s photograph will prompt additional victims or vital witnesses to come forward?
- Can the story be told effectively without the image, and what specific value does the mugshot add beyond shaming an individual?
Without these rigorous filters, the casual deployment of booking photos inflicts systemic damage. "Because the majority of the mugshots are Black and brown people, and they do nothing to enhance the coverage beyond putting somebody’s picture out there that they did this crime," Speight notes, "it distorts the public’s perception of crime, perpetuating the myth that marginalized populations are inherently more dangerous."
The Toll on Community Trust and Due Process
This distortion carries tangible consequences for institutional trust. A comprehensive 2023 Pew Research Center study revealed that 42% of African American adults feel the news media exclusively highlights specific, troubled segments of Black communities, while 43% believe news coverage relies heavily on harmful stereotypes.
Furthermore, criminologists emphasize the severe legal implications of premature publication. Sarah Lageson, an associate professor of criminal justice at Northeastern University who has extensively researched data privacy and the American legal system, points out that the human brain inherently infers guilt upon seeing a booking photo, regardless of legal status.
"There are due process problems here," Lageson warns. "People may be exonerated, wrongfully arrested, or have yet to have their day in court. Once a mugshot is published on a major news site or broadcast, it enters digital perpetuity, shadowing an individual long after charges are dropped or sentences are served."
Official Statements and Institutional Perspectives
The evolution of crime reporting in Indianapolis reflects a delicate balancing act between satisfying the public’s right to information and mitigating systemic harm.
- Cyndee Hebert (News Director, WTHR): Emphasizes that visual storytelling in criminal justice must be anchored by verifiable legal milestones (formal charges) and a dedication to journalistic follow-through. "This was a case where… it was not one that we were committed to following through to find out the outcomes of every single case, so we did not use the mugshots."
- CJ Hoyt (News Director, FOX59/CBS4): Defends the selective deployment of booking photos for heinous offenses while acknowledging the psychological fatigue viewers experience with gratuitous crime feeds. "We also know that the broadcast of lots of mugshots is pretty bad television; people don’t want to see it… It creates the impression that maybe there’s more crime happening than there is."
- Kerwin Speight (Faculty, Poynter Institute): Advocates for a systematic reimagining of television news graphics. "Some stations are taking a more methodical approach… others use them all the time. I’ve seen newscasts where it’s story after story using mugshot after mugshot."
Future Outlook: Transparency, Trust, and the Path Forward
The encouraging news for media consumers in Indianapolis is that the market’s primary television newsrooms are actively debating and refining their ethical boundaries. However, local media can and should go a step further to solidify audience trust.
Recommendations for Next-Generation Crime Reporting
- Adopt a Strict Imminent-Threat Standard: Newsrooms should restrict mugshot usage exclusively to scenarios where an identified suspect poses a clear, active danger to public safety and law enforcement requires immediate civilian assistance for an apprehension.
- Increase Editorial Transparency: When an outlet decides to broadcast a booking photo, anchors or reporters should explicitly articulate why the image is being shown. Brief on-air explanations—such as noting that a dangerous suspect is at large or that investigators are seeking additional victims—demystify the editorial process and foster media literacy.
- Commit to Legal Accountability: Mirroring WTHR’s policy, stations should refrain from publishing booking photos until formal charging documents are filed, and they should establish tracking mechanisms to update audiences when charges are modified, reduced, or dismissed.
As local journalism continues to navigate the complex intersection of digital permanence, racial equity, and public safety, the ultimate test for news consumers is simple yet profound. The next time a booking photo flashes across the screen, ask yourself: Is there a compelling public safety reason for me to see this image, and does that justification outweigh the permanent, life-altering stain it leaves on an individual before they have had their day in court?
Answering that question collectively is the key to building a more informed, equitable, and trusted media ecosystem in Indianapolis and beyond.