DuBose media discussion: 'The story has not yet concluded'

News media leaders gathered Thursday night with lawyers and city officials to analyze the ongoing coverage of Sam DuBose and Ray Tensing after their deadly encounter in July.

The panel discussion called "Words & Images: A Media Debrief and Community Conversation" took place at the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center and was organized by The Greater Cincinnati Pro Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists.

While the conversation often zoomed out to focus on the larger goals of journalism, the press conference when Joe Deters announced Tensing's indictment and released body camera footage were hot topics.

Representatives from WCPO, WKRC, WXIX, WLWT and The Enquirer were in attendance along with city manager Harry Black, lawyers for both the Tensing and the DuBose families and representatives from the Hamilton County Prosecutors Office and the Cincinnati Human Rights Commission.

"That was one of the most important and historic news conferences ever," said Mike Neelly, WLWT news director. "I remember barking out orders not to censor the video. It would be wrong not to show the public. People needed to see it for themselves."

Other media outlets took a different approach, but the media leaders all agreed that the use of body camera footage should be thought of as open, accessible documents.

Alex Bongiorno, the WCPO news director, said her station panned down during the press conference and didn't show the footage.

"I could not imagine the thought of putting that out there and it felt reckless to show it," Bongiorno said. "We have never aired that footage"

Tensing lawyer, Stew Matthews, had a different take on the media's coverage of the press conference, which included an announcement by Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters that Tensing would be indicted for murder.

Matthews described Deters' language as inflammatory.

"The media took off with it," he said emphasizing that Tensing has not been convicted of anything. "The family and I felt he was terribly mistreated in the press."

The footage did have a wider impact on the city. City manager Harry Black is now pushing for Cincinnati police officers to be equipped with body cameras by the middle of next year.

At the end of the discussion, the media leaders agreed that they hoped to better balance the immediacy of reporting with the potential impact the reporting might have as their coverage moves forward.

"The story has not yet concluded," said WKRC new director Tim Geraghty.