News4Jax

News4Jax reports on news in Jacksonville. On their website you can find sections dedicated to the weather, sports, health, politics and maybe even you. That’s right. News4Jax has a page on their website dedicated to publicly outing and shaming registered sex offenders in their community.

 

One hundred and seventy three pages, each showing twelve offenders are displayed in this section. Pictures, names, permanent addresses, height, eye color, weight, race, date of birth, status and details of the conviction are listed for all to see. They act as an extension to the public sex offender registry supposedly warning their community. If you are an SO in Jacksonville, chances are your face is on their website which was last updated on October 20^th, 2015.

 

Although this information in made public on the registry list and can be easily found by anyone with a computer, News4Jax insists on playing a part in ostracizing members of their community. Their contribution to destroying reputations in the name of security is deplorable. Good media outlets and news channels are supposed to be unbiased. One should ask why offenders of other crimes, such as murder, are not listed on their website. A responsible media outlet does not shame a part of the community whilst simultaneously jeopardizing their safety.

 

This section of their website is a gross violation of privacy and extremely unprofessional. SOs in Florida, especially in Jacksonville, should contact News4Jax and demand this section of the website be taken down. Become a member of FAC and help fight against these acts of discrimination that take place every day through tout the entire state.