The Oregonian establishes 'clean slate' policy

The Jefferson Exchange

(Josh Estey / AusAID)

With the prevalence of digital journalism, people who are convicted (or in some cases just accused) of crimes will have articles with their names and mugshots on the Internet indefinitely. This can have serious impacts on their lives, as employers and others can easily find the details with a simple Google search.

Therese Bottomly, Editor and Vice President of The Oregonian and its website OregonLive.com joins the Exchange to discuss the establishment of its "clean slate" policy. Also joining the conversation is Chris Quinn, Editor of Cleveland.com and its sister publication, the Cleveland Plain Dealer. Quinn pioneered the movement of removing outdated adverse information that had potential to harm the reputations of individuals whose lives had moved on. He also developed a tool for media outlets to use.

This problem is exacerbated by the fact that news outlets frequently publish articles about individuals charged with a crime, but fail to update the article if the charges are later dropped or the person is found not guilty. Additionally, people of color are more likely to have their crimes be covered in local news, and are more likely to have an accompanying mugshot. Eliminating a trail of outdated and/or unfair reporting can help reduce the pollution of the media landscape that could be used to perpetuate racial discrimination in job hiring.