Earlier quoted context omitted.
And that right there is the sad part. People actually believe that line makes a news piece fair and objective. It's lazy journalism, especially given the headline. News flash: when asked about these kinds of things, it's very common for the police to decline to comment. The job of a reporter doesn't (or shouldn't) stop there. Sorry, you don't just get to say, "this side of the story was easy to write, so we wrote it;…
Well then, how would you report on it in a way that is appropriate? Just... don't tell anyone anything until March when we have more information? Come on, don't just complain. It's easy to complain! Everyone complains, all the time. It's totally non-constructive and achieves nothing. What's the right way of doing it, if this is the wrong way?
- Interview people who were there about what the journalists were actually doing and what happened when they were detained
- Mention the political background of the reporters and/or any history of participating in protests
- Explore legal precedents and ask experts to help explain why they may have been arrested
- At least mention the fact that if we don't know all the facts, we can't assume they were wrongfully charged
EDIT: If you disagree with my comments, please explain why you disagree rather than simply downvoting (ironically, downvoting for the sake of political disagreement only serves a purpose aligned with one-sided journalism - i.e., silencing opposing viewpoints in hopes of advancing one's own political ideology rather than promoting healthy dialogue). Thanks!