Aiding and abetting: How police media information units shape local news coverage

[Para. 1]: "The  Toronto  Police  Service  is  a  $930-million-a-year  operation  that  in-cludes a sophisticated public-information unit offering reporters all the news  the  police  deem  fit  to  print.  In  2010  the  unit  issued  2,138  press  releases, published 246 Internet stories, and maintained a website that made everything from homicide maps to then-Police Chief Bill Blair’s videotaped remarks available to 1.5 million visitors. In addition to the three  uniformed  officers  who  worked  full  time  in  the  unit  answering  questions  from  journalists,  three  civilians  with  other  responsibilities  also responded to media inquiries."

Chapter in Chris Richardson and Romayne Smith Fullerton (Eds.), Covering Canadian Crimes: What Journalists Should Know and the Public Should Question (pp. 193-216). Toronto, ON: University of Toronto Press.