“The Other F-word” – A journalist’s perspective on labeling people with a criminal record
On Monday we published a piece by CCRC Director Margaret Love titled “A plea to stop labeling people who have a criminal record,” which was critical of the media’s usage of “degrading” terms like “felon” and “offender” to describe people with criminal histories. Yesterday Bill Keller, Editor-in-Chief of The Marshall Project, responded to Ms. Love’s critique in a piece that provides an interesting look at the issue through the lens of his own experience as a journalist. It also includes a response from the style editor of The New York Times on the specific subject of Ms. Love’s criticism. We republish Mr. Keller’s piece below.