ByJessica Zisko and Salina MonrealCity Editor and Contributor

Fires, floods, shootings, hostages: these are situations mediamust deal with every day.

But, how does the media go about getting the news to the public?And how do law enforcement officers feel about having microphones andtape recorders in their faces at the scene of an emergency?

A panel met Saturday at the NBC 7/39 studios with mediarepresentatives and journalism students to answer these questions.

Members of the Society of Professional Journalists and the Radioand Television News Directors Association heard tips from the SanDiego Police Department, San Diego County Sheriff’s Department,Heartland Fire Department, Border Patrol and UCSD Medical Center.

Jim Sanders, News Director at NBC 7/39, was the mediator of thediscussion. He pressed the panel about the flow of informationbetween government agencies and the media during emergency situationsand how the relationship between the two groups can improve.

Audience members said they felt agencies were denying them accessto crime scenes and information even though California Penal Code409.5 gives media some rights to taped-off crime areas.

Panel members discussed reasons why media are sometimes notallowed past the yellow tape, and why officials sometimes do not giveout information. Panelists said sometimes accidents need to becleared and evidence needs to be collected before media can be letthrough.

Also, officers are afraid to talk to reporters because they’re notsure what information they can release or they do not want thereporter to misrepresent the situation, Border Patrol officer JamesWainer said.

“With the obsession for speed, accuracy is not a big factor,” saidRob Reina, San Diego Sheriff’s representative.

However, panel members said their departments usually set up atwo-tape system — one layer to hold back public, and one layer forthe media.

“Is the concern for my personal safety a legitimate reason to denyme access?” Sanders asked.

“No,” SDPD representative Dave Cohen said. “I don’t care aboutyour personal safety.”

Several audience members also said officers out in the field arehostile toward the media. Karen Dalton, representative from San DiegoFire and Paramedics, said sometimes reporters are too pushy too soon.

“You want all the information five minutes after,” she said. “Wecan’t package that for you. We’re not a one stop shop forinformation.”

Sanders said sometimes that aggressiveness is the fault of thereporter.

“Many of them have the Copernicus syndrome,” Sanders said. “Theythink the world revolves around them. But, that’s the kind ofreporter you want working for you.”

However, panelists said they try to get the information out assoon as possible.

“If we are not credible, we are no use to (ourselves) or thepublic,” Cohen said.

Cohen said he was pleased with the turnout of San Diego StateUniversity journalism students.

“We recommended that they (journalism students) come to theevent,” he said. “Students need to understand what they are gettinginto as journalists and what to expect.”

Communication junior Hillary Schwartz was glad she had comebecause she learned things she never knew about the business.

“I didn’t know there was such conflict between the police and firedepartments and the media,” she said.

Communication junior Mike Tagulao agreed with Schwartz.

“I knew about the conflict that exists, I just didn’t realize howin-depth it was,” he said.

SDSU journalism professor Tim Wulfemeyer attended the panel alongwith his students and said it was good for them to hear from theexperts and make some contacts.

Sanders had some advice for aspiring journalists.

“Don’t be a jerk,” he said. “Be aggressive, be pushy, break thegreatest stories in the world, but you don’t have to be a jerk to doit. New reporters think it’s cool to be jerky.”

Cohen said he could remember what the business was like when hestudied journalism.

“I know that when I was in journalism, if I made a mistake, evenif it was an honest one, it would hurt me inside,” he said. “If itdoesn’t hurt you, you might be in the wrong business. You’ll makemistakes, which is to be expected, but try not to make the same onetwice. It’s not just a profession — it’s a passion.”