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Show The Salt Lake Tribune OPINION Sunday, November1, 1998 Editors Sometimes As Frustrated As Readers Over Errors in Type * Nooneis perfect. If you can holdfast READER ADVOCATE to that concept and, hopefully, geta critical audienceof readers to understandit, too, then you might survive a day at The Salt Lake Tribune. No onehas established what constitutes an acceptable batting average in placating irate readers, bul some days éven one mollified caller amounts to a “small victory. And on somedays, thatis about all I can hope for A newspaper is a product which sells the printed word. Readers know this. Imperfections that might provoke a chuck- SHINIKA SYKES seriously by newspaper customers who read them and most journalists whoerr; One caller, who wasnotonly upset by the explicit report of sexual bondage, was even moreincensed that the paper gave the name of the pornographic mag- le in someotherfield are treated more _Teaders becausetheyfeelslightly cheated, writers and editors because their ‘productis flawedforall to see *’ Some readers feel newspapersare not Supposed to make mistakes. When they see one, their reactions range from anger _ to sarcasm to empathy. Their reasoning is simple: They do not pay to read mis- ‘takes in their newspaper. Newspapers — and The Tribune is no exception — prove almost dailythat per- fection will always be anillusive goal. It is almost impossibleto publish the equivalentof a novel everyday, under deadline pressure, without slipping up. If all Tribune writers and editors were perfect, you would not have read in last Saturday's ‘State of State’ report that the town ofSalina is in Sanpete County (Salinais in Sevier County). Then there are a handful of readers whose concerns are more esoteric. They are morelikely to take The Tribuneto task about the number of wrinkles in their paper, whetherthefold is in the middle or off bya inchor so. Consider, for example, one reader (known at my desk as “The Sports Critic”) who would leave messages every time sports writer Steve Luhm’spicture appeared in The Tribune. azine that investigators found in the home. Another caller, who broke down in tears, found the story so shocking, she did not allowher children to read Tues- day's paper. 1, too, was pained bythis story. I am still not sure what was morepainful, the explicit details given in the story or simplya sense of unbelief that anyone could do such terrible things to a child. When I brought these readers’ and my concerns Dawn House, who edited the story, she offered some insight: “Our thinking was to show how horrible the crime was — not to gross out our readers. Sometimes it’s frustrating because by underwriting, we maynot get the crucial pointsacross. For example, [recently], we wrote about a man whoraped and impregnated ‘a young femalerelative’ — she submit- ted because he threatened to rape her younger sister. This man is the girls’ father — a fact we left out to protect the identityof the victims. “Thesestories are difficult at best. We try to be sensitive to victims, their fam- ilies and readers. We care.” This caller claimed Luhm’s photo was flopped, because he claims. Luhm parts his hair on the right. checked; Luhm’s part is on the left) (1 This sports critic usually had a litany of criticism. The latest thing sticking in his crawis sports writers’ overuse of “kick-off.” Football kicks off, soccer kicks off, but baseball, basketball, hockey, skiing and snowboarding donot kick off their sea- sons, he lamented. “What's wrong with , opens, starts or begins oe Point taken. Assistant Sports Editor Tom Wharton acknowledged “kick off” maybe overused on the sports desk and he has urgedwriters to be more imagina- tive with word choices. a Four Tribune readers were outraged bythe explicit graphic details in a story which told of the death of a 3-year-old girl, who police say died from sexual eas A numberof Tribunereadersare puzzled whenever theyfind the day’s paper has two sometimes three A sections. One readersaid hefailed to see how The New York Times can keepall of its A section together (a 28-page section), but The Tribune cannot. Frankly, the explanation defies simply logic, but here is what I learned: When there is more than one A section, it means more advertisers want to be in that section. Therefore, several sections rather than one maybe required by the press set up. Notice how each of the separate section has color on both the front and back pages. In other words, the numberof A-sections on a given day depends on the amount of color advertisement in that section. The New York Times has bigger presses and not as muchfull-color advertising on its inside pages. abuseand torture. The calls camein re- sponse to Tuesday’sstory aboutthe evi dence investigators believe will show howthe toddler was tied up, beaten, sex- ually assaulted and murdered by her motherand two other adults. THE PUBLIC FORUM to the attention of Justice Desk Editor The Reader Advocate’s phone number is 237-2015. Write to the Reader Advocate, The Salt Lake Tribune, P.O. Box 867, Salt Lake City, Utah 84110. E- mail: reader.advocate@sltrib.com Letters from The Tribune’s readers The recent implementation of a national registry to track child support by the U.S. Department of Human Services unfairly and wrongly portraysa negative image of those required to pay child support. The use of this system unnecessarily makes available very personal and private information of those parents who make regular support payments. One’s personal information including identity, address, employment history and salary, should not be anyother person's businessunless the need to makeit available has been shown. Persons should only be entered into this database when a poor paymenthistoryexists, not because they have divorced and are required to pay child support. The system as a whole should further investigate the reasoning behind noncustodial parentsfleeing their reponsibility to pay child support. The guidelines upon which the amountof child support is figured are a disaster and desperately need to be reevaluated. The current guidelines often make it impossible to make timely support payments while affording a comfortable lifestyle for the non-custodial parent and a nurturing en- vironment when their childrenvisit. Currently, child support is based on gross versus net income. It does notallow the non-custodial parent to claim their children on their incometaxes unless consent is provided by the custodial parent. The guidelines also do not take into consideration the amountof time the children spend with their non-custodial family and the expenses incurred during that time. Nor do they consider the The Long Arm of School Discipline Reaches Beyond Campus Boundaries JEAN HILL Students beware — the control of the school over a student's actions that directly and immediately affects the general welfare of the students teachers or property can be grounds theability ofthe teachersto maintain discipline within the school For mstance, burning down the school after school hourscould clear- ly lead to expulsion. Moresurprisingly to some students, a promiscuous student could be dismissedif his habits are widely known throughout the school. Likewise, using drugs or drinking at home could be legal groundsfor expulsion But schools cannot use anyact they find offensive as a basis for expulsion. Students exercising constitutional rights have some extra protec- tion, For instance, students who are caught participating in a demonstration are protected to some degree by the First Amendment. Unless the school can show that the activity caused a substantial disruption in the school, students must be allowed to exercise therights of free speech A substantialdisruption, for exam- ple. was found where students wrote to support their children under suchdif- MEADOWCROFT Salt Lake City and distributed a newspaper that used vulgar and profane language to describe some teachers. The court recognizedthat the paper would have a direct and immediate affect on the leeches. With painstakingcare, I avoided detection until April of this year when I made the fatal mistake of registering for behavior of other students and severely hinder the teachers’ ability to maintain discipline. Courts tend to consider whether a student can be punished for an out of school activity on a case by case basis. Thus. one court held that a student athlete caught smoking during the sports season could be grounds for discipline while another felt that being charged with heroin possession was not enough without a subsequent conyiction Private schools have even greater discretion in correcting students for out of school conduct. As long as there is some connection to the safety of the students, most acts of discipline will be upheld. While all schoolrules must be reasonable, the courts have always been a little more willing to find on the side of a school wheneverthe general welfare of young adults is at issue. Thus, parents and students need to be aware thattheir after schoolactivities could have serious consequencesat school, too,including expulsion. http://www.slitrib.com Where to Write a local business seminar. I never suspect- ed a thing. They didn’t ask me if my name was for sale, they simply stoleit, thanking me for my patronage with the gift that keeps on giving and damning me, without mercy, to junk mail-list hell. Whyare ourleaders sitting inert while individuals are forced to takedrastic, fu- Health care for Utah’s senior citizen population is becomingseverely limited. Recently Intermountain Health Care dis- @ Whensubmitting letters to the Public Forum, please include your full name,signature, address and daytime telephone numbers. Information other than your nameandthecity in which youlive are kept confidential. WR Keepit short. Concise letters developing a single theme are more likelyto be published { Please type and double space @ Letters are condensedandedited. @ Because of the volume of mail received, not all submissions are published @ Mail to Public Forum, The Salt Lake Tribune, P.O. Box 867, Salt Lake City, Utah 84110 @ Ourfax numberis (B01) 237-2316. continued its senior care health insurance services. Salt Lake Regional Medi- cal Center recently closed a transitional care unit which was used largely for senior citizens. Hundreds of elderly Utahns have been forced to change health insurance coverage. These changes were precipitated, in part, by poor Medicare reimbursements rates for Utahns. Health-eare providers and in- surers are unable to meet the costs involved with providing care. Utah’s Medicare reimbursementrate Fluoride Benefits In response to Fluoride and Choice (Forum,Sept. 27th), have a greater un- derstanding why Utahis oneofthe only states that does not put fluoride in its water. Have we Utahns regressedin science knowledge? Let’s review some elementary chemistry. Aluminum and fluo- ride are different elements in the periodic table. Aluminum doesnot magically changeinto fluoride. Guess what, in the grocery store you can purchase a product that has veen known tokill humans. It's a product that you consume every day. Yet in large doses a humancan die from it. Here in Salt Lake City we should be very familiar with the product — its sodium chloride or table salt. The key to compounds like sodium chloride and others it that you don’t take them in huge amounts. Fluoride ions bond to your enamel and build teeth back up. Due to the American diet there are lots of sticky foods and acids outthere that etch away the enam- elon yourteeth. Daily brushing and periodic fluoride treatments build back up your enamel, muchlike recharginga battery. The longer you have the fluoride treatment on your teeth the more your enamelis built up. This helps in the prevention of tooth decay, unless youlike to pay dental bills. SHAWN CRAWFORD Salt LakeCity oO Since moving here two years ago, I've shunned any activity that would betray my new whereabouts to the junk mail The Salt Lake Tribune w In light of this, non-custodial parents who make their support payments should be commendedfortheir efforts Privacy Betrayed occur far from theschool Schools are designed not only to for dismissal. General welfare includesnot only the physical safety of the students and teachers, but also themselves. o expelled or suspended. Even if they fore, any conduct outside of school penses they are often required to payin addition to the support itself. Many noncustodial parents are left with less than 50 percent of their income to support NATALIE smoking, fighting or acts that are morally bankrupt can get a student moral, law abiding citizens. There child care and medicalex- tabase which negatively reflects the acter of all non-custodial parents. While parents are recognized as the providelessonsin geometry and English, theyarealso expected tosafe: guard their students and help build additi ficult guidelines, not blacklisted in a da- does not end at the school grounds. primary source of discipline once a student leaves school, drinking Medicare Issues Flawed Support Guidelines Sanctifying the Past mons, Jews, Jehovah's Witnesses? Creation of the Yellow Peril and its crown- ingto thelittle people and stop kowtowing to big business. Stand up. for pity’s sake, and show thatright, not money, ing glory in concentration camps a couple of hundred miles from here? Near extermination of the native population by any means from small pox to still leads this nation! Till then, I suggest sending our junk mail on to ourlegislators. If they get enough rubbishin their mailboxes, maybe they'll finally get the message. JONI V. DEMILLE Salt Lake City o Socio-Political immorality Immorality has to do with more than personal sexual behavior. Maybe it has to do with not passing the minimumwagebill to help close the ever widening gap betweenthe rich and poor, campaign finance reform which would give us back a voice in our government, not paying our duesto the United Nations, and mak- ing excuses for not passing strong antihate crimelegislation, to name a few. MARIE GRAY Salt Lake City acutely by Utahns becauseofourhistorically higherfertility rates. If this trend continues, Utah seniors risk being severely limited in their choice and quality of medical care. This enigma could be avoided if Utahns would begin preparing for future demands on our health-care system now. Increasing reimbursement rates for Utah's Medicare population would dramatically reduce the financial strain on those providing health insurance and medicalcare for seniors. Apparently, Utah’s senators and rep- resentatives do not consider this an important enoughissueto place it on their Washington agendas. Avoidingthis issue is a dangerouscourse. Over the next severalyears it will play a crucialrole in the future physical and economicwell being of Utahns. Senatorial candidate Dr. Scott Leckmanis the only candidate who is focusing on this issue. As a physician, he understands the strains experienced by Utah patients and physicians and the Tamifications of continuing on this course. As this years’s congressional elections draw near Utah voters would be weil served by making this a campaign issue and demanding a change within the current system. This would not only benefit those who are currently receiving Medicare coveragebutalso for those whowill. STEPHEN H. McKELLAR Galen Jackson (Forum, Oct. 17) is going to throw up if he hears any more aboutcasting thefirst stone. I can understand his anxiety on that point, but then he triggers my own personal gag reflex with a reference to the president having to be an example of “the principles and virtues upon which this country was built.” This propensity for ex post facto sanctification of the American past is really more than little nauseous. Just tile action to protect the rights guaranteed by our Constitution? Why have they failed to safeguard our most basic freedoms against those trafficking in the namesandprivacy of Americancitizens? T call on ourstate legislators to get off their cushy chairs andstart earning their keep; to use the mechanisms in place to restrict free enterprise when it collides with individual freedom;to start listen- is well below the national average and the lowest among the western states. Such a poor reimbursementrate creates an uniquely precaricus situation for Utahns. In the next 20 years, as the baby boomers begin to retire, the need for medicalcare for seniors will grow exponentially. This is a nationwide phenomenon, but the problem will be felt more which “values” would he choose to anoint? Would hislist include being thelast of the major nations to abandon slavery? The benevolent humanity of the Jim Crow laws? The religious bigotry that persecuted Baptists, Catholics, Mor- the Bear River Massacre? The chattel status of women well into the 20th Cen- tury? Child labor and suppression of unions by military force? Thelist could go on and on. Values and principles in very deed! Quite apart from the Clinton mess, our tendency to insist on somesort of immac- ulate conception and beatific develop- Salt Lake City Q Polygamy Will Return Tn response to Jill Christensen’s letter on polygamy (Forum, Oct. 25), she accuses others of being uninformed and gets the facts wrong. Sheclaims that polygamywasnotpracticed since 1896 be- cause the church, “obeys, honors and sustains the laws.” In fact, the church continued to break the law. Plural marriages continued to be sol- emnized in Utah and in Mexico after the 1890 Manifesto banning the practice. A “second manifesto”reaffirming the ban was issued in 1904 after pressure was applied by a Senate investigation of the continuing polygamy of the Mormon church. Shealso states that polygamyis wrong and all members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints agree with her. I am a member of the church and I disagree. Polygamywas discontinued because of the threatof federal action, not because it was “wrong.”I am tired of fellow Mormons being ashamed of the doctrine and the history behindit. They act as if it was a small blip on the screen, when it was actually one of the driving forces behind the church for over 60 years. Po! ment forthis country completely ignores is not officially practiced in the LDSChurch,butit will be — and trivializes the heroic, often tragic, struggles that have been necessary to bring us to whatever modicum of humanity and civilization we mighttry to claim ten, “Obviously. the holy —— will the very real problems that have existed, now. Weneed to acknowledge and understandourpast, not some fantasy about only then can we gain a realistic perspective for our present. ¥ VANCE W.ROLLINS Salt Lake City 9. Apostle Bruce R. McConkie has writ- commence again after the Coming of the Son of Man and the in of the millennium.” We shouldbe but. |