OCR Text |
Show We're here avoiding, not seeking bad ne the editor's V column J By MARC HADDOCK When does a reporter stop informing in-forming the public and start pandering pan-dering to desire of people to know the truth? That's a tough question, one I'm not sure I'll ever be able to answer. In fact, I never thought it would be one of those I would have to answer. That's why I'm here, in American Fork. Working for a small newspaper like this, I never have to deal with the really tough issues that face the tough police-beat reporters on the daily newspapers. At least, that was the theory. It was shattered last week when your regular sensational news story came home to American Fork, bringing with it all of the tough decisions that I don't like to have to make. It's because there are some things I simply cannot do. And it makes me wonder, after weeks like this past one7Tf -Fm. j-eally in the right business. .-. For example, I can't call up the husband of a murdered woman and father of a slaughtered daughter and ask him why he thinks his brothers might have killed them. But I feel very n when I start invading Z2S Pnvacy, especially privacy involves grjef ? e" t one -or when invadineh another person in danger ! So you won't be rpa stories or seeing thoSp "8 H menUonedabove-simDlvP! don't feel comfortable 5,Si That's not to say J the murders and Je s investigation that will bring the culprits to justL our best - although tough to come up with a on a story that makes t 8 headlines daily in 'Piii And we'll stick with it 1 although we'll stick to &' try to avoid the barm particular case has hn7k with rumors. I've heard and I m sure you have too x And we'll look forward to ... when we can settle back i! routine coverage one from American Fork ; . news that seems 2 S 1 in New York. After all, that's why rra hpr, , not there. How about you? And I can't call up the father of the murdered woman, interview him over the telephone and then report dutifully to my readers how he choked up telling me about her. I can't take a frightened neighborhood neigh-borhood and question all the people there, dutifully reporting their answers to the public. And it would seem to me that by not identifying those people.by name, but rather by area, I would endanger all of those people in the neighborhood rather than protecting the one I didn't identify. I can't take a picture of the tiny dress of the murdered infant hanging on the line out in front of the home. The full-time press photographers who can do these things will telLyou that it is the way to introduce the human element into the story, to bring home to the readers what has happened. Maybe, but I can't do it. And I chicken out in other ways. I stayed home from the funeral. I didn't call the victims' bishop, or anybody else. And I relied on police reports to get the information about crime, criminals and motives. I'm not the type to chase down the stories and spell out proposed motives and wayward doings of the alledged killers. It may be informing the public. It may be telling the people what they want to know. I'm sure most of the people reading this have read all of those things over the past week, and probably enthusiastically as they tried to grasp what had happened in their own community to people they knew. It may be. But I can't do it. I'm not afraid of controversy, but I don't go looking for it. And I'm not afraid to tackle a complex ' news story. |