Why We Do What We Do

From time to time I think it is important to let readers know some things about the inner workings of a newspaper.

People believe they have a pretty good idea about how things work around here, and I think they probably do, generally.

But not too infrequently I hear some pretty unsettling things about the local newspaper and feel it necessary to set the record straight.

First of all, we don't withhold your name from the newspaper based on your social status.

That is the number one misconception that I face from members of the public.

On several occasions I have received calls from prominent or semi-prominent individuals in the community. These calls usually come on Saturday morning and they go something like this:

"Gary, this is so-and-so. I made a mistake last night and I really hope you can help me out.

"You see, me and my wife/husband/boyfriend/girlfriend were out and we had a couple glasses of wine at dinner and on the way home I didn't see the light turn red and I got pulled over by the police.

"The next thing I know I'm blowing into a little machine and I'm in handcuffs on the way to jail.

"I got arrested for driving under the influence and I really don't want that to get into the paper."

My stock response to these callers is that it is the policy of the newspaper not to make exceptions on matters of public record.

It's my job to administer the policy. The only way to be fair is to make no exceptions.

Then, without fail, the caller says, "Yes, but I know somebody else who got arrested and you never printed their name."

At that point I always challenge them to provide the name of that individual and assure the caller that I would track the case down and make sure we published the information.

In more than 10 years here, I have offered that challenge literally dozens of times. Not once has anybody been able to come up with a name.

The fact is, we don't make exceptions. We run all the bookings.

Now, are we infallible?

Of course not. If someone at the jail misplaces the information on a particular individual, it could very easily slip by us. We could be fooled.

That's why I always issue the challenge. In the event that we somehow missed the information, I want to be able to track it down.

Be assured, if you get arrested, your name will be in the paper.

Another part of the paper that is misunderstood is the letters to the editor column.

People seem to think that we just pick and choose which letters get printed.

That's not true.

I am fanatical about giving our readers a forum for their views - no matter how wacky those views may be. Frankly, I think I am fanatical to a fault at times.

I run every letter that is properly submitted to this newspaper.

To properly submit a letter, you need only to follow our policy, which we run frequently on the letters page.

Of course, if you read between the lines, there are several gems built into the policy that give us some leeway. The "libelous," "bad taste," "individual author" or "individual topic" portions of the policy give us the flexibility to remove letters that we believe to be inflammatory.

There is some discretion on our part, but all one has to do is look at our letters page to know that we rarely invoke the policy.

In fact, most of the feedback I receive from readers concerning our letters page is that it is too lenient. That we let too many people write too many letters.

But I disagree. I think an active letters page is a good thing for the community.

And as I said earlier, I think it is important for readers to have a forum for their views.

Other areas that open us up to criticism from time to time are accident photos, suicide stories and publication of juveniles' names.

We publish accident photos to encourage safety. We believe that forcing a dose of reality on people makes them more aware.

Our hope is that when readers see the accident photo and story that they will read it and learn from it.

For example, there have been a couple serious accidents where trucks rolled through red lights on U.S. 30. Our hope is that people will read it, remember it and look both ways even if the light is green.

Maybe they will, maybe they won't. But as long as there is a chance they will, we'll keep trying.

Our policy on suicides is to leave that information out of the obituary but simply place a small, two- or three-sentence article somewhere else on the local news page.

The obituary can be clipped and saved without the stigma of suicide included and we can fulfill our obligation to report on the activities of public officials (the police who were called to investigate).

Our policy on juveniles is simple. If you are 13 or older and you get arrested, your name will be in the paper.

And, contrary to the belief of many readers, while juvenile court proceedings are confidential, there is no law against publishing juveniles' names.

There is a stigma attached to being arrested.

We hope that the prospect of having your name published in the paper might be a deterrent. Again, maybe it is or maybe it isn't. But judging by the irate parents I have to talked to on the phone, it must be making an impact.

That's just a brief glimpse at some of the reasons we do what we do.

As always, if you have questions, comments, complaints or concerns, don't hesitate to call or e-mail. (That's 267-3111 or news@timeswrsw.com.)