Every day is a crime spree
What's jarworthy nowadays is different from what used to be jarworthy. It's "the swear jar," but nowadays it seems like there's a lot more censoring in the name of charity.
Which is why senior editor Carla Savalli, strong opponent of weather stories, did not say anything when editor Steve Smith asked whether a weather story would have been appropriate because "it was 75 degrees" yesterday.
News, anyone?
Wrong way, yo.
Editors brought up the discussion of naming a 16-year old who will likely be charged with felonies (attempt to elude police and possession of stolen property). The story ran on page 1 of the Northwest section.
A former journalist called city editor Addy Hatch to ask about the newsroom discussion before the 16-year-old's name ran in the newspaper. The argument is that if he's 16, and his name appears in the paper for crimes, it's a privacy issue and will follow him for the rest of his life.
Hatch told the caller there wasn't much of a discussion- The Spokesman-Review policies, including the new ethics code draft, specifically says to include names for people involved in major crimes. Anytime it's a felony, the question is rather, "Why wouldn't we" run the name, managing editor Gary Graham said.
On the other hand, the younger teens count as juveniles (ages 13 and 14 according to the story) and The S-R did not name them.
*Note - The photo caption says generically "teenage suspect" because he could not be identified. It was also difficult for the photographer to approach the scene. There's a chance the person in the photo could have been one of the two younger unnamed teens, which would have defeated the no-naming-juveniles policy.
Arlin Jordin
In the story about the ruling that sent Arlin Jordin back to jail, reporter and editors did well not to name the grandmother of the rape victim in the 5th paragraph. Naming the grandmother would have defeated the purpose of keeping the rape victim anonymous.
Kudos a la Steve
• Hunting guide scopes out elk
• Pia K. Hansen
• Party platters - with dips and spreads
• Matt Nichols at EWU (Sports centerpiece article)
• Taco Bell a hard sell in Mexico
• Banquet pot pie, salmonella link feared
Coming up
Breaking news reporter Amy Cannata is working on a story about a woman who survived her husband's attempt to hang her in the garage. Then after she regained consciousness,
According to the police press release, Jennings then told his wife to put aloe vera on the rope burn around her neck and cover it with a neck brace to hide it.