Huckleberries Online

My 2 Cents: Naming Names?

Posted by DFO

May 14, 2009 2:09 p.m. • 6 comments

On the From The Editor blog of the Idaho Press-Tribune, David Woolsey discusses a situation in Canyon County where other media outlets compromised the identity of an under-age sex abuse victim. They did so by naming her mother. Who was later arrested as part of the criminal investigation. All of which led Woolsey to wonder: “I also realize that in this day of blogs, the pressure to break news fast on the Web and with comments on many media sites, it’s really impossible to control the more precise relationship between the woman and the teenager. It almost seems like an ethic whose practical days have come and gone.” He goes on to say that the names of juveniles charged with adult crimes are revealed. And that victims or domestic abuse increasingly are allowing themselves to be interview to tell their stories. In this brave, new Internet world, Woolsey wonders if the media should continue to be so zealous in protecting certain identities. Closer to home, I wondered the same thing when we decided not to run the name of the man who committed suicide by jumping from the Veterans Memorial Bridge. Under our newspaper guidelines, we could have printed the name because the suicide was very public. Also, the sheriff’s department provided the name in a news release. I was a relieved when we decided not to print the name, for the family’s sake. I know and respect a member of the victim’s family. But I’m haunted as a journalist that we might have made the wrong call.

Question: Should the media be more open about naming names in sensitive cases?

Six comments on this post so far. Add yours!

Cabbage Boy on May 14 at 2:59 p.m.
nope, less is more in this case. or perhaps more is less.
moscow_minidoka on May 14 at 3:03 p.m.
I say DO NOT name victims, period. If *they* choose to come forward for whatever reason, that is their choice… but to “out” them without any say in the matter… that’s simply cruel, and serves no purpose other than prurience in our reality-TV culture.
Sisyphus on May 14 at 3:09 p.m.
I don’t think its really fair or correct for Mr. Wolsey to use bloggers as an excuse for diminishing his own professionalism. We’re all responsible for our own ethical fortitude. And I don’t think the reason behind the rule has eroded away.
DFO on May 14 at 3:13 p.m.
The SR is pretty religious when it comes to protecting identities of victims. But what about providing information that would allow people who know families to add one and one together and realize that a grandfather’s victim, for example, was a grandkid. I remember getting into trouble when I named the victim of that shooting suicide at NIC a coupla years ago. I still disagree with that call by the editors at the time b/c the victim shot herself to death in her dorm bathroom on campus. Having a gun on campus, to me, transformed the equation into a very public event. But the editors decided that it was a private situation b/c she killed herself in her “home” — the dorm room. It launched a pretty good debate in the morning news huddle the next day.
JeanieSpokane on May 14 at 3:16 p.m.
It’s nobody’s business regarding the suicide. That loss is so grievous for the rest of the family, printing his name is tacky, unprofessional, and hurtful. Same goes for assault victims in domestic abuse situations – husband hits wife (or vice versa) – it’s still none of my business. Knowing the person’s name is not going to improve my quality of life, now is it?
Cindy_H on May 14 at 3:58 p.m.
No names. I don’t think aquaintances need to “add one and one together.” When tragedy strikes word gets around very quickly and those who are close enough to offer support and sympathy will be “in the know” without the media’s help.

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About this blog

D.F. Oliveria is a columnist and blogger for The Spokesman-Review. Huckleberries Online was judged the best 2008 Idaho newspaper blog by the Idaho Press Club. And the best 2007 news blog in the Pacific Northwest by the Society for Professional Journalist. Print Huckleberries is a past winner of the Herb Caen Memorial Column contest by the National Association of Newspaper Columnists. The Readership Institute of Northwestern University cited this blog as a good example of online community journalism.