A good scare

Today’s story about a group of CdA teens who stumbled upon a suicide in a house under construction was bizarre enough that some editors were considering it for page one. The story is #2 in online traffic right now, and has been picked up by the Seattle Times and other outlets, so clearly the reader interest was there. However, as the day went on, the story worked its way back into the newspaper.

“It kind of felt like we were exploiting a tragic incident for the sake of shock value” by playing the story prominently, Idaho editor Scott Maben said.

Steve Smith agreed. “I think better sensibilities prevailed as the day went on,” he said.

Memorial information

Smith said today that a memorial fund for Laura Crooks has been established at the Spokane Media Federal Credit Union . Also, the funeral is scheduled for Thursday afternoon. I’ll post more details here as they become available.