My 2 Cents: Naming Names?

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?