Headlines mislead

I am writing you regarding my frustrations with recent headlines given to stories about shootings in Spokane. On Thursday (Feb. 21) your paper carried a story with the headline “Spokane police investigating death at home near Rogers High School.” While factually correct, the incident had no connection to Rogers staff or students. On February 14th, your website carried a story titled “Man shoots family member at South Hill home.” Despite being in very similar proximity to Ferris High School, there is no mention of the school in the article.

You see, words matter. Connotations matter. Including Rogers High School in the headline of the article added no meaningful information to the story and would have been just as informative if written “Spokane police investigating death at home in Northeast Spokane.”

The headline as written does, however, serve to reinforce the outdated and incorrect perceptions of Rogers High School. As covered in your newspaper, over the past decade Rogers students, staff and surrounding community have worked incredibly hard to create a rigorous environment that graduates students at a rate similar to other SPS high schools, including those on the South Hill. When local media continue to create headlines that mention Rogers High School in stories involving completely unrelated crimes while not doing so with stories about crimes near other schools, you undermine these efforts and irresponsibly sustain negative perceptions in a way that is harmful to the students and surrounding community.

As a subscriber to your publication and Spokane resident, I expect better.

Jeremy Day

Spokane